Matt Ellis

Matt Ellis (born 28 December 1973) is an Americana genre singer-songwriter from Sydney, Australia. Based in the U.S. since 2005, Ellis just released a new single, "Coming Back". Early years Matt Ellis had an international upbringing, spending his childhood among Sydney's northern beaches, Melbourne, Brisbane, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand before his family's relocation to Hong Kong,– where he spent most of his teenage years attending Island School. Ellis returned to Sydney for his final year of High School, graduating from Davidson High School (New South Wales), before studying Art & Design at College. Inspired by punk and rock bands of his high school era, Ellis formed heavy-rock band Sedgwick Pie in 1995. With him as their frontman, the group released two EPs, touring with such prominent 90s acts as Reef (UK), Grinspoon (AUS) and Tumbleweed (AUS), before launching his solo career in 2000 with his critically acclaimed debut, Peel. The release quickly established Ellis on an international stage, with the album sitting in the top 10 on ninemsn for six weeks. The self-produced music video for the title track "Peel" gained airplay on Foxtel's Country Music Channel, MTV Australia, Rage and defunct late-night TV show on Network Ten, Ground Zero. The track was added to rotation in southeast Asia, but was eventually banned after outraged viewers called in to complain that the clip – which featured Ellis driving around Sydney blindfolded – promoted reckless driving. The banning sparked an invitation from Channel V Asia for Ellis to interview and perform live at the station in Hong Kong. This performance wrapped the Peel tour which saw Matt Ellis perform at respected rock music venues CBGBs (New York City) and the Knitting Factory (Los Angeles).