By Holland Taylor

Photography by Kelly Segré

“I don’t want to be known as just another guy with a mustache.”The words of a musician on the rise, where his past acts as the inspiration for a future which has yet to be determined. Hello Existence seems to be more than simply a name, it is an awakening for Cesar. A pathway of storytelling through music and lyrics. Many singer/songwriters have taken this path but not all succeed. This is where Cesar’s story truly begins.

He speaks candidly about his relationship struggles with his father, a tough Marine who didn’t always understand Cesar’s calling to music. You can hear the combination of love and struggle in his music. There is an honesty to it, which draws you in and leaves you with a craving for more.

While there are plans for a tour up the west coast from San Diego to Seattle within the next year, this all really began when he was nine years old. This is when Cesar first picked up his father’s guitar, a year later playing his own that his dad bought him. While his father did teach him a few chords, Cesar took it from there, teaching himself styles which he preferred. Listening to his music now, you never would have guessed that he had played in hardcore bands all throughout high school.

His song “Blossom,” -which is one of his personal favorites- is about himself and, “Growing out of the phase of innocence, which is necessary to fulfill your potential.” He adds, “it is accepting the fact that you’re jaded now.” The title seems appropriate as Cesar does not wish to stay a child forever but he also isn’t quite ready to become an adult or “robot,” so he plans on living somewhere in the middle. It is only natural to long for youthful naivety, to be able to live without worry, all the while coming to terms with adulthood and the next phase of his life.

His music can be described as Indie-Folk, but there are plans for more percussion and bass heavy songs which will be released this spring. Hello Existence will have an expansive sound while at the same time maintaining the cohesiveness between each song that’s to be released next fall. There will be tours to come and while listening to Cesar talk about Seattle, New York and everywhere in between you can see he sets high goals for himself along with the influence of his father in his work ethic.

Cesar is the type of guy you feel like you’ve known your whole life even though you just met him yesterday. He embraces imperfection and this can be heard through his music. Most people are scared of the unknown, but Cesar throws himself into the unknown wholeheartedly, without any hesitation. Because he is such an open book, it is easy to relate to his struggles and his music, which is apart of the reason he is such a good musician. He picked up a guitar at nine, played his first show at seventeen, and changed his major three times in six weeks while attending Yucaipa College.  He was married very young and then divorced. Within Cesar’s music there is an actual story of love and loss. Hello Existence is just as much a band name as it is a mission statement. His songs are the questioning of who he is, who he was and who he will be. Hello Existence is the journey we all experience in this thing we call life.  If you are seeking out a new artist to relate to and to resonate with, Hello Existence may be exactly what you have been looking for all along.