Drumming to His Own Beat

    He goes to the beat of his own drum...and through that beat he hopes to educate, motivate and of course entertain.

            Justin "Jax Drumz" Battle, "They say children are our future but I say they are our present, they're today. And we all need, no matter how successful you are it's always great to have extra motivation in no matter what you do."

            The 26 year old professional drummer was born and raised in Utica and he says coming back home to help young students brings him full circle.

            Battle says, "I do a lot of traveling out of town and like I said to be overseas, so to be back and be able to give back to the youth and I used to work in the school district so it's good to combine my passion for music with my passion for helping the youth."

            And JFK Middle School students say Jax's message hits home. Jalen Hawkings says, "He was directing us to have good grades and to do good things." Jahari Brown says, "We learned to follow your dreams and keep achieving, like keep trying."

            Justin spoke to dozens of middle schoolers today and he says nothing - not even traveling the world - can compare to inspiring young minds.

            Battle added, "I'm basically just living my dream, I'm doing what I love to do. It's never work, it's always a privilege, and it's never a choir."