Ehren Ebbage is a patient guy. In fact, by his own account, he’s so patient that he’s waited over 30 years to release his first solo record. That’s not to say he hasn’t released a few records in his time…because he has. Unfortunately for Ehren, none of them have been his own. From collaborating on friend, John Shipe’s various projects, to playing an integral role in the Justin King Band, to performing with the likes of renowned Pink Floyd cover act, The Floydian Slips, one can accurately accuse Ebbage of getting around. Most recently, Ehren has lended his talent on lap steel, acoustic guitar, and his most perfect harmonies (so says Johnny Clay of The Dimes) to turn Portland’s Dimes into a more dynamic five piece act. But, it’s his debut LP, Ten Cent Souvenir, that makes the hard work and more than 30 years of waiting all worth while for Ebbage.
I had the opportunity to spend some time with Ehren’s debut EP, Bottle Rocket (2007), for some time before his recent release of Ten Cent Souvenir. Bottle Rocket is a powerful little solo acoustic debut and quickly made me a fan of Ehren’s work. However, Bottle Rocket, as good as it is, was always “pretty good” in my mind and in no way prepared me for what he would do next.
You see, every once in a while someone can honestly surprise you with a record…and Ehren has certainly surprised many with Ten Cent Souvenir. Wonderfully arranged and dramatically reconstructed, he took a handful of “pretty good” solo acoustic songs and transformed them into something nothing less than grand. The title track is luminous, starting subtly like a prototypical solo acoustic number, then opening up to a wonderfully dynamic song, complete with sparkly guitars, glockenspiels and a driving kick that can make one’s body involuntarily move to the beat.
I suspect that many of the songs are inspired by Ehren’s experiences, both joy and disappointments in love, life and relationships – nothing new to the world of songwriting. But Ehren has a uniquely endearing method of striking a chord with his listeners, likely the result of his “what you see is what you get” approach, disarming audiences at his live shows, etching his sometimes sad, sometimes endearing messages deep into one’s soul.
The quintessential Ehren Ebbage song is one where his words have an eerie, yet mesmerizing effect, making you stop and ponder his every word, even briefly forgetting you’re listening to a song. His song, Snakes, does this for me. Every time I hear this track, whether live or on the record, it leaves me wondering why it evokes so much emotion in my stomach, meanwhile my inner voice thinking, “wow, I know exactly what he’s talking about.” With Snakes, Ebbage wonderfully compares and contrasts lonliness (and love too I think) to a snake waiting around for him in some tall grass, “at every opportunity, I turn my back and it sneaks up on me…but it doesn’t bite, it just hisses and spits, so why should I be scared of it.” And in the chorus, he hits you with the undeniable concept – that no one goes their whole life undefeated. For this writer, Snakes is far and above Ehren’s best lyrical work to date, and if it were up to me, this would be the summer soundtrack hit, maybe to Zach Braff’s next project.
Here’s a couple of the songs I’ve been gushing about:
Ehren Ebbage – Ten Cent Souvenir
Here’s a video of Ehren performing Bury That Feeling, live The Indigo District in Eugene, Oregon – April 2008:
If you like what you hear, consider supporting Ehren’s work and grabbing a copy of his new record, Ten Cent Souvenir for yourself: http://cdbaby.com/cd/ehrenebbage
You can check out Ehren’s Myspace page to scout out his next show in your neck of the woods at: http://www.myspace.com/ehrenebbage
I couldn’t say it all better myself.