Playing with the Cleveland Pops
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Here is a little clip of me playing one of my favorite songs, Here Comes the Sun, with the Cleveland Pops late last year. This was such a blast!!! This is a really talented group.
My Camaro Guitar
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
I went to Detroit last year at the invitation of GM to meet the designer , and to view the clay models of the new Camaro that is due to come out soon. They invited me because Esteban and HSN have been manufacturing and selling special licensed GM guitars to commemorate special GM cars of the past with storied histories. Some of the cars and guitars I have done have been the CADDILAC ELDORADO, The 1957 CHEVY BEL AIR, THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1958-2008 CHEVY IMPALA AND OF COURSE THE NEW CAMARO GUITAR. ALL OF THEM HAVE sold out.
Anyway I arrived in Dearborn Michigan with a contingent of people from the press and HSN, and we were given the grand tour. WOW! is all I can say. It was AMAZING!
We went over to the Concept Car facility first and no people are permitted in there. It is all HUSH HUSH because secret prototype cars are being designed and made there, and the new Camaro was one of them. I saw the full size original scale model of the new Camaro made out of CLAY!! The artists were sculpting it with razors as I witnessed the scene. The head designer, Sungyup Lee, was on hand to greet us and he is such an amazing and a highly creative designer/artist. He had the idea to design a new look for this storied Camaro, based on the old retro design from the 70’s. After many many prototypes, he arrived at this INCREDIBLE NEW CAMARO. This car is so ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!! It sits there like a panther ready to spring into action. There has never been another car like it.
Sungyup Lee asked if he could design my new Camaro guitar!! I said YES!!! ..ON THE SPOT!! He started work on it and today this Camaro Guitar is a little legend of it’s own. It is Hugger Orange with Gun Metal Gray racing stripes. There are only a few left and you can see how they look on my website. Soon they will all be gone forever, into the hands of guitarists and collectors alike globally.
We then were invited to go to the Famous GM MUseum. THAT was AMAZING! Almost every car GM ever made was in there, from all the old Corvettes to the ‘59 Caddy with the big fins to the Firebird to the GTO and everything in between. We spent hours there ooing and aahing and we had such a great time laughing and learning about these old cars and the great memories they brought to us all.
What a trip!! I will never forget it and there is NOTHING better than CARS and GUITARS.
Esteban
Esteban and the Cleveland Pops
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Here is a video of me playing one of my favorite songs, Duende, with the Cleveland Symphony late last year. These guys were awesome!!!
Reflections
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
My Reflections Guitar is very special to me. The concept happened this way: I was doing a photo PR shoot and the photographer caught me kind of leaning against a wall during one of my breaks. I remember this and I was thinking of Dustin Gould, a Marine who was a fan of mine. He won my contest with his essay about "what Music means to his life", and the prize was a free Esteban guitar package and some personal guitar lessons with me. Dustin was killed in Iraq before he could take his lessons with me, and I had just played for the funeral at the Marine base at Camp Pendleton in San Diego for his family and friends. The horse drawn carriage was there with the full Marine Color Guard and a 21 gun salute to Dustin. It moved me deeply. I shall never forget it as long as I live.
Well, that was the inspiration for the Reflections Guitar. When I saw the photo, me standing against the wall reflecting on life, I said I wanted to make a guitar with the idea of "what is really important in life" and to use that photo somehow on the back as a statement about "each one of us making difference in our lives as Dustin did."
The guitar itself is just beautiful. It is all silver and black with a beautiful herringbone chain-link rosette with actual inlays of the 7 lotus flowers all the way up the neck. There is silver purfling on the edges of the guitar and along the headstock. It has a black all spruce top and lindenwood sides and back, and it is a cutaway as well. The pick guard is silver in color and is really highlighted against the black background. Then there is the photograph of me leaning against the wall on the back. Half is silver and half is black..and it is really beautiful and it plays like a dream.
I hope you love this guitar as much as i do. It is truly a meaningful work of art for me. There are only a few left. 20,000 were made and every one has a number and a certificate of authenticity with the same corresponding number. That’s all there are in the world and i hope you enjoy yours!
Fountain Hills Festival
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
When we played this year, the audiences were just wonderful. So many friends and old acquaintances from the past, suddenly all just resurfaced, and I had such a great time reliving the memories and creating new ones. Many pro musicians came up to me and introduced themselves. Most of them learned guitar from my many Instructional DVD’s and now they are performing live everywhere. A few young musicians from Europe were there as well and they are successfully touring with their bands now.
MANY people came up who owned my guitars and they brought them along, and I signed them, dedicating them to the specific players, and they glistened in the sun and everybody marveled at those Esteban Axes!
I also accompanied a wonderful dance troupe called Terpsichore Dance Co. and Denise Colter, one of the lead dancers arranged and choreographed a lovely dance to my song PERFIDIA, from the Flamenco and Rosas album. We performed it together 5 times and everybody was cheering after those performances, that’s for sure!!
It was a great time to relive a LOT of memories and we made many new friends as well.The history on this is: I could not even play my guitar from 1980 – 1990, because a drunk driver hit me and the result was my left arm and hand were basically without feeling for almost 10 years. When I was able to play again in late 1989/1990, my very first gig was playing on the street in Scottsdale AZ, and guess who gave me the gig?? Judi Combs of Thunderbird Artists who sponsor these Art and Wine Festivals. I could barely play, and I was arranging love songs for the guitar, because I could no longer play any hard classical or flamenco. She was so kind and asked me to play at her festival.
I got a little amp, and brought my stool and my guitar and plugged into a local store’s electricity. I put my foot on a footstool, set a few of my Love Song CD’s in my guitar case (Songs from My Heart) and just started playing slow love songs, like Unchained Melody and A Time For Us and a few others. People would gather around and just stand there and watch me play. Once in awhile i would sell a few CD’s, and I WAS PLAYING GUITAR AGAIN!!! I was playing in front of PEOPLE and they LIKED IT!!
This was a big turning point in my life. I was like the Phoenix Bird rising out of the ashes for the first time in 10 years, starting a new life! I was excited. I shall never forget Judi for giving me my first gig. After that I played ALL of her festivals. I was starting to make money and I was playing again! There was NOTHING better than that in life for me!
I pay tribute to her now and her Thunderbird Artists in Arizona. I play one or two of her shows each year and I am GLAD to do it. It brings me back to my roots and I shall never forget her kindness in hiring me for the first time almost 20 years ago!! Now she has a nice stage for me and the lines of people at the CD tables are longer now and the crowds are larger now, and I play with my band, my daughters, Teresa and Stephanie, and we have such a great time reliving the memories!!!
Rock On..Esteban ps/ remember, when you are up against a tough time, get out your guitar and go play for a friend, a coffee shop or even play on the street with your guitar case open for tips. Miracles can happen!! Plus you will have great fun and your attitude about your life will change for the better!!
My Geico Commercial Experience
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Hi everybody..well this is my GEICO commercial which was shown everywhere on TV during 2005/2006. I will never forget that filming, that’s for sure! It was filmed in LA, in the San Fernando valley near Van Nuys in a garage at somebody’s home. They had this idea of a garage band, and Esteban would help them learn the guitar. So I flew into LAX, rented a car and drove up there.
I figured it would be one camera and a couple of guys in the garage. I was sure it would be something simple. Much to my surprise as I pulled down the street, I saw lots of vans and 5 trucks and a lot of people everywhere. I figured it was a fire or something, but as I saw the address on the house, it matched the one they gave me in the directions. Everybody was there for the GEICO Esteban Commercial!!
I was greeted by the crew and director and they said this was standard procedure for a GEICO spot. There had to be 200 people running around there. What could they all be doing I asked them. They said everybody had their individual job description from holding lights to makeup people to sub directors, dolly operators and of course, caterers! It was all about the FOOD as well as the FILM! There were 4 catering truck there and a full dining room set up on the front yard. Every kind of munchies were there, from hummus to salmon to fried chicken, made on the spot, to steaks, salads, sandwiches and BBQ. It was just amazing!!
I had my own trailer with a big star on it and my name under it, and inside was a complete living area with everything I could possibly want from a shower to a bedroom to a kitchen. Who would ever cook with food like that outside??
Anyway, I got my makeup on and we started filming. The setting was the garage and it was just before the holidays, so the theme was this group of 4 kids practicing in the garage. The new rock group sounded pretty good except for the guitar player. He was pretty horrible. His name was Dwayne.
I was told to sit on top of an old refrigerator in the garage in the corner. It was as if I was to be beamed down by Scotty into that garage while the band was playing. I thought it was really weird!! But up I went and the filming started. The storyline was: the band was playing a hard song. It was loud and everything sounded good except for the guitar. Suddenly the band leader stops the song, and says to Dwayne something like, "Sorry man, this just won’t work. Your playing is pretty bad". Dwayne looks hurt because he was auditioning and failing to get the gig. Suddenly, the camera cuts to Esteban sitting on top of the refrigerator playing a wild flamenco strum. All the guys in the band say together. "Esteban!???" They kind of look at each other..like "how did HE get here?"" Esteban says something like "You know, thousands of youngsters long to express their hearts through the gift of music". The leader of the band says to Esteban, "Will you teach Dwayne to play"? Esteban replies.."NO…but I have some good news, I just saved a bunch of money by switching to GEICO".
Well, that’s my GEICO story. It was fun and you get to see it HERE..Have a ball…Rock on! Esteban