Ike was raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He began classical training on viola at the age of eight and began performing in symphonies and chamber ensembles at age twelve.
By the age of seventeen, he had been awarded the principal viola position in the prestigious All South Honor Orchestra, representing seven states, for three consecutive years. He was awarded principal viola position in the Mississippi All State Orchestra twice. He also earned the principal viola position in the Silver Lake Symphony, Minneapolis/St Paul, Minnesota.
Ike began playing trumpet by age twelve and French horn at fourteen.
He picked up classical guitar when he was fourteen years old after finding one underneath his mother's grand piano. From there, he started his first rock band, teaching himself the bass guitar and backing vocals.
At age twenty, Ike was hired as the bass player for the band Birdy. The band leader and songwriter was multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone (Wilco, The Autumn Defense, Ryan Adams, Andrew Bird, Josh Rouse). Pat had a significant influence on his musicianship and musical tastes. During that time, Ike was also a founding member of the band Snapdragon, a power trio fronted by Tara Scheyer (Reba McEntire staff writer). Snapdragon was signed to Clutch Artery Records and toured extensively throughout the East Coast and Southeast.
Ike moved to Phoenix, Arizona at age twenty two and formed a band with Martin Shears called The Scones. The Scones started as an acoustic pop/rock act playing with acts such as They Might Be Giants, Michael Penn and Material Issue, but later electrified into a full blown rock band. The Scones gained regional acclaim as the go-to act for many high profile events throughout the Southwest (Frito-Lay Fiesta Bowl, Mill Ave New Years Celebration) and by sharing the stage with bands such as The Go Gos and The Gin Blossoms. Ike toured extensively with The Scones, playing over 1000 shows all across America and Europe (1993-1994 and 2000-2003).
In 1994 Ike moved to Telluride, Colorado and was a founding member of the rock band Heapstack and the acoustic trio Three Pound Brown. He opened for acts such as Stevie Wonder, .38 Special and Lovin’ Spoonful. He logged over 800 performances between the years of 1994 and 2000.
In 2004, Ike moved to San Diego, California and joined with singer/songwriter Alex Woodard. Since that time, he and Alex have recorded three albums and continue to tour extensively in every major market in the US as the For the Sender Project in support of Alex's book of the same name. They have shared the stage with the likes of Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Sean and Sara Watkins and Switchfoot just to name a few. In 2005, he met Creede Williams and started writing and touring with Creede throughout the country as support for the acoustic duo, Jackopierce.
In June of 2011, the acoustic duo of Ike & Martin was formed with longtime musical partner Martin Shears. I&M have since put out an acoustic record and performed nonstop throughout Northern California and Nevada.
Ike currently resides in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and is actively touring, producing and recording.
(-Wild Fox Zen/LT Marketing, 2012)