Ellwood is an American

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

band formed in the Santa Ynez Valley in 2009. The group consists of

Mad Caddies The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. The Mad Caddies sound has influences from broad ranging g ...

frontman Chuck Robertson, Caddies members Graham Palmer and Todd Rosenberg, and former Caddies member and former Cherry Poppin' Daddies keyboardist Dustin Lanker.

Biography

Ellwood formed when Robertson relocated back to his hometown of

Solvang, California Solvang (; Danish for "sunny field") is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang was founded in 1911 and incorporated as a city on May 1, 1985. The population was 6,126 at the 2020 ...

in the late 2000s. After reconnecting with Palmer and Rosenberg, and finding the Santa Ynez Valley music scene lacking, the trio decided to form a new band just for fun, eventually recruiting longtime Caddies touring keyboardist Dustin Lanker. In contrast to the more

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

sound of the Mad Caddies, Ellwood focused more on sunny, mellow and mid-tempo ska and reggae. In 2010, after a period of playing local shows, Ellwood chose to move forward and record an album. Spending six months putting together material, the group demoed an album in Palmer's garage, then recorded it in a Santa Barbara studio in only two days. After putting Ellwood on hold for almost a year to focus on the Mad Caddies, Robertson eventually passed a copy of the album onto

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He was the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the cofounder and bassist of the punk rock supergroup cov ...

at a party, who called Robertson several days later and agreed to put it out on Fat Wreck Chords. ''Lost in Transition'' was released on June 21, 2011, meeting with positive critical reviews from the likes of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

'',

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

and Punknews.org. In promotion of the album, Ellwood carried out a headlining tour of Europe in November and December 2011, followed in January 2012 by a West coast United States tour supporting

NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

and

Old Man Markley Old Man Markley was a punk & bluegrass band based out of Los Angeles, CA. Founded in 2007, the band consisted of John Carey (lead vocals, guitar), Annie DeTemple (Autoharp, Vocals), Alex Zablotsky (Mandolin), Jeff Fuller (Drums), Joey Garibald ...

. Shortly after the release of ''Lost in Transition'', Robertson stated that Ellwood was already working on new material for their next album, noting that the music would be a drastic departure from their debut, dabbling in "heavy, aggressive, poppy rock". According to Robertson, "The plan for Ellwood is really to just take it record by record, and whatever the theme we want to go for, just go for it.... 're just going to keep expanding, and not be a band that's chained to one sound or style". Robertson also noted that the band hoped to complete five records in five years. In an update posted to

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

on November 1, 2012, the band confirmed that work had begun on a second studio album, though Ellwood would be "put in the freezer for a little while" as Robertson returned to writing and touring with the Caddies. After years of inactivity, however, Robertson finally confirmed in an October 2020 interview that Ellwood was officially "defunct.”

Discography

*''Lost in Transition'' (2011, Fat Wreck Chords)

Band members

* Chuck Robertson - vocals, guitar * Dustin Lanker - keyboards, vocals *Graham Palmer - bass, vocals *Todd Rosenberg - drums, vocals

References

External links

Official Ellwood website
* {{Authority control American reggae musical groups American ska musical groups Fat Wreck Chords artists Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups disestablished in 2012 Musical groups from California