E.SO
Interview with Lee Richards - The lead singer of the Christian Rock band E.SO
Backstory: I met Lee when I was attending my church in Fallbrook, California, where I was introduced to him as my Youth Group Leader. I always found him to be a great guitar player, even eventually having him drive to my house a few times to give me guitar lessons before I ever knew he was in the band E.SO. I did see them perform once in person at our church in the Fellowship Hall where I bought an E.SO merch hat. I eventually moved from California and recently was reminded of E.SO while listening to music in my car, and reconnected with him after many years. After seeing there was no info about E.SO online, I went straight to the source to hopefully provide a deep dive for old and new fans. You can contact Lee on Instagram at @fisher43.
Q1: When did you first get into music?
Lee
My interest in music began in high school. My dad was a professional musician for many years, so I believe the natural desire and ability was already in there. I hammered away on the guitar until my fingers would bleed. I just couldn't put it down.
Q2: Were you ever in any other bands before E.SO?
Lee
I was in a band before E.SO. It was a kind of pop/rock band called Fisher43. I played bass. It was also a Christian-based band. Kyle Craw was the drummer and later became the guitarist for E.SO. There was a really great community of musicians in Fallbrook, so we would all play a lot of the same shows and organize together. Some of my favorite memories.
Q3: What the heck does E.SO even mean or stand for?
Lee
The name E.SO is actually a Hungarian word that means "to reign." What is the significance of the Hungarian language to E.SO? Zero. Caleb, our bass player, came up with it.
Q4: How was E.SO formed, and how did you end up becoming the lead singer rather than a lead guitarist, since I know you are personally a big guitarist?
Lee
The band E.SO was formed when Kyle, our guitarist and the drummer in Fisher43, began getting together with his siblings as an outreach to their oldest brother, Caleb, who was either not yet a Christian or was just kind of living outside of a real relationship with God. Caleb was very into bands like Linkin Park, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, etc. After a while they realized, "Hey, we kind of have something here." Kyle gave me a call and asked if I wanted to come by and just mess around on vocals. There was really no intention of going anywhere with it outside of outreach and just hanging out. After fooling around a few times on vocals, we realized it was actually something I could do pretty well. Fun fact: we never had any lyrics written until the night before I went in to lay down vocals, only a few catchphrases on a few of the songs. The recording is when the band really took shape.
Q5: Did you guys make anything besides the first original album, International Healing?
Lee
We did, in fact, have a three-song EP that we recorded at a studio somewhere in San Diego. We recorded this after winning a battle of the bands contest at SOMA, I believe it was. The prize was recording time at a studio. After we made the EP, which was quite terrible, I would add, Caleb put it up on MP3.com, which was really the only music-sharing platform at the time. I'm not even sure MySpace was up yet. Phil from Bettie Rocket Records happened to find us on there, contacted us, and came out from Sacramento to meet us and offer us a contract.
Q6: Who was the first label you guys were signed to, and how did you get attention back in the days before social media?
Lee
I suppose I answered this already. Bettie Rocket Records was the label, and we posted on MP3.com.
Q7: Did you guys ever travel and play shows?
Lee
We did travel. We had one major tour after the album came out, hitting about half the states. We traveled in an old Chevy conversion van that died a few times along the way and almost made us cancel the tour. We played a lot of churches, but also hit several big and well-known festivals, including Cornerstone, LifeFest, and Spirit West Coast. Outside of the tour, we got to play in Hawaii and did a lot of local events inside California.
Q8: What happened to E.SO, and why did the band stop making music?
Lee
The band dissolved about a year or so after the tour. The brothers and I were simply on different pages. I had a real desire for ministry because I was very affected by others involved in music ministry, namely Dan Spencer of the Supertones. Dan served at CTK and was somewhat of a mentor to me. The brothers were simply not there with the same vision. After a few heavy conversations with them, I chose to leave the band, which was not the responsible or fair thing to do because we were under a three-album contract. I simply didn't recognize, in my immaturity, the weight of the contract. The brothers replaced me with the lead singer of Like David, who was likewise in the Bettie Rocket family. They recorded, I believe, a five-song EP and then had another falling out with their singer. The band dissolved after that.
Q9: Is E.SO officially online anywhere today?
Lee
I believe you can find the full album on YouTube, along with a bunch of anime clips with our music attached that someone put together. Outside of that, I'm not too sure.
Q10: Does anyone still talk to each other, and would you guys ever get together again for a reunion?
Lee
I only occasionally catch up with Jeremy Craw, our drummer. Kyle and I were supposed to get together a few years ago, but it never happened. Unfortunately, a legit band reunion is highly unlikely.