As our students at Granada get older they are starting to discover their place in the world, experimenting with making music and other forms of art. Although there have been many bands formed with the students of Granada, the latest getting buzz is Dial Oasis.
The band consists of lead singer Noah Burbano (12), guitarist Easton White (11), guitarist Barrett Sako (12), and drummer Isaac Estrada (10).
Burbano first explained what got him into music, leading him to start the band.
“I’ve been doing music since I was in first grade with piano and stuff like that. And, I’ve kind of been wrapped around music my whole life…and then my friends just encouraged me to do it more so I started playing guitar,” said Burbano.
Burbano revealed the type of music he wants his band to make and the type of messages they want to send to the public.
“Multiple genres like alternative, indie, pop, sad music all together…love songs that make people feel good or songs to connect with. Personally my songs, they’re not about anybody or anything, but when I watch movies I kind of make it into a song. I guess people that have gone through the same thing, they listen to it and go ‘oh wow’,” said Burbano.
Burbano wants to mix multiple genres of music together and revealed what music artists he is fond of and takes inspiration from.
“I had to get rid of one, D4VD with whatever happened with him. He was a big inspiration for my own music but now obviously he’s not because of whatever’s going on. If we’re talking bands, probably the Backseat Lovers and right now, Malcolm Todd. It’s those two really,” said Burbano.
Sako, Estrada, and White explained how it felt when being approached by Burbano to join the band.
Sako stated, “Well I think it was just Noah and he just asked me like, ‘Barret I know you play guitar do you want to join my band?’ and then I guess my initial thoughts were just…I didn’t really know anything about Noah’s music so I was just like ‘I’ll try this out and see how it goes’. It’s been pretty fun so far.”
Estrada stated, “Noah put out a post about needing a drummer so I reached out because I’ve been playing for a few years and I wasn’t part of a band and didn’t really play music…and he was like ‘oh that’s cool you can drum’. We found a day to meet up and went over to Easton’s and we started brainstorming how we want to sound. I was really excited. I’m new to the area so it was cool to get into a band immediately and be able to play with some people.”
White stated, “I thought it was pretty cool he DM’d me on Instagram because I have a guitar in my profile picture and he played because all the guitar players kind of know each other here. He DM’d me and said ‘hey I don’t have anyone yet but do you want to do a little band thing’ and I was like ‘sure, I’ll join’. It was pretty cool because I haven’t really done gigs before. I’ve played with my friends and played with a bunch of people but I’ve never played with the intention of getting better. So it was kind of cool.”
Burbano then revealed how he feels about the chemistry throughout his group, although they’ve only practiced a few times.
“It’s great…the first thing we did, it was just me, Easton, and Isaac before Barret. I think we connected through music…I wouldn’t say it was awkward when we first got together but we weren’t close. When we played music, I think that brought us closer if that makes sense,” said Burbano.
Each member of Dial Oasis has their own role to fill through instruments and vocals but they got deep and shared what they want to give to the band besides their musical talent.
Burbano stated, “Probably just a really good core group outside of music. I want to be able to hang out outside as friends and just have a really good connection throughout life so if we split up or if something happens, it’s not splitting up for something bad and we’ll still get together as people and friends.”
Estrada stated, “Bands help inspire other people to start making music and open up venues for other artists who are looking for outlets to make music because I know there are a lot of people who play guitar. And, it kind of helps inspire other people to make bands and play together.”
White stated, “I think I have a good musical input because I listen to a lot of music and I know a lot of people so I kind of have a good sense of musicality in my brain because I’ve been playing for four years so I think I have really good input to whatever we’re playing. I hope my ideas can come into fruition.”
Burbano then explained where he thinks his future in music lies.
“I am obviously going to pursue it. I think I’m gonna go to college, minor in something with music but then obviously have a backup if music doesn’t work out so I know what to do and I’m not lost or anything.”
For the future of the band, Estrada revealed what he wants to add to keep the band alive.
“Something I really want to focus on is playing everywhere we can because I know there’s a lot of people who are really picky about where they play and starting out you don’t want to be picky. But I think doing cover music and then also [playing] an original song, something we’re working on so it not only brings awareness to our band but also draws in people to listen to our music rather than them being like “oh this is a cover band”. So we kind of slowly start integrating our own music until it’s to the point [where] it’s only our music. And I think that’s a good progression for us to take,” said Estrada.
Sako and Estrada then stated if they have any ideas for new musical components to add to the band.
Sako stated, “I literally have no clue. We haven’t written any music yet, we’ve just been doing covers. So…maybe in the future. I’m not sure though, we’ll just have to see how it goes.”
Estrada stated, “I think I would love to dive into a little bit more orchestral music because I know Noah’s really advocating for adding trumpet or trombone to kind of give it a more earthly feel. I think that’d be really cool.”
Estrada and White then revealed how long they have been playing their respective instruments.
Estrada stated, “I’ve been playing [drums] for four to five years. I’m more of a casual player. I’m self taught.”
White stated, “Well guitar I’ve only been playing for two and a half years because I played drums first. I did that and then I did guitar and bass at the same time so I kind of play everything but my first thing was drums. But then I got an acoustic and started playing and it’s been like that ever since.”
Finally Estrada lended advice to others trying to pursue this journey.
“Practice…I know a lot of people find practicing intimidating. And reach out. Everybody can honestly play in multiple bands. Playing with whoever you can even though it’s not official, practicing with more people is better than practicing alone because you can get creative feedback. I think that’s some of the best advice I can give,” said Estrada.
