Unparalleled with Ike Ellis

Ike Ellis is an award winning percussionist hailing from Atlanta with over 20 years experience under his belt. He has studied percussion at The Fort Valley State University, Benedict College, and Berklee College of Music. Ellis served as the third ever primary percussionist of the hit theatrical production Drum line Live. In 2014, Ellis was on the writing team for the fictional Atlanta A&T University in the Vh1 movie "Drum line 2: A new beat" and the hit BET series "The Quad" for the fictional Georgia A&M university. He is currently the Director of Percussion & Assistant Band Director at Jarvis Christian College, while also writing for Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina and The Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. Ellis is also a proud member of the prestigious Mu Phi Sigma National Percussion Fraternity Incorporated. Columbus drum academy is proud to call Isaiah "Ike" Ellis their Director. With a resume as impressive and full as his, we managed to snatch a few moments of his time so you, the Kween's Keepers Family, can get to know him better.

KK: Who would you give credit to for starting you in your field?

IE: I would give credit to Eustace Arnold for putting the first pair of sticks in my hands, and showing me how to properly play. Under his direction, I got a chance to play on my first drum line in middle school, and that's when I realized I loved playing and wanted to keep doing it as a profession.

KK: Who are some of your influences and how have they impacted you?

IE: My influences are: James Riles, who influenced me by helping me understand what I played and how to do it better while I was marching under his direction at C.R.E.A.M percussion before he departed and founded The Atlanta Drum Academy. Another influence of mine is Jesse Dixon, who helped me develop a firm knowledge in music theory as well as the music industry.

KK: For someone who is unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your writing style?

IE: I would describe my writing style as simplistic yet very aggressive. I write for the untrained ear or non-musicians to give them an experience that visually-impaired people can enjoy, and insert visual aspects to which people with hearing loss can enjoy.

KK: Where do you gain motivation to do all the things you do?

IE: It started out as being something fun to do, and then it became therapeutic. Later on down the road, I became fascinated with how to make unique sounds dealing with music and how to develop techniques to make playing easier for instrumentalist at the novice level to become more proficient at a faster pace then usual.

KK: If you could collaborate/duet with anyone, who would it be and why?

IE: I would want to do a collaboration with Robert Glasper, he has an unorthodox approach to music and that makes him unique and stand out because of that. I feel like we could develop a crazy idea in music and it would be a hit.

KK: What motivates you to keep pushing when you feel like giving up?

IE: Well, I actually gave up before. Everything slowed down with music, I lost motivation, and things were not going right. I would still practice on occasion just to stay sharp, but I decided to pursue football and actually made it to the professional level in Europe. I was preparing to participate in the NFL Combine but I tore my ACL right before I returned to the United States. When I got back to my neighborhood, I saw that kids had absolutely nothing to do but to get in trouble. This caused me to start Columbus Drum Academy and the kids became my motivation and my passion for music returned with it.

KK: What are your opinions on Collegiate Percussion sections?

IE: I feel that CPS are slowly becoming too similar. No one is trying to push the envelope in originality, performance, and difficulty for that level of playing. There should be a difference when you compare a high school to a college. I plan on changing that this year at Jarvis Christian College.

KK: What are your main aspirations moving forward?

IE: I want to cause a commotion in the drum world with Jarvis Christian College by having a breakout year and starting new trends. While providing opportunities for my students that will land them into dream situations to do what they love for a living.

We want to say Kudos & Standing O's to Mr. Ellis for not only taking the time to sit with us but for what he is doing in the community. We wish you nothing but success on your future endeavors. He can be found on facebook at Crow Ike and on instagram at Crow.