Although he lives in Charlottesville, Va., us Mainers can always claim singer-songwriter Ellis Paul as one of our own.

Originally from Fort Kent, Paul became part of the fabled Boston folk scene in the ’90s, and since then has risen to national fame with more than 15 albums.

Additional Photos

Ellis Paul says the subjects of the songs on his new family album, “The Hero in You,” were chosen from a list of his own heroes, as well as people suggested by his wife and his fans. Courtesy photo

Along the way, he’s collected no fewer than 14 Boston Music Awards and forged a relationship with filmmakers the Farrelly Brothers, who have used his music in “Me, Myself & Irene,” “Shallow Hal” and, most recently, “Hall Pass,” which featured nine of Paul’s songs.

His latest project is the song “We All Belong” (available on iTunes), on which he’s backed by Sugarland. It’s being used in the documentary “LIFE Before Death,” which is part of the Global Access to Pain Relief’s initiative to bring pain relief medications to underprivileged areas of the world.

GO asked Paul about all of this stuff, and threw in a few more questions.

How does it feel to be still going strong 21 years into your career?

There’s a certain amount of luck and pride that I’m still going at it and still invested in it and loving it, and that people are still coming out. I feel very fortunate and really happy.

With regard to the song “We All Belong,” how did you get involved with Global Access?

They hired me. They’re creating a doc film to promote global awareness for health care for people who are passing on. They asked me to write a song for it that was about pain and suffering, and also that would get people to feel motivated to contribute. I’m pretty proud of it.

“The Hero in You” is your new family album. How did you choose which heroes you wanted to write songs about?

I had my favorites and my wife had suggestions, and we put it out on the fan list, and we had over 100 heroes listed overall. If this is a success, I’ll do sequels. I still haven’t done MLK or Mark Twain.

Who was Augustus Jackson?

Jackson was a freed slave, and was a White House cook during the Madison administration. He was also an ice cream pioneer — the king of ice cream — and one of the first black business owners.

How did you hook up with the Farrelly Brothers?

Peter Farrelly and my manager Ralph (Jaccodine) were drinking buddies in the late ’80s and early ’90s. When Ralph started managing me, he just kept sending my stuff to them, and they started incorporating my music into their movies. I like their movies a lot; they’re raunchy comedies with soft spots, and the songs provide those soft spots.

Your last album, “The Day After Everything Changed,” was fan-funded and self-released. At this point, would you say this is the norm?

It might be the norm for me. For me to give up control and the financial side of it, a label would have to put up a lot of money to make it worth my while. My fanbase grows every year, but I feel like I get to put out the record I want. There’s no deadlines and I get to make all the decisions, and I get to do it exactly the way I want. I could continue to do this for the rest of my career. We raised a hundred grand, which is an amazing amount of money.

What can we expect to hear at your New Year’s Day show (at One Longfellow Square)?

It will be a mix of old and new material with lots of harmonies and cover songs.

Staff Writer Aimsel Ponti can be contacted at 791-6455 or at:

aponti@pressherald.com

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