Heptember - Rancid Finals (w/ Esteban Flores)
The day has finally come to crown the absolute greatest Ska song of all time by punk superstars Rancid. Of course the only person CP/SC could think to help determine that is keyboard wizard (and former Rancid tourmate), Esteban Flores! Esteban regales Rob, Joey and Celine with his history with Ska, the fertile Ska scene in East L.A. and his keyboard heroes before running through the Semi-Finals and Finals of the Heptember bracket. After a white knuckle battle, the foursome play a Tim-inspired round of Skarmen Skandiego followed by some listener questions.
Esteban Flores
Hello, my name is Esteban, and I am an undocumented musician from East Los Angeles. I came to the US at the age of three to seek a better life with my mom who raised me and my three younger siblings. I am a college graduate from Cal State Los Angeles, and this is my story about my work. I typically grew up with a background in classic rock, R&B, and some rap and hip-hop. It wasn’t until I was a young adolescent where I was introduced to punk rock.
That introduced me to the underground music scene and community where I eventually made the transition to ska music. When I was 14, I started dabbling around with a keyboard passed on by my childhood best friend whom didn’t use it at all. Before I played keyboard, I was in my high school choir, and I dabbled on bass guitar; although I admit I was not good at either singing or playing bass. I joined my first ska band at the age of 15 with a couple of friends, and that ended as soon as it started, but it sparked my interest in wanting to be around a music environment.
The next year, I joined a band with friends from high school called, “Maskarados.” We started playing shows two-three times a week and developed a small following. I was always looking for a better gig. One that would help me become a better keyboard player and increase my peripherals on the music scene and practice my music business skills.
Eventually, I felt like I outgrew the band I was in and started looking for other groups to play in. Between the ages of 16 to 18, I started playing multiple projects; locally popular ska groups such as, “Cafe Con Tequila,” “South Central Skankers,” “Matamoska,” and a couple more I can’t recall from the top of my head. As I kept playing with all these bands, I started to grow my social circles and began throwing events to tend to the music scene I love so much.
From age 19 to 20, I started a small production called, “Topshot Production” with my friends Juan Garcia and Angel Moreno. Our mission statement was to help extend the music scene further by helping local bands get exposure from new fans. Eventually, I ended up on a “Backyard Ska Scene” segment on Fox 11 news which turned out being a highlight of my youth as a musician, music lover, and promoter.
At age 20, I was starting to apply for my DACA process, I felt encouraged to pursue college because of the opportunities given to me such as the DREAM Act and other programs that made college possible for people like me. I decided to slow down on throwing events and become a part-time musician with a job and a full college schedule.
Eventually, my DACA expired, and the process took more than a year to come through leaving me without a job at the age of 22. At that time, I decided to look for new ways to make money; I started playing with more bands such as, “Dub 8”, “Quinto Sol,” “Pachamama,” and many other bands on top of my current roster of bands.
In addition, I started a small independent button company called, “Brixton Buttons” and immediately started making button merchandise for groups and that sustained me for a year or so. At the time when my DACA finally arrived, I was too caught up on playing five gigs a week and studying at the same time. Eventually, I got a job as a laser tech for a bowing company and started my first year at CSULA.
My band workload did not lighten up as my school work started stacking on me and I soon found myself bearing the burden of sleeping four hours a day. At age 25 I found myself playing in two bands full time, with two part-time jobs and with a huge load of classes on my senior year of college. I started stressing out that I would not pass college and all aspects of my life would suffer. I slept very little because my work days would be from 3 am to 12 am if I finished my homework on time; sleep ranged from 30 minutes to three hours a day.
Ultimately, I ended up passing college with satisfactory results, and I did it with a great support system and some effort. Now at the age of 26, I felt like I was done with living in LA. I had finished college, and I didn’t see much else to do here. I was set to change my view a bit and move up north with my wife in hopes to find a tranquil environment and rejuvenate myself. We planned on it earlier during my senior year of college, but around the fall time, I was contacted by several friends to try out for Los Angeles punk rock outfits.
The Interrupters, who just started getting picking up speed on local radio. I was skeptical at first because I didn’t know if I was up to par to what they wanted as a musician and as a person who would be working with them but I ended up landing the part and have had great opportunities playing events just as “The KROQ Almost Acoustic Xmas,” “Wreck The Halls,” and “Scallywag Festival.” Unexpectedly, I ended up filling in for my friend playing with legendary ska-punk band Rancid, and I got to share the stage with my idols which were completely surreal.
Currently, I’m keeping myself busy with some touring gigs. I am currently playing with an enormous roster of groups that span into different genres and sub-genres (Matamoska, The Bandulus, Wilroy Black and The Boss, Tropa Magica, The Steady 45s, Be Like Max, The Interrupters, etc.- other notable acts I played with were The Suffers, Katzu Oso, and Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra) In addition, I’ve recorded keyboards for over 20+ local, regional and international acts in the US, Mexico, Canada, and Europe.
So far I have no signs of stopping, as I am keeping playing and supporting the music I love.
- Voyage LA
