cab Ellis: The band you have to experience

Cab Ellis is an underground rock band originally from Los Angeles that has become a driving force in the New York rock scene since their 2021 move. The band consists of Connor Abeles (Lead Vocals), Chris Cotton (Drums), Devlin Tenney (Electric Guitar), Olin Clark (Electric Guitar), Josh Uguccioni (Bass), Greg Carleton (Saxophone), and Gabe Fraivillig (Trombone). Abeles said, “Cab Ellis in and of itself is a hard thing to describe,” and I couldn’t agree more. Their music is a feeling; it's cinematic, even, and their live shows are chaotic releases of energy that no other band can replicate. There is no one way to describe Cab Ellis; they are the kind of band that you have to fully immerse yourself in to find your own words. 

About a month ago, I had the privilege of interviewing frontman Abeles to discuss the band's upbringing and dive into his creative outlook on life, the band, and the music. These ten brief minutes of conversation with Abeles brought me so much inspiration, and I hope it can do the same for you.

Abeles: I'm Connor, I’m 30 years old. I'm from Hagerstown, Maryland, and I'm the frontman in Cab Ellis.

Bole: Cab Ellis was formed in Los Angeles. What made you want to move to California? And how did you meet the founding members?

Abeles: I initially moved there for school. Initially, I wanted to do acting. But I realized pretty soon after I did not want to do that. And I had just started to want a band, and I just met this kid, Matt Richards. He's a saxophone player. He went to USC and I was like, can you help me make a band? And he was like, yeah, I got you.

Bole: What was the creative process like fusing your musical background,I know you had more

of a rap background, and everyone else was, like, more jazz? What was it like fusing that together into the unique genre of rock you guys have created?

Abeles: I mean, I feel like in a lot of ways I was influenced by everybody I've ever played with because I really did not have a musical background at all. You know, so it was a lot of, like me asking them, like, what do you think? Like, let's just try some shit. And then they would do something and I'd be like, do that. And then let's add this. And you know, so a lot of it was just me learning. You know, I learned a lot. And I try to absorb a lot still to this day. And I try to put myself around people that I admire. 

And initially just being around those guys where it was like, they have so much more, you know, such a bigger wingspan musically than I ever had. It was just like a privilege to be around them, you know, because I felt likeI was just soaking it up. So I think something natural just came out of that. It wasn't us, like actively trying to be like, hey, let's make this part of the song this. And, you know, it was just like it happened because we were all open to something happening.

Bole: You released two albums while living in LA, Nighttime OCD and the East Coast Hold On. Was there a specific time during this process of creating that you knew New York City, was the next place for you?

Abeles: It was more of like, I knew LA was not the place for me. You know? Yeah, I kind of always tell this story,but we were going up to Seattle to record the East Coast Hold On. It had been Covid. I was living with Matt and his girlfriend in like, a small apartment for like, all of fucking Covid. It was just trapped. It was isolating. I hated LA to begin with. I mean, no shade, but I just felt like it wasn't for me. And and I remember, I remember when I was, like, moving out of the apartment, like, I put everything out on the street, and I was in, like, my empty apartment, and I just, like, put my key down on the counter and started, like, fucking clapping and, like, doing all this, like, animalistic shit. No, I was just in there, and I felt something like coming out, and I was like, I'm. I'm fucking making the right decision. And I remember just actually leaving in my car, and. Yeah, I knew. I just knew that wasn't a place for me. And I think that fueled the music and still fuels it kind of to this day.

Bole: Since being here in New York, you released one album, Cab Ellis. What inspired you guys to self-titled your third album?

Abeles: I think it was the most like, the hardest album to finish. It was the most like mad scientist fucking album we've released, and that a lot of it came from like, me in my room fucking working on these loops and, you know, digging at this, like, same fucking idea. And I think there was nothing that was revealed to me aside from, like, this is everything that is coming out of me. Yeah. So it felt right to name it Cab Ellis. Just because I think Cab Ellis in and of itself is a hard thing to describe. And I was having a really fucking hard time with all of that, making it, deciding what it was. Naming it fucking everything. So I think that kind of coincided with what we are as a band and what we're trying to do.

Bole: It's definitely my favorite album of all of them so far.

Abeles: Yeah, tell that to everybody else.

Bole: There's something incredibly electrifying about your guys's live shows that has blown up in the underground rock scene here in New York. What goes on to your guys's heads while being up on stage, especially at your recent sold out show at Bowery?

Abeles: I think nothing, and I think that's the greatest part about it, is everything's going through your head all other times in your life, you know? There's just no limits in that freedom. I think we all feel it the second we step out on stage. And it's like you're walking in your world and you're trying to bring other people into your world, where every other moment of your life, it feels like you're living in somebody else's world, or you're doing something for something else or somebody else, you know,that's the one time where you just get to fucking switch it off. And that's when I feel the most myself. 

Bole: We are currently outside the venue [Arlene’s Grocery] you guys began your New York City journey at. How do you think you've grown as a band since playing this venue for the first time?

Abeles: I just think when we played here for the first time, we didn't really know what it was going to be. I think the idea was there, and the passion was there and the vision was there, but...Yeah, it was a beautiful time and I was thinking about it recently. You know, was the first time, I used to play piano at our shows, and it was the first time I didn't do that. It was the first time I was like, up on stage fully, just microphone, not playing shit. And I think there was this awkwardness to it with all of us that was really beautiful of like trying to trying to form something still, you know, it wasn't fully formed. It was just a vision, just a dream for it. And we were still being influenced by the sounds in that moment. So yeah, it was. I think it was a special show. It was really awkward and I loved that because when I looked back, I'm like, man, you see it, you see where we're trying to go. But it's like, it takes time. Yeah. So yeah, yeah, it's all a part of it. It all just adds, you know, and you hope every show is just a step on the staircase of wherever the fuck you're trying to go next, you know?

Bole: As you continue to prosper in the underground rock scene. What are your overall, well not overall because goals are always changing, but what are your aspirations as a band? What do you want Cab Ellis to accomplish?

Abeles: I just want people to know our music. I want to fucking...I love New York, I love playing here. I will always play here, but I want bigger shows. I want to play in front of more people. That's it. I think we just want to play and we want to keep making music. You know, it's simple. I like that about the band because I think we are underdogs and I think people don't know what to call us and they don't know what we are. And that's the draw, I think, to our live shows, is people say it's crazy, come watch it. Otherwise you won't get it, you know? But then that's the thing we're always fighting is like, people don't get it unless they come to a show. So it's like trying to bring them out to a show or just make the shows fucking big.

Bole: Lastly, what do you do to stay creatively inspired?

Abeles: Try to just live. To be honest, I used to. I mean, I still do it. I try to feed creativity with creativity and it becomes, it's like snake eating its tail. It's like fucking...I can't think of what to write. So I'll go draw on. My drawing sucks. I'll go play guitar. Fuck that. I can't, you know, so I'll go. And it's just this. So now I'm like, I'm just. Whenever that happens, I try to just live and draw in shit from the real world, because I don't think anything matches that, you know? And I don't think anything can give you more to talk about than a real life, real world like experience, you know?

Bole: Do you have any advice to anyone who's wanting to start music? Getting into the space, New York, anything?

Abeles: Absolutely not. No. Do what the fuck you want to do. Don't let anybody tell you what the fuck you should do. Fuck That.

Cab Ellis will be releasing a live album titled Cab Ellis Live, recorded in June 2025 over three nights, on July 31st 2026. If you haven’t yet dived into the Cab Ellis experience, this live album will be the perfect place to start. 

Interview and Video done by Alyssa Bole