High school boys are making noise

High-schoolers Ramsey Esparza, 15, (left); Tyler Roche, 17, (center); and Hunter Smith, 16, (right) of the rock band Reminiscence pose for a photo with Esparza’s dad’s motorcycle in the Scripps Ranch neighborhood where they formed. (photo by Nadia Mishkin)

High school boys are making noise

The local band Reminiscence is a trio of high-school boys who formed a rock band that had its humble beginnings in a Scripps Ranch living room. Now, they have made their way to big stages around San Diego, performing classic rock and alternative covers.

Recently, the band has been working on original material and over spring break the members had the chance to start recording their first EP.

Robert Kaechele, who is one of their teachers at Poway High School, is helping them with the recording. Kaechele also happens to be one of the people who helped give one of the most famous bands to ever come out of San Diego its start: Blink-182.

Reminiscence covers classic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, The Doors and Johnny Cash, but the band members really love to play alternative hits from bands like Royal Blood and Highly Suspect, which have influenced the sound of the original music they are working on.

Scripps Ranch resident Ramsey Esparza, 15, plays bass and lead vocals, Hunter Smith, 16, is on lead guitar and supporting vocals, and Tyler Roche, 17, holds the beat on the drums and supporting vocals.

Reminiscence has played a number of live gigs, from small places like Kaminski’s Sports Lounge in Poway to the Lunar New Year Festival at SDCCU Stadium and the Old Town Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, which they will be playing again this year. In January, the band got to play The House of Blues in downtown San Diego, a stage which has hosted big names including one of their favorite bands, Highly Suspect.

The three have known each other since kindergarten and they meet every week at Esparza’s house for band practice.

“We’re all really close,” Esparza said.

Laura Esparza is bass-player Ramsey Esparza’s mother, but all three of the members that make up Reminiscence refer to her fondly as their “mom-ager.” They said she has been pretty instrumental in helping the boys get their first gigs.

“We all have really supportive parents,” Esparza added.

“My mom got me started with guitar lessons when I was five,” Smith explained.

Smith has been playing guitar for well over half of his life and has been taking lessons from the same teacher, Emmanuel Suyao from Poway Music Academy, for more than 11 years.

The trio has been around music all their lives. Esparza will never forget when his father took him to a Motley Crue concert when he was nine years old.

The band’s drummer, Roche, definitely has music in his blood. His grandfather, Howard Blank, is the drummer and founder of San Diego show band The Legends and was the original drummer for The Outsiders in the 1960s, and according to The Legends website he is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

While the three have a good amount of experience under their belts considering their young ages, it seems like this is only the beginning for the members of Reminiscence.

The band was scheduled to play a show at the Harley Davidson dealership on Morena Boulevard on April 20. They are set to play the Old Town Cinco de Mayo Fiesta on Sunday, May 6, at 11:30 a.m.

Those interested can follow their musical journey on their Facebook page where they post about upcoming shows and new material: facebook.com/Reminiscencethree/.