VINCE ESQUIRE
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| Photo by John Henry Photography |
Vince Esquire (Vincent Esquer) was born May 18, 1985 in Oakland, California and moved with his family to Maui, Hawaii at the age of four. His father, a professional saxophonist, exposed Vince to music at an early age. As a youngster Vince showed exceptional ability on drums and at six years old was performing in his dad’s band. In elementary school Vince played the trumpet and trombone and at eleven began playing and excelled on the ukulele. At thirteen, he formed a contemporary Hawaiian music trio that performed at local restaurants and coffee houses. At fifteen, mesmerized by a TV biography of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Vince chose to devote himself to the guitar. This is where Vince’s story begins.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF
At age sixteen, while attending a summer program at the Berkeley Jazz School, he caught the attention of Ronnie Stewart, President of the Bay Area Blues Society, who recognized Vince’s extraordinary ability and featured him at the Oakland/Russell City and Dunsmuir Blues Festivals. At the Dunsmuir festival he played with the legendary Sonny Rhodes and was noticed by Sammi Barber, President of the Shasta Blues Society, who invited him to play at the Shasta/Redding Blues Festival where he was featured with Coco Montoya and Tommy Castro.
Back on Maui, Vince was a popular guest with many of the Maui’s best bands and was featured at the Annual Rhythm & Blues concert headlined by guitar greats, Eric Johnson and Chris Duarte.
THE VINCE ESQUIRE BAND EMERGES
At seventeen, Vince formed his own band, The Vince Esquire Band, and found success playing the island’s top venues. Later that year, Vince and his band toured Hawaii with the Derek Trucks Band and Little Feat and was featured at the annual Willie Nelson Montessori festivals on Maui where he met and performed with Los Lonely Boys. Also that year, Vince released his debut album, First Offense, produced by Johnny Winter bassist Mark Epstein.
WILLIE NELSON’S 4TH OF JULY BBQ
In 2004, while living in Austin, Texas, Vince was honored with a personal invitation by Willie Nelson to perform at his annual 4th of July Festival in Dallas, Fort Worth where he appeared before a crowd of 50,000 enthusiastic fans. In 2005 and through 2006 Vince has continued to amaze crowds throughout the Hawaiian Islands and The West Coast, playing Los Angeles, San Diego and the Bay Area. His performances have featured both his electric guitar skills as well as his incredible gift playing the ukulele. His shows with Maui band Kanekoa, where he plays lead electric ukulele, and Hawaiian performances with Raiatea Helm have been unforgettable for all in attendance. Past 2006 Vince Esquire Band shows include the Redding Blues Festival, September 16th, The Mint, in Los Angeles,
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