While most teenage boys spent their time worried about horrid face acne and impressing girls via blinding their senses with ludicrous amounts of cheap cologne, a one “Paul Esch” had more important things on his mind: 1. Becoming the finest Heavy-Metal and Blues Guitar Virtuoso to ever exist, and 2. dorking out on the finest videogames. Like many boys interested in the world of “the raddest instrument ever”, Paul had his sights set on the Music of bands like Iron Maiden, Testament, Joe Satriani and Carcass. OK, so maybe “Carcass” wasn’t very popular among many boys at the time, but the point is: Paul came from a Heavy-Metal and Blues background, and there was much happiness in shredding.
Born November 28th, 1976, Paul began teaching guitar at age 16, only one year after his first lesson. The music program at his school was almost non-existent, so Paul became a student teacher to help fill in the gap. Teaching guitar and basic music theory gave Paul his first taste of the musical responsibility he has since had for 13 years: “It felt very strange being this young kid, and having to make students take you seriously while you sat up there trying to act like a seasoned teacher. Fortunately, I had a good relationship with my peers, and that helps a great deal. Honestly, it felt great!”
Soon after in his 11th grade year, Paul was introduced to the world of Flamenco, Baroque, and Ethnomusicology (the study of world music). Through this, Paul began his journey into an unprecedented study that challenged his ability in ways he never thought possible. Learning Flamenco changed and reshaped his musical life in a way that set his goals toward a greater world view: “My problem was that I needed to expand my musical endeavors. I fell in love with Bach, and then I heard this album by a Japanese instrumental guitarist by the name of Groove King. He had these great songs that combined Flamenco with Metal, and the result just floored me at how great his technique and arrangements were! Not since Satriani had I heard guitar playing this fantastic! After that, I decided to study Flamenco, and that lead me to investigate styles of music from any part of the world I could get my hands on.” Paul fell in love with Flamenco, and began a study in what he calls “The hardest form of guitar music to ever grace my fingers.”
Paul’s loves of the world’s music lead him to college to study Ethnomusicology and Composition in 6 countries that incorporated music like Japanese traditional Gagaku, to Finnish “Math Metal”. Paul also went on to study and later teach Piano and Harpsichord, which he performed both along with Flamenco on a regular basis in Amsterdam. Still, Paul loved Saint Paul Minnesota, and returned home to continue school and teaching.
Paul now spends his time teaching, writing and performing music as he finishes his PhD in Ethnomusicology and Composition. Paul was named top in his class for music study, composition and virtuoso guitar performance. Yet, after all this, Paul never forgets his roots: “It drives me insane when these angry classical guitarists who grew up on stuff like metal and blues turn their back on where they came from. Metal and Blues are still to this day, as important to me as Flamenco or Baroque. Some of the best players are in metal bands, and it saddens me when some of these folks are blinded by dogmatic views of music.”
Paul can usually be found enjoying life as a positive conduit for music with his students, friends and family (not to mention some good geek time with the good ol’ videogames as well). Being a great player does not make that person great teacher, and visa-versa. Paul is a rare breed of both, never tired to teach anyone from any skill level, background, or experience. “Teaching is bit of a selfish job: I get to do something I genuinely love, while learning more about myself, bettering my teaching skills, and my playing ability. Simply put, I have the best job in the world.”