By Alex Serratelli ’12, Staff Writer

“We’re doing this outside,” he announces as he walks out the doors of the senior corridor. “If we’re doing an interview, it’s going to be outside.”

It’s hard to keep up with Henry Ellis’s energy when watching him perform in the auditorium, let alone while interviewing him.  As a senior, Henry is one of Newark Academy’s most talented musicians. He has demonstrated his passion for the drums at various NA events including the yearly instrumental concert with Chameleon and the Jazz Band, as well as at the Coffee House with a band of mostly fellow NA classmates, Shotgun Wedding.

Alex Serratelli: So, why did you start playing the drums?

Henry Ellis: Along with many other drummers, I started out taking my mom’s pots and pans and banging on them to get my energy out. After many months of informal playing, my parents bought me a drum set.  I started playing actual drums when I was six years old, so my first set was huge on me. I could barely reach the cymbals! I remember the set arrived on a huge truck that I looked at with amazement as the workers carried it piece by piece into the house.

Serratelli: Did you start out taking lessons?

Ellis: Yeah, I have been taking lessons as long as I have been playing. I also practice for about an hour each day to brush up on what I learn with an instructor. When I first started playing, my set was above the kitchen and my parents heard everything.

Serratelli: Do you perform live often? Do you get nervous playing in front of people?

Ellis: I have played around twenty times live, ranging from at NJPAC with the New Jersey All-State Jazz Band, to a show I’m doing in Atlantic City soon. My first performance was in front of my third grade class with my huge kit. I blew everyone’s ears off! Even then I didn’t really get nervous.

Serratelli: Will you continue to play music in college? Are you considering becoming a professional musician?

Ellis: I am going to play for the rest of my life, because there is still so much to learn. It’s really intellectual.  Listening is a process, so new skills constantly need refining. I have considered becoming a professional musician, and I’m open to it, but I’m not going to disclose anything right now.

Serratelli: Do you play anything in addition to Jazz?

Ellis: Of course! I play just about everything: Rock and Roll, Hip-Hop, Gospel, anything really. I try to branch out so I can be a well-balanced percussionist.  A global percussionist.

Serratelli: What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting to play drums?

Ellis: Don’t try unless you are going to be disciplined and work hard. Seriously, you should do something else if you think it won’t take a lot of work. You can be naturally talented—but only up to a point. Personally, I don’t like it when people come up to me and say, “Oh you are naturally talented at the drums.” It doesn’t work like that. You have to practice often to master the different skills associated with the instrument. You can’t just sit down and play. I worked for hours and hours to get good.

Serratelli: When you rehearse with your band, do you fight often?

Ellis: Never.

Serratelli: I don’t believe that!

Ellis: Really, we don’t fight. It’s been this way ever since we started two years ago. Everyone in the band is in it because they want to be. We all add to the quality of the music and help each other out.

Serratelli: How did you get the name Shotgun Wedding?

Ellis: I was sitting with my mother on the couch and Sarah Palin was on T.V. It was during the time where there was a lot of controversy regarding her daughter, Bristol Palin. My mother said that Bristol’s wedding was going to be a “shotgun wedding.” I thought that was a great name for a band.  Mom chose it!

Serratelli: Anything else?

Ellis: Life should be fun.  Don’t get too caught up in yourself. I am a major believer in peace and good times.