Esmei: Making Music and Changing Lives…
It’s not every day that a Pasadena High School band calls to say they’ve raised money for Elizabeth House. In fact, this is probably a first. But that’s exactly what happened on a random Tuesday in July when Esmei’s lead singer and guitarist Anekin Ortiz called us. He and his bandmates bassist Lucca Galeano, drummer Jordan Hershberg, and guitarist Daniel Espinoza were on their way over with money they’d raised at a recent gig.
After spending some time with Esmei, it’s obvious that these young men are not your typical teenagers. Weeks after their fundraiser for us, they played a gig protesting the removal of trees on Pasadena High School’s campus. And they’ve signed up to volunteer with Elizabeth House.
How did these teens come to be so socially conscious? They think it’s a generational trait, but when pushed, they do have personal reasons. Anekin sums it up by saying, “We're all the same. Like it doesn't matter your race, the color of your skin, or the way you talk or look or dress. We're all the same at the end of the day. So why not help one another out. It just sucks to hear or see people struggling. And if I can do anything to help that, I would really love to.”
Citing musical interests ranging from heavy metal to jazz to something called, “math rock,” Esmei seems like a band that has been working together for years. In fact, this iteration of Esmei has only been together for a few short months. But the way they describe it, it has been a productive few months.
The guys are working on their first album together. It’s totally self-produced, but it’s also totally slow-going. Anekin says, “Sometimes we'll stop practice after like an hour and we spend 2 hours just laughing and talking together instead of actually rehearsing what we should be rehearsing. That's why the album is not done yet.” That and the time they spent shopping for supplies for Elizabeth House. They took our Wishlist, bought over $100 worth of items, and delivered them back to the house. Then they gave the leftover funds as a cash donation. Definitely not typical!
Jordan is headed off to college in San Luis Obispo in a few weeks. The band won’t be the same without him, but it’s obvious that Esmei has had a profound impact on everyone. Jordan says, “I mean, [being civic-minded] wasn't even in the cards for me before I got to know these people. I'm glad I got to do all this stuff. That’s all I can say”
You can find Esmei on Spotify and you can follow their journey on Instagram at @esmei_band.
