We here at SwitchBitch Noise are lucky enough to know a fine young lad that goes by the name of Charles Ellsworth. Once native to Salt Lake City, the musician, singer-songwriter has “packed his suitcase” to take a solo journey across the U.S. and now reside here in New York City. Sounds like a daunting journey, huh? Well to scare and motivate, to bring down and lift back up, Charles has taken the time to share one of his many traveling experiences with us! Buckle up and give it a read kids…
Mankind has always been mesmerized by the unknown. Some cower before it and fear it like a child in the dark, while others thrust themselves blindly forward with a hope of coming out of it a more well rounded person. There are many types of people in between, but I believe you will always be forced to either end. Every day offers up different battles in which you get to decide which life you will lead.
After we finished college, my best friend and I decided we were going to see all of the lower 48 states. We were going to find work on craigslist in each city to make money to get to the next town. Along the way I was going to play open mics, and whatever gigs I could book. We bought a van for $600 and with nothing more than $500 in our pockets and adventure in mind, we set out.
We landscaped our way up the pacific coast. Replaced a roof in Arizona. Spent a week framing in Austin and got swindled by the rednecks who hired us. We spent countless early mornings in front of Home Depots trying to get work. After four months we found ourselves in Chicago, with very little money and no work. The building of stress was exponential as each day passed. One day my friend told me he was done with the trip, and within a day or two, he had borrowed some money and hopped on a train headed west. I would have gone with him, but I had a couple of shows booked out east and I didn’t want to cancel. I was all alone and thousands of miles from home. That first night, I got shitty drunk on malt liquor in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
If you spend the majority of two months as a lonely transient, an inconsequential ghost passing from town to town, eventually you are forced to look inward. You will pick apart every bit of your being with inexhaustible scrutiny. That time in Jr. High you were a dick to that kid for no reason other than your insecurities? You’ll think about that, and you will hate yourself for it. Every failed relationship you’ve ever had will be turned over and over again, dissected to a point that there’s almost nothing left. You will discover that everything is pointing at you. You are the common denominator. If this is an episode of Law & Order SVU, you’re the pervert. You sick fuck.
While you are mentally and physically reduced to dust, something beautiful will happen. Along with the destruction of your sense of self worth, your ego will be shattered. Like the phoenix, you will rise from the ashes of the image you were so invested in. You will have the chance to become something bigger than what years of public school and culturally appropriated television has turned you into. To approach life with a necessary reverence, while at the same time aware of the meaninglessness of it all. To be, and to also be at peace. Go forth into the dark, seeking nothing more than wisdom. Buy a van, hit the road, figure shit out. – Charles Ellsworth
New York’s favorite Americana solo hero CHARLES ELLSWORTH has recently premiered his latest single “A Packed Suitcase” via Under The Gun. The single is off of his latest effort, Wildcat Chuck Charles which dropped on October 16th and can be purchased HERE. Featuring an Americana sound with complimentary blends of blues and rock, this tune will take listeners on a deep and thought provoking journey as lyricist, Ellsworth paints a picture with every carefully chosen word in this track. Pairing his deep lyrics with strong, twangy guitar, “A Packed Suitcase” is a great example of Ellsworth’s blues-meets-rock style that’ll have you stomping your boots and singing along.
“I wrote the opening line to ‘A Packed Suitcase’ while traveling solo through the PNW [Pacific Northwest]. One of those overnight drives where you suck down cigarettes like they’re necessary to life, and in a sense they are,” Charles said.
He continued, “You’ve been driving so long that you can’t quite remember where you started, and all at once it happens: the world around you seems to all collapse into a single moment. A memory you’ve purposely misplaced full knowing that one day you would stumble upon it and have to face it, you tell yourself ‘someday, but not today.’ Hoping that when the time comes, you’ve grown and matured enough to be able to wrestle with it and come away unscathed, at the very least still breathing. The memory starts as something small. The curve of a collarbone. A rose-gold ring wrapped around a freckled finger. A crooked smile.”
This emotional release comes off the heels of a five week west coast tour. Ellsworth is currently fundraising at www.notakickstarter.com for his full length album, which he hopes to begin recording early next year.
Biography: Born and raised in the White Mountains of Arizona, Charles Ellsworth first gained an appreciation for a simple, not so distant past. A recent transplant to Brooklyn and self proclaimed “Wandering Man”, Charles has spent the better part of the past four years crashing couch to couch. Making friends & enemies. Talking his way onto bar stages and out of traffic tickets. He’s taken to heart the advice of one of his most influential writers, Roberto Bolaño, “Make new sensations appear…subvert daily life…give it all up again. Hit the road.” His songs wind down a familiar highway. A road more traveled, but with a perspective less explored. His vivid lyrics and near-familiar melodies weave to tell stories of heartbreak and loneliness while shining a light on the perseverance of the human spirit.
Wildcat Chuck Charles EP Available Now HERE
1. A Packed Suitcase
2. Could Have Done Better
3. Arizona Pines
4. Grandfather Pine
