Goose Drummer Cotter Ellis Reveals Sign From Universe Received Ahead Of Summer Tour

Drummer Cotter Ellis joined Goose earlier this year began his first tour behind the kit with the band on Tuesday night in St. Louis. The Vermont-based musician recently spoke with Westword about his time in Goose and shared the story of an experience that put him at ease ahead of the band’s summer tour.

Cotter Ellis had assembled with his bandmates in New York City for a flight to St. Louis. “Who was sitting across from me on the plane, the aisle over? Jon Fishman,” Ellis told Westword of spotting the Phish drummer. “Like, I can’t make this shit up, dude. … I had some nerves, obviously, going into this tour. It’s going to take me some shows to [get used to] playing in front of this many people and being able to relax and be myself. But when I saw Jon on the plane next to me, I was like, ‘Man, this is too wild.’ It’s like the universe is patting me on the back and telling me it’s all going to be okay.”

Ellis is an unabashed Phish fan who first saw the band back in 2009 at Fenway Park in Boston. Seeing Fish on the flight to St. Louis was par for the course in a wild four months for the drummer. “I gotta say, this whole experience has been one of those ‘what the fuck is going on in the universe’ situations,” the Bedford, Massachusetts native added to Westword.

Goose announced Cotter Ellis as their new drummer back in February. Ellis replaced founding drummer Ben Atkind who parted ways with the band late last year.

Cotter Ellis’ first show as Goose’s drummer came on April 7 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. The Connecticut-based jam quintet played four consecutive shows at the historic venue. “[I]t was the most heartwarming experience in my entire life,” Ellis recalled of The Cap shows. “People were beyond kind.”

Goose continued their summer tour last night with their second of two concerts in St. Louis. The band will perform at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre near Denver this weekend. Free livestreams of Goose’s summer shows are available for nugs.net subscribers.

Head to Westword to read the full interview with Cotter Ellis. Scroll below for a complete list of Goose tour dates and ticketing info.