Today we’d like to introduce you to Esteban Rene, Beto Bautista, and Carlos Robles.
So, before we jump into specific questions about your group, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Esteban – I started playing music at the age of five. My mother, a strict music teacher and devout Seventh Day Adventist had me on the piano and organ playing early Saturday mornings at church. I learned through a high school sweetheart about The Smiths, The Cure, Echo, And The Bunnymen, something completely foreign to me. Immediately, I was entranced with the forlorn yet captivating sounds. I immediately got myself a guitar. It took me a while to learn the damned instrument. I refused to take lessons and learned to play by ear. At the same time, I started a new career path and became a merchant mariner, abandoning fashion/retail and visual merchandising. This new maritime course of mine sparked and jumpstarted a new musical direction which would become the beginning of The Slashes. I recruited Beto on bass from the docks of downtown San Diego also in the maritime business. We worked at Hornblower Cruises and started rehearsing in a warehouse in Little Italy.
Beto – I started playing guitar before bass. I grew up in TJ and when I was 16, I went to a classical music school. I liked the idea of being classically trained, but once I was there, I didn’t like following the rules. They were really strict, so I left that school and taught myself to play guitar. I listened to a lot of The Cure and The Smiths, and their bass players got my attention. That’s when I picked up the bass. I worked at Hornblower too, and that’s how I met Esteban.
Carlos – I grew up with musicians. My dad had a band with his brothers back in the day. I started playing drums when I was 14. Told the fam I wanted to play drums, then my uncle (the drummer) took his kit to my house. He taught me the basics in 30 minutes and he left. I still have that kit. I moved to SD for college, started a band in SD with a guy from work. Played, recorded, toured, broke up. I wanted to play drums again and talked to a friend who knew Esteban, and I started playing with him and Beto and the rest is history.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Esteban – “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors“. As outsiders in a thriving, saturated music scene in San Diego, it’s not easy to play the big shows. As unsigned independent artists, you have to kick the door down and make your own way. People don’t go to local shows here, it’s that simple. National acts get attendance. We put out our single “Heavy Bowie” last year and it actually started gaining momentum in New York. So we decided to go to NYC and started playing shows in Brooklyn and in Lower East Side. This year we will conquer LA too.
Carlos – It hasn’t been a smooth road at all. You can’t just go to Rockstar School, get a degree and make a decent living playing music. Technically you could go to music school and get a job as a session player for a solo artist, but I am not about that life.
Beto – When you’re a musician, it’s always going to be a struggle to become known in the music scene. But I think that’s also what pushes us to keep working on new music.
Tell us about The Slashes. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
Esteban – Being a three-piece band, we are known for our dark, luscious, melodic textures. We concentrate on songwriting, emotive lyrics and have a strong, pulsing rhythm section.
Beto – I’m most proud of some of the shows we’ve played. Like when we played at The Observatory in Orange County (the place was packed) and when we opened for Louis XIV at the Casbah back in February. Also getting to play in NYC.
Carlos – Definitely proud of the resilience I’ve built in the past 20 years. Happy to have played and shared stages with great musicians. Also proud of being immortalized on several records.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Esteban – Being sent off to boarding school.
Carlos – Discovering and sharing music with my dad and my uncles. My first rock concerts and family road trips.
Beto – Listening to music in my room and trying to learn songs on this old acoustic guitar I borrowed from a friend.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://theslashes.com/
- Email: theslashes.sd@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theslashes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theslashes
- Other: https://theslashes.bandcamp.com/
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