Damien Escobar
{{Short description|American violinist}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Damien Escobar
| alias = Dame Esco
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1986}}
| birth_place = {{nowrap|Jamaica, Queens, New York City}}
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| instrument = Violin
| years_active = 2003–present
| label = LCM Entertainment
| past_member_of = Nuttin' But Stringz
| website = {{URL|http://www.dameesco.com/}}
}}
Damien Escobar (born 1986), also known as Dame Esco, is an American violinist. He was previously in the duo Nuttin' But Stringz with his brother Tourie, but has been a solo artist since 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marjoriet-t-matute/violinist-damien-escobar_b_3598541.html |title=Meet Damien Escobar, the Hip Hop Violinist |last1=Matute |first1=Marjoriet T. |date=18 July 2013 |website=huffingtonpost.com |publisher=TheHuffingtonPost.com |access-date=29 March 2015}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/artists/damien-escobar/biography/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404143153/http://www.mtv.com/artists/damien-escobar/biography/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 4, 2015 |title=About Damien Escobar |author= |website=MTV.com |publisher=Viacom International Inc |access-date=29 March 2015}} His "crossover violin" musical style consists of a mix of classical, jazz, pop, R&B, and hip hop.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6565133 |title=Nuttin' But Stringz: Hip-Hop Violin |last1=Chideya |first1=Farai |date=1 December 2006 |website=NPR.org |publisher=NPR |access-date=29 March 2015}}
Early life and education
Escobar was born in 1986 in the Jamaica, Queens neighborhood in New York City. He lived with his single mother and older brother Tourie. He began playing the violin at the age of eight.{{cite web|url=http://www.flipsidepa.com/ci_22670265/hip-hop-violinist-damien-escobar-perform-at-think |title=Damien Escobar, hip-hop violinist, to perform at Think Loud event in York |last1=McCracken |first1=Erin |date=26 February 2013 |website=flipsidepa.com |publisher=York Newspaper Company/York Daily Record |access-date=30 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170119/http://www.flipsidepa.com/ci_22670265/hip-hop-violinist-damien-escobar-perform-at-think |archivedate=2 April 2015 }}{{cite web |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/video/11115352-interview-with-performance-by-violinist-damien-escobar/ |title=Interview With, Performance By Violinist Damien Escobar |last1=Grymes |first1=Andrea |website=newyork.cbslocal.com |publisher= CBS Local Media |access-date=30 March 2015}} At the age of ten, Escobar became the youngest student accepted into the Juilliard School of Music. He graduated from Juilliard at 13. He also studied at the Bloomingdale School of Music.
Career
As kids, Damien and Tourie worked as street musicians, playing at Grand Central Station and on the New York City subways. In 2003, they began playing professionally under the name Nuttin' But Stringz. In 2005, Nuttin' But Stringz won a talent contest at the Apollo Theater. In 2006, Escobar appeared in the film Step Up. Nuttin' But Stringz took third place in the 2008 season of America's Got Talent. They performed at the First inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009 and won two Emmys.{{cite web |url=http://vivaglammagazine.com/damien-escobar/ |title=Damien Escobar: Bringing the Violin into Pop Music |last1=Nemiroff |first1=Brianne |date=16 August 2013 |website=vivaglammagazine.com |publisher=Viva Glam Magazine |access-date=29 March 2015 |archive-date=18 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318175954/http://vivaglammagazine.com/damien-escobar/ |url-status=dead }} In 2012, Nuttin' But Stringz separated. Escobar returned to school and got his real estate license.{{cite web |url=http://www.wfla.com/story/27650002/daytime-damien-escobar-performs |title=Daytime Damien Escobar Performs |date=17 December 2014 |website=WFLA.com |publisher=Media General Communications Holdings, LLC |access-date=29 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118011931/http://www.wfla.com/story/27650002/daytime-damien-escobar-performs |archivedate=18 January 2015 }}
After a short career as a real estate broker, Escobar returned to music as a solo act. His first solo performance was on the French TV show Taratata. He also played at the Indy Car 2012 Championship Awards Banquet, Russell Simmon's Hip Hop Inaugural Ball and the 2013 Food & Wine event in New York City.{{cite web |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Damien-Escobar-Kicks-Off-Summer-with-Charity-Concert-in-Jamaica-Queens-20130624 |title=Damien Escobar Kicks Off Summer with Charity Concert in Jamaica, Queens |author= |date=24 June 2013 |website=broadwayworld.com |publisher=Wisdom Digital Media |access-date=29 March 2015}} In 2013, Escobar went on the I Am Me tour in order to promote his comeback. He released his first solo album "Sensual Melodies" in 2014.{{cite web |url=http://stephenchukumba.com/2013/01/15/damien-escobar-i-am-me/ |title=Damien Escobar. I Am Me. |author= |date=15 January 2013 |website=stephenchukumba.com |publisher=Stephen Chukumba |access-date=29 March 2015}}
In 2014, he authored an autobiographical children's book titled "The Sound of Strings." The same year he performed at Oprah's "The Life You Want" weekend tour.{{cite web |url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Violinist-Damien-Escobars-Debut-Solo-Single-Freedom-Debuts-at-15-On-iTunes-Charts-20140613 |title=Violinist Damien Escobar's Debut Solo Single 'Freedom' Debuts at #15 On iTunes Charts |author= |date=13 June 2014 |website=broadwayworld.com |publisher=Wisdom Digital Media |access-date=30 March 2015}} Escobar released his first pop single "Freedom" in September 2015, which premiered at #15 on the iTunes chart.
He released his second solo album, Boundless, in 2017, which was nominated for the 49th NAACP Image Awards in 2018 for the Outstanding Jazz Album category.{{cite web | title=NAACP Image Awards: Full List of Winners | website=The Hollywood Reporter | date=2018-01-14 | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/2018-naacp-image-award-winners-complete-list-1064208/ | access-date=2022-10-14}} The album includes eleven songs. Then, after a year's break, he released another solo album, Songs from a Breakthrough,{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/193zWaAmERldqV3bZZAeDk|title=Songs from a Breakthrough|date=April 24, 2020|via=open.spotify.com}} followed by 25 Days of Christmas in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/album/4Uj1djq9KyzwfnIYROh98w|title=25 Days of Christmas|date=November 20, 2020|via=open.spotify.com}}
Escobar started the "Life Out Loud" tour in 2022, which he performed across the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.birchmere.com/events/damien-escobar-life-out-loud-tour/|title=DAMIEN ESCOBAR "Life Out Loud" Tour | The Birchmere|website=www.birchmere.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.livenation.com/event/G5vfZ9GCNQJGp/damien-escobar-life-out-loud-tour-2022|title=Damien Escobar "Life Out Loud" Tour 2022 at Birchmere on THU Nov 10, 2022, 7:30 PM|website=Live Nation}} The theme of the tour was to encourage the audience to live a real life without regrets. As of 2022, he is working on his upcoming album, which he will release in 2023.
Discography
| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Album !! Songs | ||
| 2013 | Sensual Melodies | Cupid, Emotional Interlude, Adorn, Diced Pineapples, Unthinkable, Water Runs Dry |
| 2017 | Boundless | Love Notes, Fuse, Awaken, Get up and Dance, Phoenix, A Winter Night in Boston, Night Drive, Reflections, Mood Swings, Overture’15, Lights, Intermezzo |
| 2020 | Songs from a Breakthrough | Am I Wrong, Purple Rain, Rain |
| 2020 | 25 Days of Christmas | This Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas |
| – | Others | Freedom, Best Mistake, Bermuda Triangle, All of Me, Thunder, Down, Broken Sorrow |
Philanthropy
In 2007, Escobar founded the Violins Against Violence foundation. Escobar also works with the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, UNICEF and Kennedy’s Cause, a charity that benefits children with lymphatic malformation.{{cite web |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20769128,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224203550/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20769128,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |title=Damien Escobar Honors 16-Year-Old PEOPLE Hero |last1=Sobieraj Westfall |first1=Sandra |date=24 December 2013 |website=People |publisher=Time Inc |access-date=30 March 2015}} He is also on the Board of Directors for the Jamaica YMCA. In 2013, he hosted an event that raised over $50,000 for the Jamaica YMCA. In 2014, Escobar performed a rendition of We Shall Overcome in honor of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin and his friend Sean Bell.{{cite web |url=http://www.vibe.com/2014/11/damien-escobar-pays-tribute-to-mike-brown/ |title=Violinist Damien Escobar Pays Tribute To Mike Brown With 'We Shall Overcome' |last1=Golding |first1=Shenequa A. |date=26 November 2014 |website=vibe.com |publisher=Spin Media |access-date=30 March 2015}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.dameesco.com/ Official site]
- {{IMDb name |1870024}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Damien}}
Category:Musicians from Queens, New York
Category:People from Jamaica, Queens
Category:American male violinists
Category:America's Got Talent contestants