Ell’s Angels make their full-set debut this week..
Southwest Iowa multi-instrumentalist Drew Morelock stopped by KCSI this morning with a simple pitch: come hear the songs everybody knows, played the way they were meant to be played.
His newest group, Ell’s Angels, is a classic-rock cover band built from the people who shaped him as a musician. After a short trial run last year — three or four songs as a one-off — the five-piece is treating this week as the real debut.
Who’s in the band
Ell’s Angels puts Morelock out front on lead vocals and guitar. The rest of the lineup is a map of his musical life:
Eric Whipple, drums. Whipple taught Morelock drums in middle school. “He taught me how to be a musician,” Morelock said. “He is one of the best drummers I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Jeff Slater, guitar and harmony vocals. Slater gave Morelock his first solo opening slot — the first time Morelock played by himself in front of people.
John Murrin, bass and harmony vocals. Morelock first watched him play in the pit for Shenandoah musicals when Morelock was in middle school.
Ellie Holsty, vocals and harmony. Younger than the rest of the lineup and, Morelock said, often the one who “surpasses even us.”
The name tracks back to Ellie. The chemistry, Morelock said, is the point.
“I find that it’s more important to play music with people that you like and are functional and get along well, more so than their actual music talents — which in this case, I get both.”
They rehearse in his basement, play the songs “exactly like the record,” and treat the work like the opposite of a grind. “This group is the most fun I’ve ever had in music,” he said. “You want to work really hard at it, but you always want it to feel like you wouldn’t be doing anything else.”
Show:
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 The Depot — Shenandoah 6:00 p.m. · Free · No tickets · Just show up
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