Freshman Kevin Eskowitz came to D.C. for the first time as an 8th grader on a school fieldtrip. Since then, his love for the city has grown and now he’s looking to infuse the local music scene with his acoustic musical stylings.
“I really feel like there’s a music scene that’s bubbling within, and (D.C.) could be like Seattle of the ’90s or San Francisco of the ’60s,” Eskowitz said. “I feel like everyone has a great time in this city and I want to lead that great time.”
Eskowitz began his performing career in a few middle school plays. By the time he got to high school, he realized the drama of acting wasn’t for him, but he still loved performing. Eskowitz soon found his calling in music after borrowing a guitar from a friend, which he taught himself how to play.
“From the second I could play my first chord, I started writing,” he said. “I knew I always had it in me, I just had to get an outlet of some sort.”
From there Eskowitz began writing and performing with friends. After a while, a friend found out about a studio and his band began recording. Traveling 45 minutes each way, three times a week, Eskowitz and his friends ended up recording five songs for his demo entitled Velcro in 2004.
“(Recording) really showed me how persistent I can be and how perfect and good you really have to be if you want to make a good album because it’s hard,” he said. “That album showed me that I have a lot of work to do, but it’s good for what it is.”
Velcro consists of five finely tuned, laid-back acoustic rock tracks that demonstrate a great deal of maturity for a young musician. Eskowitz also handles the business side of his music career with maturity. In high school, he was a 16-year-old musician taking care of the management, booking, and general duties of a band. Now, two and a half years later, he relies on friends to help book and promote shows. New online resources such as MySpace and Pure Volume have also helped to promote Eskowitz’s music and his CD is sold exclusively online at www.awaremusic.com. Friends have even started a Facebook group called “I Have Kevin Eskowitz on my iPod.”
“There needs to be in the grassroots independent music scene a sort of community, and that’s the beauty of Facebook MySpace, and Pure Volume. It really brings a sense of community to an artist or a band,” he said.
For now, Eskowitz is part of the college community. He still says that music is just a hobby for now and his focus is on obtaining a marketing degree. “My dad always told me, ‘You got to get a degree. You have to be a smart kid.’ The smarter I am, the better I’m going to be in whatever I decide to do.”
Eskowitz has lofty ambitions for his hobby. “I want to be John Lennon, I want to be Bob Dylan. I want to change the world with my music,” he said. “There’s a starting point and this is it for me. Hopefully in 10 years I will make a difference with my music and I want to make an impact with my words. It’s all just a matter of getting better and improving.”
Kevin Eskowitz will be performing at Grog and Tankard on Nov. 12 and Staccato Lounge on Dec. 1. Listen to Kevin’s music at www.kevineskowitz.com.
