Ellie Lee & Blues Fury to perform at Bert’s Bar & Grill
By ED FRANKS
Bert’s Bar & Grill is known for it’s diverse mix of music. From calypso to Trop-Rock to blues, Bert’s attracts talented musicians from near and far. One of the premier acts to appear at Bert’s in recent years is Ellie Lee and Blues Fury.
Ellie Lee and Blues Fury is a three-member band with a really big sound, featuring Lee (lead guitar and lead vocals), Jerry Hale (drums) and Steve McCormack (bass/vocals).
Originally from Canton, Ohio, Lee was attracted to music at a very young age.
“I started playing drums when I was 8 years old,” Lee said. “It was during the mid-60s Beatles era that my daddy bought me a set of drums. I played drums until I was 12 years old and then I decided to switch to guitar. It didn’t take long before I realized I had a knack for the guitar. At the time I was a big fan of Cream, Jimmy Hendricks and Jeff Beck, so they were the really big influences on the direction of my music back then.”
Lee was about 24 years old when she decided to set aside her guitar, get married and raise a family.
“For the next 27 years I didn’t touch my guitar,” Lee said. “After divorcing in 2007, I picked it up again and it was like riding a bike except my fingers were older and it took longer to get them to do what I wanted them to do. But that’s when I got back into playing music.”
Originally, Lee was a huge rock fan but when she returned to playing she attended “blues jams” in Ohio.
“Those jams just opened my eyes to the blues,” Lee said. “I have a very eclectic playlist and really like Fats Waller and Jay McShann, you know the song … ‘Hey, everybody, let’s have some fun. You only live but once and when your dead you’re done… let the good times roll.’ I am just so inspired by the blues and love the old blues musicians.”
Playing local venues in Ohio proved disappointing.
“There just wasn’t enough work so I came to Florida three years ago,” Lee said. “I have been so blessed. I wake up in the morning and look out the window at the Gulf of Mexico and get to play my music throughout the state.”
Lee never had a music lesson. From time to time fellow musicians would “show me stuff” but over time her talents surpassed theirs.
“Eventually they stopped showing me,” Lee said. “Then I got into the harder rock like Stevie Ray Vaughan. I got a good feel for that but eventually moved on to Jeff Beck.”
Beck is one of three noted guitarists to have played with the Yardbirds (along with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page).
“My New Year’s resolution last year was to put the pick away and learn how to play with my fingers like Jeff Beck,” Lee said. “This has opened a lot of windows in my playing style that I never would have been able to do with a pick. It really put me more in touch with my instrument.
“A good musician becomes a great musician with lots of practice,” Lee said. “I practice at least an hour every day, sometimes two. On days when I play, I only practice a little because I want to be fresh for the audience. I would tell any young musician that if you believe you can do it – you can… and practice, practice, practice. If I don’t practice for one day, I notice it. If I don’t practice for two days, the band notices it. If I don’t practice for three days the audience notices it.
“I’m very excited about our new album ‘Hybrid’,” Lee said. “I wanted to present an eclectic collection of old, new and original tunes with a focus on variety, energy and dynamics. I included ‘Danny Boy,’ a song by Curtis Mayfield, and a couple of Jeff Beck tunes.”
Lee said the ‘blues’ is the musical soul of our nation and just a wonderful way to express yourself.
“I am dedicating the rest of my life to blues and blues/rock,” she said. “I just love doing this. God Bless America…”
ReverbNation describes Ellie Lee and Blues Fury as “an exciting, rockin’ blues group with a dynamic on stage performance. Ellie is a blues guitarist/singer/songwriter that fronts the band with her soulful voice, ripping guitar solos and her obvious joy in performing. Ellie’s guitar virtuosity has been compared to Jeff Beck, Albert King and Jimi Hendrix, just to name a few. People enjoy the fact that Ellie plays and sings like there’s no tomorrow. She gives it her all every time.”
Ellie Lee and Blues Fury perform at Bert’s Bar & Grill frequently. The group’s next performance is Friday, July 29, at 7:30 p.m. Bert’s is at 4271 Pine Island Road. For additional information, call 239-282-3232.