WANT TO GO? Jeff Ellis WHEN: 10:30 p.m. today WHERE: The Empty Glass TICKETS: $6 INFO: jeff.ellis

Watch a video of Jeff Ellis g ONLINE wvgazette.com

Jeff Ellis spent his first day back home seeing his family, dealing with death - his grandmother died while his plane from Iraq was in the air - and singing karaoke at the American Legion Hall in Barboursville.

"The guy who runs karaoke at the Legion used to run it at Stats in Barboursville," Ellis explained. "My girlfriend and I were at Stats and he called me there, told me to bring everybody over to the American Legion. He'd already signed me up to sing."

Ellis was signed up to sing Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory," the theme from the '80s film "Young Guns II," about the life and death of Billy the Kid - a kind of ominous-sounding choice for a soldier on leave from the war.

The 29-year-old singer/songwriter is serving in Iraq, where he's taking inventory of military equipment during the drawdown while periodically dodging mortar shells and rocket attacks. He also has a new album out on NewSong Recordings, "The Forgetting Place."

Ellis originally intended to release the record last fall, but he was swept up again into the war. But for the next couple of weeks, Ellis is promoting the record at area clubs, including tonight at The Empty Glass.

With only a two-week leave, it might seem strange that Ellis is spending his precious time away from the war playing his guitar. Serving your country overseas might be an adventure, Ellis said, but it's mostly a job. Performing really isn't the same thing.

"It's not really work," Ellis explained. "I love to do it. It's just good to get out there and reconnect with everybody. It's kind of like a paid vacation."

This is Ellis' second tour of duty. A reservist, he was called up in 2005 and spent 18 months in Kuwait and Iraq. His time overseas provided amazing material for his acclaimed second album, "Front Seat at the End of the World." The local buzz generated by the songs even helped land Ellis a guest spot on "Mountain Stage," but Ellis never expected to have to go back to Iraq.

"They got me with greed," Ellis said, laughing.

At the end of his service in the Reserve, a recruiter told him about a lump-sum retention bonus offer worth thousands. Ellis was in school, working on his music career and developing a new album. The money sounded good and it seemed unlikely he'd be called back up.

Ellis said he was sitting in his kitchen, recording music demos, when he got the phone call informing him his unit had been activated and was going to Iraq.

His response at the time is unprintable.

A lot has changed since his first time over. Five years ago, Ellis and his unit were assigned guard duties in Qatar and Iraq. It was often monotonous work, but relatively safe compared to the combat units that went out on patrol.

Now Ellis and his unit are part of efforts to expedite the drawdown, with American forces withdrawing from Iraq and gradually handing over security to the Iraqis. While soldiers are leaving, there is a lot of equipment and supplies at bases all over the country to account for so it can be sent back to the States or forwarded to Afghanistan.

A month into the deployment, Ellis and his uni
Other articles:
http://www.blogspotpro.com/blog.php?user=qwertyuiopr¬e=85631
http://mywatches.website.tc/2010/07/01/woods-mission/


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