Everyone needs a hobby. Though not students, Biola facilities workers Israel Cortez and Joey Viscerra, their after-work hobby is playing in a band together.
THE BIRTH OF A BAND
The two twenty-somethings met through a mutual friend who thought of himself as a poet and wanted music backing his poetry.
“I like playing ambient music,” Cortez said. “He wanted me to do that.”
Viscerra brought a bass and became part of the band after the very first practice.
“We got one of our friends to drum for us that night,” Viscerra said. “The next day we got another friend for the drummer.”
And thus, The Freedman’s Bureau was born. Cortez, who had been working with facilities for almost two years, became friends with Viscerra after the first show and got him a facilities job as well.
Cortez said that the name Freedman’s Bureau, which originally was We the Free, then Vulture and the Crow for a while, is derived from a post-Civil War organization that helped poor white people and freed slaves become better acclimated to society through land ownership or education. Viscera said that the band correlates the freeing of people from physical slavery with the freeing of people from sin.
Synchronizing and Harmonizing as a Group
Viscerra says the band is a mixture of post-rock, punk and spoken word, with the vocalist speaking over the music and changing his tone of voice according to the tone of the song.
According to Viscerra, the band’s original founder left because of differences of opinion.
However, the rest of Freedman’s Bureau stayed together, bringing in Cortez’s brother as a pianist as well as another vocalist. Cortez says that he would like to see where the band goes in terms of ministry opportunities.
When asked about the difficulty between balancing work and playing with the band, Viscerra said that it varies.
“Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s hard,” he said. “We’re getting six people who work and have school to come together and practice.”
Cortez believes that the varying musical tastes of the band members sets them apart from other bands.
“We like to bring ourselves into the music,” Cortez said. “I think people enjoy that.”
One Style, One Sound, One Band
He explained that with his full control, the band would sound like a mixture of Manchester Orchestra, Sigur Rós and Thrice. However, if Viscerra’s musical preferences controlled the band, Freedman’s Bureau’s style would sound like Norma Jean. Cortez’ brother’s full musical control would produce a band that sounds like Les Miserables. He says that while the musical variations can sometimes create contention, making their practices and performances difficult, it makes their music unique.
Viscerra says that working at facilities at such a young age has fostered relationships and the ability to relate to students.
“It’s interesting to be 20 and be part of this Christian Biola community when I’m not a Biolan but I work here,” he said. “I don’t know everything the normal Biolan goes through, but I get both of each world.”
