Hey there! My name is Ellis Van Gilder. Its so awesome that you stopping by to me out! Usually these bios aren’t written by the artist, but I felt I should tell you a bit about me, personally. I’m from all over the place, Arizona, North Carolina, and Nashville. Of all the places I have been, I currently call Illinois home, where I have been for a majority of my life, and also where I am currently working on my record. So a brief bit about me. You know that kid that loved to pound on a piano instead of playing catch? Well, that kid was me. I grew up with music. I loved listening to it, singing it, and of course, playing along with the tunes of Dylan, CCR, Tom Petty..I wish I could say I was born with talent, but I was not. My dad teaches guitar and piano, so he pounded scales and chords into my head at an early age, and he still tries to make me remember them all..Tries. At 15, I was given some opportunities to perform in a couple local coffee shops. Although I didn’t notice at the time, I’m sure now my early performances were pretty shaky, thanks to my stage fright. I told myself I would keep playing until I was booed off the stage..Hasn’t happened yet, so I keep playing and writing, and loving every minute of it. In my wildest dreams, my goal, within the vast music industry, is to inspire someone somewhere to pick up a guitar-get the feelings onto some paper, and sing it like nothing else matters. Its such a rewarding feeling, and I think everyone needs to experience that at some point in life. Its not reserved for the famous, as everyone seems to imagine, its for you, and its for me-Take it.