• Audio
• Photos
• Posts
• Likes

Ed Gillis

Acoustic / Folk / Experimental

Columbiaville, MI

About

I started playing music and writing songs in the same year that my country celebrated it's bicentennial. I had asked my Mother for a guitar the previous year. She turned me down. I was persistent and asked again the following year. She gave in and contacted her uncle, my great Uncle Bill. A few days later he brought over an extremely old, inexpensive amplifier and a single pickup Teisco guitar. I can not recall exactly how many chords he showed me but I don't think it was much more than six basic chords that he used when he played. That was my guitar lesson. I never had any formal training on how to play outside of Uncle Bill, but over the last 32 years I have figured out some things on my own.

During high school there was a band. Isn't there always a band? I played lead guitar and we referred to ourselves as "Azure." We lasted two years until the next band. Isn't there always the next band? Out of high school I became a bass player and spent two and a half years with the Pedestrians. I was Ed Ped. Now it seems like it was a million miles ago.

In 1982 I left and went on a fifteen-year adventure. I still played music but it was always in a bedroom, apartment, barracks, garage or workshop. I spent 25 years in musical seclusion until March 2008. I auditioned and played in public for the first time in many years and the first time solo ever at a place called the PIX Theater in Lapeer, Michigan. I was invited to play at other venues immediately following my debut. I like saying debut.

Today I am still writing and playing. I have never considered myself a singer/songwriter but it seems that I may have accidentally developed into one. I feel that I can play my instrument well enough not to embarrass myself but I lack vocal confidence. I am at a loss to understand why people like my songs and performances. I wrote the songs for me only. It has been my journal over the last 32 years.

There are a few rough recordings but almost everything is in my head and written in a notebook somewhere.

It seems odd that my musical journey would become public at age 47.

There must be a song in that somewhere.

Text(1)

• Follow Ed Gillis
• Following (6)
• Followers (8)
• Send a message

Stats

• Plays today
  0
• All-time plays
  120
• Profile views
  724

I am trying to learn how to play the mountain dulcimer through the internet. Listen to my track and tell me what you think.

updated Jul 30, 2009

Following(6)