Hello from ELLIS (updated 5/29/01). Great news! We've only just become able to track how many visits our Web site gets each month. We were blown away to discover that there are literally THOUSANDS and thousands of ELLIS-heads out there checking in on a regular basis! We are dying to get to know each of you and encourage you to drop us an email or letter. In the meantime, thanks for being there for us. We hope we're able to show up in your town in return someday. Well, on to the news. ELLIS THREE, our third and forthcoming CD, is scheduled to be mixed at Bay 7 Studios in Los Angeles in mid July. Almost no song on this monster-of-an-album has less than 60 tracks, which requires a higher level mixing studio than what's commonly available in our hometown of sunny San Diego. So off to L.A. we go this summer. We're very excited about a number of tracks on this CD - the long-awaited and brilliantly arranged duet with Glenn Hughes, an instrumental version of Couldn't Make Her Stay by the late Lonesome Dave of FogHat, an unbelievable new song called Slide...So many. You'll hear some different influences this time...even a little gospel in the nearly religiously powerful Empty Pockets. (Our engineer Steve Russell says we really went to church on that one!) Also, the soul pours forth on a duet called Grace with a new friend and gospel diva, Krista Peterson. Brett Ellis takes a vocal line or two on some of the backup parts. A few other guest vocalists help out on back-up duty as well. Guest musicians include Anilh Rameshwar on trumpet and Ben Moore on Hammond B-3 organ. Cold North and Throwing Stones, two songs written and recorded during the Barstool sessions, will also be released on THREE. Matthias Von Herrath plays violin on Cold North. So as you can see, there's a lot going on with this album. Its depth is unprecedented. We can't wait to bring it to you. You should all be watching Glenn Hughes' Web site for news of his latest release due out this year. The album features a ballad co-written by Brett Ellis and Glenn called Big Sky. It's an amazing tune. Looking a little further ahead, the Hangar Sessions album is coming along splendidly. In June, we'll hit the airplane hangar to record the final three songs on the album. Today, Brett is busy doing overdubs to a few tunes, including the Zeppelin mantra, Immigrant Song! You may have noticed we've been light on shows of late. Our decision to hop off the circuit for a while was a strategic one which has allowed us time to focus on our recordings. As a result we'll be delivering back-to-back albums this year, maybe more! You can count on a CD release party this fall if not sooner. Until then, keep the faith. Love from ELLIS Stacey, Mike and Brett