GGB Artist Spotlight: Meet Eli Andrews

GGB rarely touches on aspects of music but I love to spotlight talent of aspiring artists in all genres. Eli Andrews will be the first musician showcased in a new series of posts entitled GGB Artist Spotlight. Let’s get acquainted with Eli Andrews.

Aspiring singer/musician and New York City native Elijah Bland goes under the alias Eli Andrews. For Andrews music was something that “fell into him” and has always been apart of his life. “From a very young age (5 or 6) I was always trying to be in the spotlight, be it singing, acting, attempting to dance,” he says recalling the start of his love for music. “Growing up my dad was playing a lot of jazz, rock, reggae, praise & worship, piano ballads…a very eclectic blend of music. My mom, she was playing a lot more pop, hip hop, Motown,  freestyle & Spanish music. So music kind of flowed in, around and through me.”

Music continued to flow in Andrews in the form of writing and performing in choirs. At the age of 15 he started to write and play his own music seeking inspiration in a wide range performers. “Artists that have really truly influenced me and the sound that I produce would be Newsboys, DC Talk, John Mayer, Maroon 5, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Robin Thicke, Ryan Leslie, N.E.R.D. and Kanye West.”

With an eclectic taste of music you can imagine Andrews’ sound is just as diverse; he describes his style in an interesting way to GGB. “Blues meets Pop, gives birth to Hip Hop, who grows up to play Rock. That’s the best way I can explain it really,” he says. He continues with a unique way in which he creates music. “I can’t play every instrument, but I can hear them, see them, and orchestrate them to produce the sound I hear and feel. I create what I feel inside me and how it relates to the world around me. I create what needs to be heard.”

You can also hear Andrews’ music through his other talent of photography. He says his music and photography inspires one another. “Photography has given me a bit more focus when it comes to music, and music has taught me to see & feel the shot I’m taking before I take it.” He feels both his talents are one in the same. “Music creates these waves emotion within the hearts and souls of the world, and photography is there to capture the effects of those waves. So to me they go hand in hand.”