Ellis Frank is headed for Vancouver today, to be sworn in as a dues-paying member of the Vancouver Musicians’ Union. His name will be added to a membership of 1,900 musicians, a list that includes everyone from Colin James and 54-40 to Barney Bentall.
The surprising part? The Highlands resident is just 10 years old, which makes him arguably the youngest player in the local, if not the only card-carrying member in the country who has yet to make it through middle school.
“It’s unusual,” said Sharman King, the union’s vice-president. “I can’t think of anyone ever that young applying to get in.”
Frank was born surrounded by music; his father, Tobin Frank, is the acclaimed bassist for Spirit of the West, one of Vancouver’s most popular and longest-running groups. But that doesn’t mean his future was foretold. For the most part, Ellis’s penchant for the ukulele — his chosen instrument — is self-directed, Tobin said. “He’s got the musical spirit, that’s for sure. He’s got the passion. And he loves it.”
The push to see Ellis registered with the Vancouver union, one of more than 300 local unions throughout the U.S. and Canada belonging to the American Federation of Musicians, is due in part to the work of Spirit of the West’s drummer, Vince Ditrich. The Nanoose-based Ditrich will happily be with the Frank family today as Ellis gets his union card, even though he is awaiting a kidney transplant.
Ditrich said he wouldn’t miss the ceremony for the world.
“I’m going to give him my first drum kit, which my dad gave me for my fifth birthday in 1968. It’s very symbolic because it means a great deal to me. But he’s my little [apprentice].”
Having grown up with musicians means that Ellis is comfortable on stage. He has been known to jam with various members of the Juno Award-nominated Spirit of the West, Ditrich said.
“He’s confident, and he’s hilarious, and he’s full of brilliant malarkey,” Ditrich said. “He’s born to be an entertainer. And he’s going to be a great performer.”
Joining the union is an important first step for a young musician, as it enables the member to acquire with ease work permits for international travel, among other benefits. The entrance requirements are not onerous: Just sign up and pay your dues. Ellis won’t be going on tour any time soon, but he has been putting together a solid résumé of accomplishments in recent months.
Earlier this year, during the taping of a nationally televised CBC documentary about Spirit of the West and its singer, John Mann, he recorded a concert cameo on the hit If Venice Is Sinking. Soon after, he took the opportunity to record with Metchosin blues belter Jesse Roper, one of the brightest stars on Vancouver Island. Roper said he had such a blast recording as a duo in the family’s home studio, he extended an offer for Ellis to join him on stage July 4 for his concert in the parking lot of Cascadia Liquor in Colwood.
Everything went as planned, Roper said. The audience of a few hundred people erupted when the floor was given to Ellis for a few bars of ukulele on the hit, Hurricane’s Eye.
“People started screaming,” Roper said. “You could see he was trying to maintain his composure. But there was a little smile creeping on his face.”
Ellis would be happy if he made a career out of music. He knows from watching his dad how hard it can be to play music for a living, but he’s prepared to put in the time, just as the players from his favourite band, the Beatles, did during their youth.
“At first, I wasn’t really that good at ukulele,” Ellis said. “Two or three years ago, I started getting better at it, because I practised a lot.”
To watch a video of Jesse Roper and Ellis Frank playing together on Hurricane’s Eye, visit timescolonist.com/entertainment.
