Portofino's, Scottsdale

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=2 style="border-right: 1px solid #555555;" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="739" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 157 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="46cff950.jpg" border=0 width="255" height="149" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="532"><bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="contents7e.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Table of Contents">The Folk Memories Archive </A></div> <div> Portofino's, Scottsdale</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="912" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 2843 WIDTH="480"><div> DOLAN ELLIS recalls an early gig in his career, and shares his own personal wisdom on following one's own star.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> I was the "house act" at PORTOFINO'S in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a year or two, from 1959 to 1960 or 1961. My time there began while I was still working for TV Channel 10 (KOOL) and I would spend weekend evenings at the tiny coffee house where about 30 patrons could be seated. There were always people waiting to get in, so the owner of Portofino's soon expanded the coffee house, and I quit my TV job to become a full-time musician.</div> <bR> <div> Portofino's was the Shining Star of Scottsdale, an upscale Italian coffee house with beautiful espresso machines. </div> <bR> <div> I opened for the most exciting of folk acts in the business: BUD & TRAVIS, STAN WILSON, JOSH WHITE, ODETTA, BARBARA DANE, KATIE LEE, GATEWAY SINGERS, BOB GIBSON, JOURNEYMEN, and TRAVELERS THREE. When they came out on stage, I would be sitting in the audience with a notepad, jotting down anything that might be useful to me. I was secretly concerned that I was "stealing," but a seasoned theater person assured me that it is okay to take this feature from one performer and that feature from another, and put it together to create an alloy - my own style.</div> <bR> <div> All of the performers were more than generous to me as a young "hopeful," but none more so than TRAVIS EDMONSON, and I believe that even today my performance style still shows his influence.  I was so fascinated by the huapango guitar strum, and he spent hours in his hotel room teaching me. He also coached me on the lyrics for his signature song, Malagueña  Salerosa, and I still sing it to this day. Travis was the wittiest of performers, and I incorporated some of his quips into my own presentations. In fact, some of his wit still surfaces during my shows today, 40 years later.</div> <bR> <div> Stan Wilson was another charismatic performer, so worthy of emulation. One thing I remember specifically about him was that he'd be sitting on a stool, then stand up at the heightened moment of a song and also change his approach on the microphone, thus giving special emphasis to a lyric.  Each time I make that move on stage, I think of Stan and am grateful for his influence on my style and career. </div> <bR> <div> Josh White taught me a lot about singing the blues. He was a sexy guy, a real ladies' man, with his curly white hair.  I remember a lit cigarette stuck between his ear and his hair while he was singing a song.  I was always afraid that he would catch his hair on fire before the song ended, but he never did. Man, was he unique!</div> <bR> <div> I singled out these three as the most influential, but each and every act contributed something to this alloy that has now become Dolan Ellis. </div> <bR> <div> Portofino's didn't last forever-the owner already had an adult theater across the street, and decided to convert his coffee house to an "art theater." Actually, the timing probably could not have been better for me.  I spent the next few years on the road, performing at coffee houses from St. Louis to San Diego and San Francisco, and everywhere in between; in fact my territory was anything west of the Mississippi.  While I was traveling, negotiations, correspondence, and meetings began for forming the NEW CHRISTY MINSTRELS, and I was soon in a whole new arena. </div> <bR> <div> If there is one thing I could pass on to young artists who are just beginning their careers, it would be to say, "Follow your heart., Trust your heart. Your heart knows the answers to your life path better than anyone else on earth.  Listen to your advisors and consider carefully what they have to say. But in the end, it is you who must make these difficult decisions and your heart will tell you the truth. Listen very carefully and your heart will tell you the difference between "what you want to do" and "what you need to do." </div> <bR> <div> Dolan Ellis</div> <div> August 2004</div> <bR> <div> DOLAN ELLIS has been Arizona's Official State Balladeer since 1966, and is currently living in Phoenix.  In the 1990s  he founded the ARIZONA FOLKLORE PRESERVE, an institution dedicated to collecting, making available, and keeping alive  the rich trove of stories and songs which make up the pageant of the state's history and culture.</div> <bR> <div> To learn more about the Arizona Folklore Preserve, check out:</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dolanellis.net/afp" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.dolanellis.net/afp"><U>www.dolanellis.net/afp</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.arizonafolklore.com/" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.arizonafolklore.com/"><U>www.arizonafolklore.com</U></A></div> <bR> <div>  and Visit the Dolan Ellis website sat </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dolanellis.net" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.dolanellis.net"><U>www.dolanellis.net</U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dolanellis.com/" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.dolanellis.com/"><U>www.dolanellis.com</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="421"><div> <A HREF="gatewaycd.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gateway Singers CDs"><IMG SRC="46e5e1e0.jpg" border=0 width="350" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div> <A HREF="links6c.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="General Links"><IMG SRC="46d96190.jpg" border=0 width="150" height="25" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <bR> <div> CONTENTS</div> <bR> <div> Clubs</div> <div> <A HREF="cosmo_alley7a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cosmo Alley">Cosmo Alley</A> by Barbara Dane</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >Terrea Lea on </FONT><A HREF="garret70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Garret">The Garret</A>     </div> <div> Dolan Ellis on <A HREF="dolan_ellis80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Portofinos, Scottsdale">Portofino's</A></div> <div> <A HREF="troubadour79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Troubadour">The Troubadour</A>    by Dian James   </div> <div> <A HREF="cellar_door73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Cellar Door">The Cellar Door</A> by Betty Mann</div> <div> <A HREF="mccaskeyhungryi.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The hungry i">The hungry i</A>  by Pat McCaskey</div> <div> <A HREF="mccabes7d.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="McCabes">McCabe's, Santa Monica</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id133.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Golden Bear">The Golden Bear</A>,  Huntington Beach</div> <div> <A HREF="roosevelt7b.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Appearing in New York">The</A><A HREF="roosevelt7b.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Appearing in New York"> Roosevelt </A> by Betty Mann</div> <div> <A HREF="ash_grove6e.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ash Grove">The Ash Grove</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Don Robertson and The Iopan">the Iopan</A>, Santa Barbara</div> <div> <A HREF="cosmo_alley7a.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cosmo Alley">Cosmo Alley</A> by Don Gold</div> <div> <A HREF="santa_barbara74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Santa Barbara Scene">The Santa Barbara Scene</A></div> <div> <A HREF="ice_house6f.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ice House">Ice House</A>, Pasadena</div> <div> <A HREF="id132.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Nexus">The Nexus, Santa Barbara</A></div> <div> <A HREF="purple6b.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Purple Onion">The Purple Onion, San Francisco</A></div> <div> <A HREF="tony_townsend76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Noctambulist">The Noctambulist, Santa Barbara</A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" >     </FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="iopan75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Starting a Coffee House">Starting Up a Coffee House</A></div> <div> <A HREF="santa_barbara74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Santa Barbara Scene">The Santa Barbara Folk Scene</A>     </div> <bR> <div> People/Groups</div> <div> <A HREF="lou_gottlieb81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lou Gottlieb">Lou Gottlieb</A></div> <div> <A HREF="stan_wilson72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stan Wilson">Stan Wilson</A> by Travis Edmonson</div> <div> <A HREF="holstein6d.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fred Holstein">Fred Holstein</A></div> <div> <A HREF="gateway77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Gateway Singers">Gateway Singers</A></div> <div> Bonnie Dobson on <A HREF="bonnie_dobson82.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writing Morning Dew">Morning Dew</A></div> <div> <A HREF="lenny_arrival71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LENNYS FIRST NIGHT AT THE HUNGRY I">Lenny Bruce</A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" > by Travis Edmonson</FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="danbellack87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dan Bellack Folk Memories">Goldcoast Wanderers and Art, Bart & Fargo</A></div> <bR> <div> .... 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