Mercifully Brief Bio

Chris Elliott is a performing singer/songwriter based in Boston, MA. His latest CD, Satellite, UFO, Jet Plane or Star, features 14 original songs about love, war, death, high school, food service jobs, heavy metal, America, and more. Featuring both full-band and solo arrangements, the CD mixes new compositions with old favorites. It's received airplay on folk radio around the globe, from New Zealand to Germany to Canada to Bowling Green, Ohio.

Chris grew up an only child in Binghamton, NY. The first two records he bought were 45s of AC/DC and the Bee Gees. As a teenager he abused a Peavey electric guitar and wrote humorous songs like the poignant "The Milk Truck Ran Over My Pig." One day he listened to his dad's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan LP and became converted to the power of a lone guitar and a point of view. Armed with a cracked Ovation acoustic, Chris began writing songs striving to be both sardonic and serious, influenced by purveyors of wit such as Loudon Wainwright III and pop tunesmiths like REM. While attending Bard College, he arranged Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" for string quartet. While earning an M.F.A. in poetry at Emerson College, he wrote a collection of poems, some of which appear in the booklet of his latest CD. In recent years he has added new influences, incorporating the dark themes of traditional folk ballads and the energetic riffing of rock played on a rich-sounding acoustic six-string. His striking handmade guitar was won in the first (and only) WUMB 91.9 FM/Borders Books and Music Songwriter Competition. The guitar was crafted by acclaimed luthier Alan Carruth, and he's grateful to have such a fine instrument that lends itself to both vigorous strumming and gentle finger-picking.

In 2002 Chris co-wrote the song "Looking for your Heart" with Carl Cacho, who recorded it for his album Spark, which is being played on folk radio around the world. Chris' song "Nothing Too Major" appears on the 1996 compilation CD Show Up, Sign Up & Play, which also features Mary Gauthier, Jess Klein, and Faith Soloway. "Rose for a Blue Jay" appears on the 2005 Boston's Best Singer-Songwriter Showcase CD.

When he's not playing solo, he plays with Lisa Austin in their harmony duo Austin & Elliott, which you can learn about at www.austinandelliott.com.

He's also a music collector (i.e., music geek), with a collection of CDs, CD-Rs, vinyl records, and cassettes that numbers in the thousands. His favorite genres include literary singer/songwriter guys (Bob Dylan, James Mcmurtry, Randy Newman, Robyn Hitchcock, Loudon WW III, John Prine, Leonard Cohen, the Handsome Family, Mark Knopfler), old country (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams), hard rock (Blue Oyster Cult, Uriah Heep, UFO, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Aerosmith, Rush, Porcupine Tree); acoustic blues (Blind Willie McTell, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Boy Fuller, Son House, Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, Fred McDowell), early alternative rock (Pixies, Primus, Radiohead, REM, Bauhaus, Pogues, Nirvana, the Cure, Timbuk 3, Crash Test Dummies, King Missile), stand-up/sketch comedy (Bill Hicks, Mr. Show, Upright Citizens Bridage, Richard Pryor, George Carlin), and even the darkest depths of heavy metal (Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, Kreator, Blind Guardian, Katatonia, Anthrax).

Awards & Distinctions

Winner: Portland Songwriters Association Songwriting Contest, Folk Acoustic Category for "Rose for a Blue Jay"

Finalist: USA Songwriting Contest, Comedy/Novelty Category for "Promises Promises"

Winner: WUMB 91.9 FM/Borders Books and Music Songwriters Competition (in which he won the handmade guitar he currently plays)

Finalist: 13th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest

2001 Hottest of the Campfire
Club Passim's Cutting Edge of the Campfire w/ Amy Fairchild, winner of 2000 Kerrville New Folk; in the last few years, he's been in the round with Geoff Bartley, Louise Taylor, Andrew Kerr, and more.

Named one of Club Passim's "Best Kept Secrets":
Click to find out what the nice folks at the legendary Club Passim said about me in their newsletter -- my article is in the May-June 2001 issue. Or click here to see what they said.

Opened for: Gideon Freudmann (cellobop), Grey Eye Glances, Cosy Sheridan, Diane Zeigler, Ratsy, Todd Thibaud, Kris Delmhorst.

click here for press photos
click here for sundry hype