Bass
Primarily a bass player, Justin has been playing and performing for over 20 years in over 20 different original indie-rock bands that have played all over North America and Europe.
Justin’s main bass projects are currently SLOW TEETH - a dark post-rock trio from Carrboro that blends electronic and organic influences into a power trio format and Atlanta shoegaze group EASTER ISLAND. You can also catch Justin impersonate Paul McCartney in ONE AFTER 919 (a local Beatles tribute act) and Rick Danko in CRAZY CHESTER, an all-star regional tribute to The Band that performs most of The Last Waltz on Black Friday, annually at the Cat’s Cradle, complete with horns and guests. Justin also plays with THE MOTHMEN, a local psych/ blues/ classic rock cover band and for local prog-folk songwriter RAFAEL GREEN.
Justin primarily plays Fender Jazz and PJ Mustang basses and uses effects pedals from Fender, Gamechanger Audio, Boss, Electro-Harmonix, Earthquaker Devices, and TC Electronic. He also uses Fender and H&H bass amps. Other instruments Justin plays include a Palatino VE-500 Electric Upright Bass, an 80’s Yamaha Fretless Precision Bass, a Douglas Violin Bass, and his father’s 1976 Gibson Ripper. His favorite players are John Entwistle, Roger Waters, Robert Sledge, Colin Greenwood, Ira Wof Tutton, Rick Danko, and of course Paul McCartney.
Slow Teeth
SLOW TEETH formed and started writing songs in Saxapahaw, North Carolina in the summer of 2021, initially as an opportunity for Robert Chamberlain (drums, synthesizers), Justin Ellis (bass, vocals, keyboards), and Jeremy Haire (guitar, vocals) to start playing music with others following the pandemic lockdown while previous respective projects were on indefinite hiatus. As the band's chemistry and highly collaborative identity coalesced, they began playing live in March 2022, tweaking and adapting their improvised post-rock compositions into finished songs and performing them in nearly every corner of North America. They released their debut record “I” in March 2025.
Self-recorded and mixed in an old house that predates the Declaration of Independence, “I” is a great introduction to Slow Teeth’s sound - cinematic and dynamic music made by three sets of hands and feet transfigured into a symphony of sound, with deeply introspective lyrics about familial relationships, disillusionment with our crumbling institutions, and the relentless passage of time in a world seemingly upside down. It’s not all bleak - other songs lean heavily into the band’s extensive and varied musical influences (Radiohead/The Smile, Pink Floyd, Sigur Rós, to name a few) and favorite sci-fi novels and films (The Lord Of The Rings, Dune, The Green Knight), searching for a spark to light the way forward. Slow Teeth is at its core three people making music they wish existed, using the catharsis of live performance as the engine for creating songs and soundscapes whose reach exceeds their grasp.
Slow Teeth has supported such acts as Explosions In The Sky, Xiu Xiu, A Place To Bury Strangers, Holy Fawn, hubris., and more. Notable venues played include The Cat's Cradle (Carrboro NC), The Haw River Ballroom (Saxapahaw, NC), The Ritz (Raleigh NC), Motorco Music Hall (Durham NC), The Paramount Theatre (Goldsboro, NC), Berlin Under A (New York City), Gold-Diggers (Los Angeles), The Pearl (Vancouver BC), Pie Shop (Washington DC), The Drunken Unicorn (Atlanta), Skylark Lounge (Denver), Shrine Social Club (Boise), The Basement (Nashville), Turn! Turn! Turn! (Portland OR), Red Dwarf (Las Vegas), and Bad Bar (Seattle). The band has also appeared at multiple festivals, including Treefort Music Fest 2026 (Boise ID), Bull City Summit 2023, Sleepy Fest 2025, the 2022 North Carolina State Fair, the 2023 Festival For The Eno, and the 2022-2025 editions of the Carrboro Music Festival - all in their home state of North Carolina.
Outside of their original compositions and visceral live shows, Slow Teeth has organized and presented various one-off community events, including a block party (The Kraken, 2022), Hopscotch Music Festival Day Parties (Longleaf Hotel, Raleigh, 2023 & 2024), live, improvised scores to silent films (“Metropolis” in March 2023 & "Fall Of The House of Usher" on Halloween 2024) and full-album performances to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the landmark Pink Floyd records ‘Dark Side Of The Moon” (Cat’s Cradle, 2023) and “Wish You Were Here” (Motorco Music Hall, 2025) - complete with guest musicians and interactive visuals.
Easter Island
Though Easter Island formed in 2010, Justin didn’t join until 2018, happening to be visiting friends in Atlanta the same weekend the band had a show there. A sudden lineup change required a sub, and Justin was friends with the band from touring through NC years before. Two months later he was in a van with the band en route to SXSW.
Easter Island has since toured all over the United States as a headlining and support act and have appeared at such notable festivals as SXSW 2018, Treefort Music Festival 2018 in Boise, the Underground Music Showcase 2019 in Denver, Athfest 2018 in Athens, GA, Hopscotch Music Festival 2019 in Raleigh, and Secret Stages Festival 2019 in Birmingham, AL. Easter Island have also appeared as themselves on an episode of the CW drama “Dynasty” in early 2019. The band has also shared stages with Cindy Wilson of the B-52’s, Bully, Valley Maker, David Bazan of Pedro The Lion, White Rabbits, Wild Nothing, The Low Anthem, and many more.
The band most recently finished a successful Kickstarter campaign to independently release their second record, “Take All The Time You Think You Need” - which came out in December 2020. The band made unique videos featuring different band members in their respective cities for different songs on the album - Justin is featured in the band’s video for their single “Great Big World”. The band toured the Northeast with Slow Teeth in 2023 and will release their new EP “Corporate Boi” in 2026.
Crazy Chester & One After 919
Formed in early 2020 for a series of one-off events in the piedmont region of North Carolina, Crazy Chester is a homegrown tribute act to The Band, consisting of Justin and fellow musicians Jones Bell , Charles Cleaver , Rob DiMauro , and Rafael Green respectively recreating and playing the parts of Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, and Robbie Robertson.
For the sixth year in a row, Crazy Chester will be performing most of The Band's legendary farewell performance from Thanksgiving Day 1976, immortalized in the 1978 Martin Scorsese film "The Last Waltz" - complete with additional musicians and special local guests to play the songs originally performed in the film by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and many more. The show always happens the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. But this time - they're taking the show on the road to celebrate 50 Years of The Last Waltz. A show that must be seen to be believed. Check out these stops under the “Upcoming Shows” tab.
In 2025, Justin, Rob, Rafael and guitarist Geoff Thomas made a spin-off tribute act to The Beatles called One After 919, respectively playing and singing the parts of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison. The band is actively booking and has performed or will perform in Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Raleigh, Durham, Carrboro, and Cary.
Other Bass Projects Past & Present
The Mothmen / Rafael Green / Happy Abandon / Flash Car / The Color Exchange / Clockwork Kids/ The Screaming Crayons/ Damn Sam/ Juniper Lights / Rodes Baby / Porch On Fire/ Araleigh/ etc.