Goose Selects Cotter Ellis As New Drummer

Goose tapped Vermont-based musician Cotter Ellis as their new drummer. Ellis’ work with the band can be heard on Ted Tapes 2024, a compilation due out tomorrow (Tuesday, February 6) as well as on a video from his last audition.

Cotter Ellis steps into the seat held by founding Goose drummer Ben Atkind from 2014 through 2023. Atkind's departure was announced jointly by the band and drummer on December 22, 2023. Ellis is a graduate of Plymouth State University who was a member of Burlington-based band Swimmer. The drummer has performed with Zach Nugent’s Dead Set, Marcus Rezak, Hayley Jane and numerous other musicians and projects.

Goose had been previewing Ted Tapes 2024 with a series of cryptic audio snippets. Now, the band has confirmed the clips come from Ted Tapes 2024 and are indeed sourced from sessions held with the new drummer. Read a statement from Goose introducing fans to Cotter Ellis below:

We are stoked to introduce our new drummer, Cotter Ellis! We first saw Cotter play over five years ago and were immediately struck by his deep sense of pocket and feel. Ted Tapes 2024, coming tomorrow, is just a glimpse of the music we’ve experienced together so far.

Each of the nine tracks on Ted Tapes 2024 are different improvisational moments from early sessions with Cotter. They were recorded solely for the purpose of reference, not intended for any kind of release. The instruments and microphones were rigged up quickly, and the playing was raw and free from any expectations. The first track, Leo, is the opening pick up jam from the first session, the first notes ever played together. There were some consistent threads we all felt in the room throughout these early sessions; ease of communication, freely flowing ideas, and a feeling of effortlessness moving through different zones. We experienced a patience that allowed all our personalities to come out and energy to well up in new ways.

The video we’re sharing today is from the last session with Cotter before we asked him to join the band. We wanted him to meet our team and get a sense of what playing together on stage was like. We couldn’t be more stoked for what’s to come, stay tuned for more announcements tomorrow.

Watch Cotter Ellis’ 30-minute audition video below:

As Goose noted, stay tuned for additional announcements tomorrow. Currently, festival appearances at Summer Camp’s new Solshine Reverie and Northlands are the lone dates on the books.