Rockin’ on the
Rideau part 6
RODDY ELLIAS: His roots run deep
By JIM HURCOMB At last count, I have three guitars in my house.
I know my major chords, practice religiously once or twice a year; and, if pressed, can strum out a tune that sounds reasonably close to Leaving on a Jet Plane. I guess that makes me a guitar player. It sure
doesn’t make me a Guitarist. That exalted title is bestowed only on the select few who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of musical excellence, always pushing themselves like finely-tuned athletes. When they play, the rest of us put down our
instruments and listen in awe. Roddy Ellias is a Guitarist – one of the best
and most respected in the country. His prowess has led to international acclaim. But Roddy is much more concerned about the quality of his music than the plaudits of the press. If he’s looking for the best place to stay out of the spotlight, Ottawa, his hometown, fits the bill. His roots run deep in the local musical community. The official website biography at www.
roddyEllias.com begins in 1969. But the true story begins in 1961, when he got a special gift under the Christmas tree.
48 BOUNDER MAGAZINE “It was a Marwin guitar,” he recalls, “very
close to Martin, which was the top-of-the-line guitar. I think my parents paid $18 for it.” The music of the Ottawa Valley at the time
was country, and being structurally pretty simple and guitar-based, those were the first tunes young Roddy started working on. But then came the guitar equivalent of The Big
Bang: the night the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan show. Roddy was hooked. “I was down at the Treble Clef store on Sparks
Street the day “Beatlemania” came out,” he says. “I learned all the songs on my guitar in about two weeks.” It was a much-repeated story that year. Young
boy sees Beatles on Ed Sullivan, buys the record, grows his hair a bit and starts a high school rock and roll band. Roddy started his first true band when he was in Grade 10 at Glebe. First it was Roddy and the Rogues; then The Phantoms; and finally, The Missing Links. By the time The Missing Links arrived, Roddy
and his bandmates were getting pretty good, scoring gigs aside from the school talent shows. Their big break came in the person of Lew
www.bounder.ca
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