Dave Ellis enjoying life in his solo, duo efforts

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By Stephanie De Pasquale | Wednesday, April 2, 2008 5:00 PM CDT | () comments

Dave Ellis plays at the Bierstube in the Village of East Davenport on Wednesdays. Ellis, who is half of The Fry Daddies, has been entertaining for more than three decades. (Elisa Petersen/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

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Kyle and Ron Dollins of Bettendorf try to get out and hear Dave Ellis play at the Bierstube in the Village of East Davenport as often as possible.

And it’s not just the classic rock covers and Kyle’s favorite dish, the Hawaiian chicken salad, that keep them coming back. It’s the memories.

The couple met Aug. 31, 2000, while Ellis was playing with The Fry Daddies at Stubbs Eddy, which is now Fumbles Sports Bar in Bettendorf.

When they were married about a year later, on Aug. 10, 2001, The Fry Daddies played at their wedding.

“We see him all the time,” Ron said. “It brings back memories. Once in a while he might play a song that hits a note.”

Ellis, who remembers Kyle and Ron by their first names — like hundreds of other folks he’s met while playing in the Quad-Cities for more than 15 years — said meeting people such as the Dollinses is one of the more interesting parts of playing solo and with his partner, Dave Stanbro, as The Fry Daddies.

“I really have met some great people,” Ellis said. “We’ve played a lot of wedding receptions for folks that we’ve met at various places playing around town. And some have made some very great, lasting friendships.”

The duo played every date together until 2001, when Stanbro decided to stay home during the week and spend more time with his teenage son.

The Fry Daddies still play together almost every weekend at corporate events, private parties and bars. But Ellis inherited the weekday shows as a solo act, booking 200 events a year.

“It’s crazy, I guess,” he said. “I don’t know whether it’s a good idea to play that much, but I love it.”

Ellis plays everything from classic rock covers to bluegrass to Jimmy Buffett and Steely Dan.

“I’m not a stuck-up musician who won’t try to do a little bit of everything because I like everything,” he said. “That’s the way I was brought up. My parents were very eclectic in the music they listened to.”

When he plays with Stanbro, the duo has a few original songs with titles too risqué to print and that are played only after 10:30 p.m.

“A lot of the songs, they just evolved over the years, just through playing together so long,” Ellis said. “It starts out as a small joke one night, you try it another night and then, after 15 years, it’s a song.”

Ellis has more fun on nights when the crowd is interactive, so he works hard to keep the bar audiences engaged.

“Even if they don’t want to have fun, I tell them to lower their standards a little bit,” he added.

But as a man of few jokes, the regulars who hear him play have heard it all before, especially his trademark phrase for whenever someone leaves the bar: “Well, I’m glad they’re gone. They were creeping me out.”

“A lot of times, the whole bar will just yell that,” Ellis said. “As soon as somebody leaves, if I have some regulars that are used to me, they’ll just yell, ‘Well, I’m glad they’re gone. They were creeping me out.’ ”

Ellis just hopes the crowd doesn’t take him too seriously and has a good time.

“I get to meet people from all walks of life,” he said. “The common factor here is the music and the fun, and everybody likes music and fun.

“So it doesn’t matter if you’re the head of maintenance at John Deere or the president of the Illinois Rental Association. People just tend to like the atmosphere. The music just kind of brings people together.”

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 383-2693 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com.