Ellen McKinney

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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