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Nuttin' But Stringz
From playing in the subways of New York to the stage of the popular show America’s Got Talent, Tourie and Damien
Escobar have put a whole new spin on the violin.
Tourie Escobar first studied violin as part of a required music course at their elementary school in Queens, N.Y.
And while his younger brother Damien was dying to get his hands on the instrument, the 6-year-old wasn’t
allowed to touch Tourie’s violin, for fear of breaking it. When he too was given the chance to play two years
later, Damien took it and ran.
“My teacher called me a prodigy, but I was just having fun doing what I love,” says Damien. “Two years later Juilliard
wanted me to audition for their program.” At 10, Damien was one of the youngest students ever accepted into Juilliard. His success also reignited Tourie’s interest in the violin and before long, he joined his brother at the prestigious school. And while both boys were extremely gifted, they had very different musical styles. “I loved classical music, but my brother never really liked it,” Damien says. “At first, I couldn’t stand that Tourie was so free-spirited with the violin. I was like, ‘Bach wouldn’t like you to do that. Vivaldi wouldn’t want that.’”
But a few years later the brothers began melding their styles. “One day we were fooling around in the studio and I put down my classical sounds and he put down his hip-hop influence. We were, like, ‘Wow!’”
The teens then refined their urban rock sound—and earned spending money—playing music in the New York subways. “It was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” says Damien. “It was like a multicultural world of music underneath the city, from musicians playing Chinese instruments I’ve never seen before to people playing pots and pans. We took that all in and developed our style.”
Then, in 2004, the Escobars competed in “Amateur Night” at the Apollo Theater. They made it to the final round and
became an overnight media sensation, appearing on the CBS Morning News, the Today Show and Jay Leno. In 2006, they released the GRAMMY-nominated album, Struggle from the Subway to the Charts, but Damien says it wasn’t until their ascent on NBC’s America’s Got Talent —where the duo came in third—that people really “got them.”
“Our Web site got 12 – 14 million hits a week and people began sharing their stories with us, like the guywho said our music kept him from killing himself or the kid from the rough neighborhood who’s afraid to walk to school. So every time we performed we’d close our eyes, think of them and put our passion forward,” says Damien.
Tourie and Damien know what it’s like to escape into music, and have created a charity called Violins Against Violence to help others do the same. “Being raised in Jamaica, Queens, it’s like, you’d hear gunshots, but if you could close your eyes and
play music, it transports you somewhere else.
“We know not every kid wants to play violin, but if we can just get music programs back into at-risk schools, then maybe we can help keep some of these kids off the streets.”
NAMM Member Connection: GlaeViolins (Conn-Selmer) • Proud Member of NAMM Since 1976
Drew Robinson, Conn-Selmer vice-president of marketing, is impressed by the accomplishments of Nuttin’ But Stringz
and believes they represent one of many such inspiring stories of young lives transformed by music. “We salute every success at every musical level,” says Robinson. “Whether it’s on a national talent show, in a high school band or just a get-together with friends, we’re proud that musicians choose to play instruments from Conn-Selmer.”
Codabow International • Proud Member of NAMM Since 1999
Familiar with their talent, Codabow President Jeff Van Fossen said he was honored to learn that the Escobar brothers use their violin bows. “Tourie and Damien are exceptional individuals and what they’ve done reaches far beyond their immediate circle of influence,” he says. “They inspire broader thinking and dreaming on the part of young musicians, and get them more excited about an activity that, in the end, enriches the world.”