Issue date: 2/17/09 Section: News

Justin Golden of the band Ellery prepares his acoustic guitar for Open Mic Night in Java Bakery and Beanery in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union on Monday. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

Since childhood, music has always been part of Tasha Golden's life. Growing up, she knew she would be in a band and make a career out of it.

Her band Ellerly has been touring full-time around the country performing around 150 shows a year, and the band enjoys every minute of it. Ellerly performed at University Board's Open Mic Night at the Java Bakery and Beanery in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Monday night for a crowd of about 40 students.

Four years ago, Tasha Golden and her husband Justin started Ellerly. They have been playing music together for 10 years. Tasha Golden plays the keyboard and sings, while her husband accompanies her with the guitar.

"It's Indie Pop Folk, but we let people call it whatever they would like," Tasha Golden said.

Most of their songs have been inspired by life-changing events that have happened to them or friends they know. Tasha Golden said performing is not about the fame, but connecting with people.

She said the connection with Ellerly's music and its listeners helps one feel less lonely and more human. One of the songs performed at the Open Mic Night was "It's All Right."

Tasha Golden composed the song when she had a lump on her thyroid and thought her music career may be over. Going through the struggle and recovery inspired her to write a song about life in general and how things work out in the end.

Before eight years of marriage, Tasha Golden and her husband were musical partners for numerous years. What brought them together was their passion for music, she said, during a break between songs.

Maintaining a healthy relationship with someone one works with for so many hours can be stressful, she said, but the Goldens have learned to communicate with one another.

Tasha Golden said after being on the road with the same person for so long, it gives them time to talk, forgive quickly and mesh through life.

"It's always good to have on-call good friends to be vulnerable with though," said Tasha Golden. "An outside input is nice."

The Goldens, originally from Cincinatti, Ohio, only get to spend four to five months throughout the year at home. When they are not on tour, Tasha Golden teaches yoga and her husband is a professional engineer. Earlier this month, Charley Jaques, a freshman, saw Ellerly perform at the Christian Campus House.

"The lyrics are really amazing," Jaques said. "Something you can connect to, stories you can relate to."

Valerie Saunders, a freshman, saw Ellerly for her second time. When Saunders came to Open Mic Night, only one thing was on her mind.

"I mainly came to see Ellerly," she said.

Ellerly's next stop on its tour is Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Performing on college campuses makes up only one-third of their tour. They perform the rest at music venues.

Marine Glisovic can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENnewsdesk@eiu.edu.

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