George Esquivel: Rocker for Life

BY BARRETT BERGEZ (INTERN) FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

For George Esquivel, life is about the joy and thrill of music. His home boasts a collection of rock n’ roll paraphernalia that is like a museum. With wall-to-wall coverage of his collection, it would be easy to think there is clutter. In reality, every piece has a story behind it and a purpose in his life. To him, the collection tells the story of his life and are mementos from pivotal moments. He said his collection began when he was about nine years old and has been growing ever since. It is a collection of treasures and contributions from family and friends who entrusted him with their keepsakes. “This house is an ongoing project honestly,” Esquivel said, “everybody says, what do you got room, I say, trust me I will make room.” Esquivel said his first experience at a live concert was in Nov. 1977, when he was in the ninth grade. He said the Kiss concert was a jarring experience. “Being a kid and you hear the perils and explosions and stuff, it’s shocking,” he said. He said from the moment the concert started, he was ready to go home. The next concert he went to was Boston. He said the atmosphere and roar of the crowd drew him in for the experience. “That was the medicine I needed,” he said, “and I never looked back.” While Boston changed his life, Queen (current) touched his soul. Esquivel said the Queen concert he saw with Adam Lambert in 2017 was the most memorable concert of his life. “The theatrical part of it was really cool,” he said. During the concert, Brian May, co-founder and the late lead singer with Freddie Mercury, were singing and on the screen, May and Mercury were singing a duet like in the old days before Mercury passed away. “It was so moving. I said wow that is so cool,” Esquivel said, “so to me it felt like he never died.” Traveling to concerts out of town and going on adventures to see bands is part of the thrill he said. Part of Esquivel’s collection is a collage of tickets he has collected over the years from several different concerts. Getting to share his passion for music and concerts is a huge part of his life he said. “It’s my love. It’s my biggest, passion, and the same with t-shirts,” he said. Among his things, Esquivel has a collection of over 350 t-shirts from several different bands. He said he has so many shirts in his collection he loses track of everything in his possession. To Esquivel, his collection is an extension of himself. He said people have asked him what he would do if someone came to his home and does not approve. His response to that is he would not change a single thing. For one poster sitting in his living room, as a kid, Esquivel had not been able to attend the concert because it was canceled before they could perform. “But I stole that right off a telephone pole right across from the Coliseum,” Esquivel said. To Esquivel, keeping these treasures reminds him of the experiences he has had and of the feelings he experienced. The most memorable piece in his home is a velvet Kiss painting he keeps hanging in his room. When he was a kid, his father gave him the option between that piece and a couple other paintings, but he felt like that one called to him. “That’s what I built my life around, that’s the one thing I had, and everything was built on it,” he said. Kiss has a special place in his heart as the first piece of his collection and the first concert he ever saw he said. “I remember thinking wow, there’s this band I’ve looked at on album covers,” he said, “they’re there, I have them in my hand at home, and they’re there in Lubbock, Texas.” Hanging in his living room are also photo prints his brother created from concerts Esquivel has been to along with a Christmas tree made from drums that he and his girlfriend created together. “We did it for Christmas about three years ago, and we’ve added to it,” he said. He said for anyone who is just starting to fall in love with music, it is important to keep everything and never throw anything away that means something to you.