When Gericho decided to pursue music in 2015, he did so by producing the instrumentations and recording all the songs on his albums and EPs by himself. When it was time to perform them live, he would either sing to a backing track instrumental on his computer, or strip the song down acoustically.
“Singing to a backing track is great and all, but it really limits what you can do on stage. There’s that energy thing too. I like to share the energy on stage with fellow performers. It really helps when the audience is not jiving with you the way you expected them to.”
So after a year of getting himself embedded in the local music scene and making several connections, he decided it was time to get the true characters of his songs out and give it that extra push that only a live band can bring.
Gericho performing as a Solo artist for the first time at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA (2015)
“I really like how Ne-Yo formats his work. In his CD, you hear a fully produced Hip-Hop, R&B, beat machine, synth driven tracks. But when he plays them live, he has real instruments playing with him. It gives the music another dimension.”
When it was time to do so, he reached out to Matt Begay, who is very active among the musicians in Long Beach City College, to assemble a group of talented individuals. Gericho was booked to perform at The Mint in Los Angeles in two weeks, when he approached Begay. With this in mind, Begay spearheaded the swift recruitment process and recruited what would be the core of the group. That core included Cris Cornejo on drums, Alex Rodarte on bass, George Stemmann on keyboards, Begay on trumpet, and one of Gericho’s mentors, Wendy Levin on lead guitar.
“We had three total meetings before that Mint gig. One for the initial meet and greet, and two rehearsals. We just gelled right off the bat. I mean, these guys are really good at what they do! Being the ‘weakest’ guy in the group felt great because you see these folks going to work on your songs, bringing them to life, and adding their own flavor to it. Dude, it was blessing to watch. I learned a lot from these guys!”
At the most, The Guardians boasted a band of ten players which included a full horn section and two additional vocalist to supplement Gericho’s lead vocals with harmonies.
“These guys are my ‘Dream Team.’ Like, I’ve always dreamed of having a band to play my original tunes with, and I’ve been blessed with such a talented group. I always say that this whole thing would not be possible without them. I am a GOOD acoustic act on my own, but I became a GREAT act with them. For the times that they pushed and encourage me to strive to be a better artist, songwriter, or whatever, I will always be thankful to them.”
