| Ellwood | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Santa Ynez Valley, California, United States |
| Genres | Reggae, ska, reggae rock |
| Years active | 2009-present |
| Labels | Fat Wreck Chords |
| Associated acts | Mad Caddies, Cherry Poppin' Daddies |
| Website | www.ellwoodmusic.com |
| Members | |
| Chuck Robertson Dustin Lanker Graham Palmer Todd Rosenberg |
|
Ellwood is an American reggae and ska band formed in the Santa Ynez Valley in 2009. The group consists of Mad Caddies frontman Chuck Robertson, former Caddies members Graham Palmer and Todd Rosenberg, and touring Caddies member and Cherry Poppin' Daddies member Dustin Lanker.
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Ellwood formed when Robertson relocated back to his hometown of Solvang, California in the late 2000s.[1] After reconnecting with original Caddies members 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.[2] In contrast to the more punk rock and ska punk 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.[3] 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.[1] 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 at a party, who called Robertson several days later and agreed to put it out on Fat Wreck Chords.[1][2]
Lost in Transition was released on June 21, 2011, meeting with positive critical reviews from the likes of Alternative Press[4], PopMatters[5] and Punknews.org.[6] In promotion of the album, Ellwood carried out a brief tour of the United Kingdom in December 2011, which will be followed in January 2012 by a West coast United States tour supporting NOFX and Old Man Markley.
Robertson has stated that Ellwood is already working on new material for their next album, noting that the music will 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....[w]e'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 hopes to complete five records in five years.[1]