Sound Cloud Album l Anything But Love Music Video
 
Illinois claims such important inventions as the cell phone, the sweeping machine, the mechanical dishwasher, the zipper, and barbed wire. Additionally, the state has produced the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Kanye West, Harrison Ford, and Oberlin College sophomore and singer/songwriter/student-athlete Elie Small.

The 20 year-old from Highland Park, Illinois, began playing guitar at age 6 after his uncle Ciaran bestowed upon him an old, tattered Gibson Acoustic LG-2.

"My oldest brother played guitar at the time so I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I started playing and writing songs before I could even play chords, and it has been about fourteen years at this point," said Small.

Starting guitar at an early age allowed Small to hone his craft -- an early sign of the greatness to come. To the surprise of some, not everything was gold for Small during the music days of his youth.

"Growing up I got made fun of a lot for my music. My voice was really high when I was younger, and I wrote about everything. I wrote about fish; I wrote about songs from the perspective of people coming home from war. People just didn't like my music. I would post my videos on YouTube and get a lot of negative comments."
 
Although Small experienced plenty of hate in his younger days, he did write and release four albums before the age of 13, an impressive feat for a young kid.
 
In addition to making music, Small is also a student-athlete on the men's lacrosse team. However, he was making music long before he ever picked up a lacrosse stick. His first time stepping onto the field on game day was during his freshman year of high school for the Highland Park Giants.
 
As a lacrosse player, Small describes himself as a hard-worker who attacks on ground balls and can play exceptional defense. Standing 5-feet-10 inches he has a muscular, athletic build and uses his body to his advantage when boxing out opponents for ground balls. 2016 saw Small appear in all fifteen games, recording 29 ground balls (sixth highest on the team), netting one goal, one assist, and causing four turnovers.
 
Though music and sports can be quite different, Small brings aspects of music to lacrosse and vice versa.
 
"Creativity can go into both lacrosse and music. If you're trying to make a play in lacrosse, there's not always one way to do it, so you can think of different ways to accomplish the task. In music, when you're writing a song and trying to perfect the melody for the chorus, you're forced to get creative in order to get what you want out of the song." Additionally, Small noted that in both lacrosse and music, perseverance is key.
 
"If you're playing wall-ball and you can't quite get that lefty quick-stick or if you're having issues when making a song -- you just have to push through. Playing college lacrosse is not the easiest thing and putting your own music out there is also not easy -- so staying determined is key."
 
During Small's first year as a Yeoman, there was a stretch of time when he did not even have time to pick up a guitar. Being a student-athlete is time consuming and sometimes passions have to take a backseat to education. For Small, that was the case during the second half of 2015.
 
"My music took the hardest hit last year. There were about three or four months when I didn't even pick up a guitar."
 
Seeking the spark Small needed to revamp his music career, he decided to take a trip down to Nashville this past summer where he recorded his fifth album, Dancing in the Fire. There, he spent time with famous voice coach Ron Browning, who has worked with superstars like Alison Krauss, Carrie Underwood, and Wynonna Judd.
 
"He [Browning] told me he thought I was hiding my inner self when I was singing. We had a conversation that boiled down to the question, 'What do I want to do with my life?'-- and I said I wanted to make music."
 
From there, Browning helped Small find a newly motivated mindset. "I started booking a lot of gigs after I finished the album, and I also made a music video that dropped on September 16."  Small noted, "I think the biggest thing that helped my music over the last two months was my change of mindset. I went from wanting to do music to actually doing music."
 
At this point, most people who follow Small or even just know of him understand that he makes music, but what they don't know is why.
 
"The biggest thing is that music is soothing to me. If I get stressed out I'd pick up my guitar and just start playing. At home I have a drum set so if I get agitated or something I'd bang out on the drum set."
 
Additionally, Small's drive for success takes him in a direction that all musicians strive for, as he wants to be the best he can be, but he wants to do it his way.
 
"I have a thing for being original. When people listen to music they usually compare whatever they're listening to with a famous band or singer. When people listen to my music I want them to think, 'Oh, that's Elie Small.'"   
  
You can catch Small and the Yeomen men's lacrosse team battling for a spot in the NCAC tournament this spring. His music is available on virtually any music platform. He released his new single "Anything But Love" on September 16 and followed that with the September 25 release of his album, Dancing in the Fire.     

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