Find out where you can see Tinsley Ellis perform his newest album, 'Naked Truth'
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Tinsley Ellis is stepping out of his comfort zone to bring a new sound to Albuquerque: acoustic blues.
Hailing from Georgia, Ellis wanted to create a mixture of traditional acoustic blues sounds that reminisce on the old days while bringing in modern lyrics that help audience members connect with classic sounds.
The idea led to his latest album, 鈥淣aked Truth,鈥� a 12-track album with nine original songs that is an ode to the vintage sounds Ellis loves. He will perform songs from the album on Monday, Feb. 17, at Fusion.
鈥淚 had one file called acoustics and there was about 30 or 40 songs in that file,鈥� Ellis said. 鈥淚 put them in order and realized I had a pretty cool little acoustic album concept to do, and now I鈥檝e just totally fallen in love with that style of blues.鈥�
Ellis blends typical blues tones and lyrics with a new flair. The first song on the album, 鈥淒evil in the Room,鈥� has a Mississippi Delta blues style, which he believes sets the tone for the rest of the album.
鈥淚 play that with slide guitar, with the slide on my finger on the metal resonator guitar, which is a 1937 National steel guitar, and that sort of sets the theme for the whole album,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome of the songs I specifically wrote for the album ... with this, I was writing acoustically to actually record and perform them acoustically.鈥�
Some of the songs on the album are tunes Ellis has played for years and finally recorded.
Ellis said the best part of his newest album is being able to record acoustically and give audience members a performance that mirrors the sounds on the album. While many albums feature different instrumentals backing the sound, many of the songs on 鈥淣aked Truth鈥� only feature Ellis and his guitar.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we named it 鈥楴aked Truth,鈥� because I feel, without actually being naked, exposed with just me and a guitar,鈥� he said. 鈥淓xcept for the live album I did in 2005, this is the first time I鈥檝e been able to go out and perform and have it sound just like the album.鈥�
One of Ellis鈥� biggest struggles was trying to re-create the blues sounds while having lyrics audience members can relate to and that invoke deep feelings. Typically, blues music contains lyrics reminiscent on older times, according to Ellis.
鈥淚鈥檓 not really a rural kind of guy and that鈥檚 a common lyric to an old blues song, so I have to kind of filter this music through my own experiences,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 sing about stuff like taxes and marital problems, things that people can relate to and that鈥檚 what blues is about, because I think the blues holds a mirror up to real life.鈥�
That doesn鈥檛 mean all of Ellis鈥� songs are about taxes and laundry and everyday problems. Songs still feature many of the traditional themes from blues music, including rain and travels around the country.
Ellis is excited to bring his sounds to Albuquerque, having played here several times throughout his 35-year musical career.
鈥淚 think it was 1990 the first time I played there at The Dingo Bar, and now it鈥檚 got a different name,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e come full circle, and I鈥檝e got a lot of old friends inside and outside the musical community, so I鈥檓 excited to be back.鈥�
Find out where you can see Tinsley Ellis perform his newest album, 'Naked Truth'
