BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – If you have seen live music in the Queen City over the last decade, there’s a good chance you have heard Cotter Ellis keep a beat.
The Massachusetts native moved to Vermont after college a decade ago. He has manned the drums from local original bands like Swimmer or rocking cover bands like Zach Nugent’s Dead Set.
Ellis says he has played with dozens of different bands in Burlington. “Once I established myself, I would just get so many calls from random people that wanted me to play with them,” said Ellis.
his most recent call came from a band on the national stage. Goose, a jam band similar to the Grateful Dead and Phish, has been climbing the ranks of the music scene in recent years. Last year the band started their search for a new drummer. Ellis says that members of the band remembered seeing him play several years ago in Burlington.
“Apparently it stuck with them,” said Ellis.
He is just a monster drummer and he’s just super driven, super motivated, practices a lot. He has the marks of a true musician,’ said Future Fields recording engineer Dan Rome.
Rome says the times he has worked with Ellis have been noteworthy. “You can tell that it’s him because the amount of energy he is hitting the skins with,” said Rome.
But what about the band he’s joining? Rome says Goose is a jam band with mainstream appeal. He applauds the Connecticut-based band for gaining an audience post-COVID and continuing to grow.
Ellis will be joining Goose as they kick off coast to coast tour. And he’ll not only be keeping a beat, but having a voice in the music moving forward.
“My opinions and my flavor and my energy is going to be a part of it, and the original music thing is just the ultimate goal,” said Ellis.
A dream of drumming from Burlington to the big stage.