Hailing from New York, both Ellen and Roger have had music in their lives from a very early age. Roger was an accordion virtuoso by the time he was 7 and Ellen was harmonizing by the age of 3. Over the years they both explored different musical genres and instruments, but what remained constant was singing, the song and the passion.
They eventually became professional songwriters in Los Angeles, on staff with publishing giant Warner/Chappell Music, where they had their songs covered by a broad spectrum of recording artists including Cher, Pat Benatar, Teddy Pendergrass, Martha Davis, Angela Bofill, Anne Murray, and Nancy Wilson. When they moved back east and became Too Human, with Ellen on guitar, keyboards, and vocals and Roger on percussion, keyboards, and vocals, their diverse musical influences merged to create a sound that has been described as edgy, blues/jazz influenced contemporary folk. The songs are personal, topical and relevant in the singer/songwriter tradition, ranging from hilarious dog put downs, passionate love songs and self-discovery themes to issue oriented songs about homophobia, battered women and elephant slaughter -- all with gritty, heartfelt vocals, great harmonies and driving rhythms. Ellen's voice combines earthiness with sensuality, innocence, and passion. Roger's unusual percussion style and backing vocals complement her perfectly. As one reviewer has said, "Ellen and Roger sound as if their souls are fully enmeshed in the material ..." In performance they are totally in sync with each other, creating a strong and intimate atmosphere.
They perform regularly in the Northeast (The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., The Bottom Line in New York, The Kendall Cafe in Boston, The Tin Angel in Philadelphia, and Danbury City Center in Danbury, CT, to name a few), and at schools, coffeehouses, clubs, civic concert series and outdoor venues such as Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, 4-H fairs and crafts fairs. They've opened for 10,000 Maniacs, Janis Ian, Martin Sexton, Livingston Taylor, Garnet Rogers, Kenny Rankin, Kim & Reggie Harris, Susan Werner, Jack Williams, Les Sampou, and Dave Mallett, and have shared the stage with David Amram, Mae Robertson and Eric Garrison, Dave's True Story, Bill Parsons, Holly Penfield, Trainwreck, Sloan Wainwright, and Wishing Chair.
They have appeared live as featured artists on WFUV with Meg Griffin, WXPN with Gene Shay, WRPI with Sonny Ochs, WCUW with Richard Fox, WVIA with George Graham, WWUH with Ed McKeon, WRTC with Amy Jeffries, WHUS with John Sloan, and many others.
Their debut CD, From There to Here, was critically acclaimed by Sing Out! Magazine and The Musician's Trade Journal -- described as "An impressive, A+ debut!" and has gotten national and international radio play. They are currently working on a new CD, scheduled for an early spring, 2001 release.
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