Elijah Allen sets scene for The Accidentals’ “Eastern Standard Time”

From staff reports

The Accidentals released the music video Friday, Feb. 4, for their beautiful new song “Eastern Standard Time.” The visuals feature local hobby videographer Elijah Allen’s awe-inspiring footage of himself ice skating across frozen Lake Leelanau in January. Click here to watch the video.

The Accidentals, who have roots in Traverse City, wrote “Eastern Standard Time” together with songwriter and Wisconsin native Peter Mulvey. The song’s lyrics are a tribute to this region and a call to protect the environment.

“The line, ‘Three fires burn from the old bloodlines,’ pays homage to the Three Fires Council — the three Native American tribes that comprise much of the midwest, whose land was stolen by colonizers,” writes the band. “The descriptions of northern beauty are underscored by thin cracks in the visage — the dangerous oil pipeline threatening our remaining freshwater resources; the long-lasting effects of colonization on indigenous people, and climate change as it affects us all. These are all things we were thinking about as we wrote Eastern Standard Time.”

The Glen Arbor Sun caught up with Allen to learn more about his incredible video and how he teamed up with The Accidentals.

Glen Arbor Sun: Congrats on teaming with The Accidentals on their music video for “Eastern Standard Time.” How did this collaboration come about?

Elijah Allen: Thank you, when I posted a video of ice skating on North Lake Leelanau back in mid-January it quickly got noticed and went to its current standing of 174K views with over 4,600 shares so it really reached a broad spectrum of people. This is when a producer from The Accidentals reached out to me to see if I would be interested in using some of the ice skating video and other shots for the new song “Eastern Standard Time” that they were releasing. I said yes and clipped something together as an example, they came right back with we will take it and four short revisions later and we came up with what you see in the video.

Glen Arbor Sun: Tell us about the ice skating we see in the video. Is that you on skates? Or your drone? Is that Lake Leelanau?

Elijah Allen: The Ice skating was on North Lake Leelanau on January 13 of this year. We had some very cold temps that quickly froze the ice to anywhere from 3-6 inches of perfect clean ice and I walked out every day until it was safe. I went out with my drone and skated all over while controlling the drone to capture this moment that was truly incredible both from right on the ice to and the beautiful views looking down at the crystal clear ice and the bottom of the lake.

Glen Arbor Sun: Describe Lake Leelanau on those early-winter days when the ice is new but we still see the blue of the water.

Elijah Allen: These are rare occasions when the ice forms this clear and flat. Usually we get snow at the same time as it freezes along with wind and its not smooth or very clear but when it freezes like this its something you just have to see and thats why I tried to capture it with the drone so I could share the experience. 

Glen Arbor Sun: Tell us more about your video work. What are you most proud of? What’s next?

Elijah Allen: I have always been a hobby photographer and when drones came out I just added those to the mix. I do a lot of outdoor activities from Kite skiing, ice windsurfing, and many of the same kinds of water sports in the summer. I have two kids and they were my biggest influence for making videos. When they were young I did winter fun videos that I would share and save for them to view in the future. We had a lot of fun but they are teenagers now so getting them on camera is not as easy. Here is an old video for an example of what I used to do with them and also a lot of learning to be the videographer and the person doing the fun adventures to be captured.

Glen Arbor Sun: How old are you, and what’s the day job (or is video work the day job?) And tell us about your immediate family and what they’re up to?

Elijah Allen: I am 48 years old, I have a small construction company that I started 20 years ago. The video stuff is just for fun and I just enjoy where I live and capturing it to share in unique ways hoping to inspire people to get out and explore. My son is 14 and my daughter is 15, I am in a relationship with Mary Westbrook and we enjoy a lot of the same things. 

Glen Arbor Sun: Tell us about your Leelanau County story. How long have you (or your family) been here? What drew you here?

Elijah Allen: I grew up in Tennessee, my Mom and Dad split up when I was young. They were both from Michigan and had friends that lived in Cedar. My brother and I used to come up in the summers with my Dad for a couple months. He ended up buying a house in Leland in the late 80’s and that was where we spent summers all the way through high school. I traveled in the winter after that living in Colorado, Utah, Maui, and some time in New Zealand but would always come back here for summer and started building my first house in my early 20s. I have been here ever since.

Glen Arbor Sun: What’s your ideal winter day (or weekend) in the County? What’s your secret to to make it through winter here with a smile on your face?

Elijah Allen: For me winter is about being out in it. My favorite thing to do in the winter is Kite skiing, its great exercise and a complete rush. My kids and girlfriend are all doing it now so its really fun to just pack up and head out on the lake when the conditions are good. We resort ski too but if its windy the kite is just more fun. Work usually is a bit slower so I am able to shorten my hours a little and get outside as much as possible. For me that is the key to happiness in the winters up here.