Ellen McKinney - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, actress/songwriter Ellen McKinney describes her sound as "blues-infused folk-pop". Inspired by her father, a school music teacher and jazz pianist, Ellen started singing as soon as she could speak and studied piano for 12 years. She trained in opera as a coloratura soprano at McGill University in Montreal where she was encouraged by professors to pursue the classical genre. More into denim and guitars than divas and drama, she traded in her gowns, purchased a baby blue Fender Stratocaster and moved to Toronto to pursue acting and songwriting. Her musical mission is to create thought provoking songs that are both as catchy as they are unconventional. At just 5'2" tall, Ellen's fans are often mesmerized by the power of her voacl pipes.
Ellen made her television debut at the age of five singing on an east coast charity telethon. She has since graced the small screen as an actress, host and comedic correspondent on networks including the CBC for her apprearance on "The Blobheads", "Popcultured with Elvira Kurt" and "The 5th Quadrant" on The Comedy Network, and "Fresh and Wild" for the Food Network, UKTV, and BBC Canada. Her singing endeavors have taken her across the US, Canada and Central America. She has been commissioned to compose scores for theatrical productions and a television series.
2006 marks Ellen's return to performing live music after a 2 year hiatus. She jokes that she was born in the wrong era, and wishes she could travel back in time to live it up with greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra and Elvis. For now, she is content living it up with her wheaton terrier Motown, and penning wacky blogs here on MySpace. Her favourite worldy things include vinyl records, vegetarian cookbooks, John Candy, Adam Sandler, Jason Segel, Michael J Fox and Steven Spielberg flicks, vintage cars and Reeses Pieces.
Featured here on MySpace are some Comedy Network videos, including Ellen's interview with Steve Nash, and four songs from her demo. The jazz standard "Ipamema" showcases Ellen's father Robert McKinney on piano. "The Sun Never Sleeps", "Wounded Wings" and "Honey Stained Lips" are Ellen's originals. All tracks were lovingly recorded in the friendly neighbourhood friend-of-a-friend's basement studio. New songs coming soon!
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/01/2006
Band Members: Ellen McKinney: vocals, guitar and piano
Influences:
OLD SCHOOL: Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Burt Bacharach, Joni Mitchell, Oscar Peterson, The Funk Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Elvis, The Stones, and Queen. Ellen believes in a good Jackson 5 fix from time to time.

NEW SCHOOL: Scissor Sisters, Jack Johnson, Jurassic 5, The Killers, The Darkness, Diana Krall, Black Eyed Peas, Ron Sexsmith, Barenaked Ladies, U2, Madonna, Sam Roberts, Matt Dusk and Jamie Cullum.
SKIP SCHOOL: Jazz, Motown, Acoustic Pop, Rock, Life! The sound of a streetcar, breath, laughter... And anything written or produced by John Williams or David Foster. Ellen deems her father, a gifted musican, and her mother, a gifted human, her greatest influences.

Sounds Like:
Blues-Infused Folk-Pop
Steve Nash Interview

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Record Label: none

My Blog

Hail The Helmet!

Wow, its been a long time since I penned a blog here in the virtual world of MySpace. Well, Im back and with a vengeance! What is my vengeance you people ask? Uh, well, I admit there isnt one. I ju...
Posted by on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:13:00 GMT

Stalkers and Hackers and Jerks, Oh My!

I feel a little nauseous. Why? Because it appears as if someone has hacked into my MySpace account. You Jerk! You know who you are. Jerky, jerk, jerk, JERK! Thing is, I'm not really a MySpace junkie ...
Posted by on Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:05:00 GMT

I always wanted to be Jewish...

It's Saturday night and I'm at home. Lame? No. I am laying low by choice. The autumn months have been full of much business and social activity thus I am grateful for this evening of down ti...
Posted by on Sat, 02 Dec 2006 19:12:00 GMT

The Six String Nation Guitar

This summer I fell in love. It was the perfect relationship. A whole lotta giving and no taking. I was in awe, intrigued and fulfilled. It was blissful. Nothing could make me falter&nbs...
Posted by on Sat, 25 Nov 2006 16:47:00 GMT

Beats for Warmer Streets

Ola! (That's Spanish for hello. And no, I don't speak Spanish. That's all I know. Sorry, Julio Iglesias. Julio, I know you're reading this.) *Ahem* What was I supposed to be blogging about? Oh ye...
Posted by on Sun, 19 Nov 2006 19:17:00 GMT

Twister: The World's Most Dangerous Board Game

It was Friday night. Toronto. My place. 30 friends. One vat of beer. Tunes on the record player. Good times. It was the perfect party. Not too loud. And not too quiet. Not too crazy. And not too ...
Posted by on Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:29:00 GMT

I Fell off of the Veggie Wagon

Well folks, 'Operation Vegetarian' is over. Mission: Incomplete. My quest to refrain from eating the flesh of a formerly living being came to an abrupt halt last night. Meatless dining was a three-m...
Posted by on Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:28:00 GMT

The Vegetarian Experiment Continues

Yo peeps! This is a repost of a blog I recently wrote. Somehow a bunch of my blogs got deleted so here ya go again: So... The vegetarian experiement I spoke of in the blog about PETA-promoting Pa...
Posted by on Mon, 17 Jul 2006 19:59:00 GMT

Pamela Anderson has changed my life!

Oh how you challenge me, Pamela Anderson and your perfect physique and passionate PETA videos! Allow me to explain... I used to be a carnivore. I would "Pass Go" without collecting my daily dose of v...
Posted by on Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:05:00 GMT

What's the deal with nightclubs?

What in the name of Beezlebub happened to society? We used to socialize over pints of beer on quaint patios or throw dinner parties for friends at home. Now? We bump and grind strangers in h...
Posted by on Sun, 21 May 2006 11:41:00 GMT