Perhaps if not for the tough times, Slow Car Crash front man Omarr Escoffie' still would be singing about wizards and dragons.

The Los Angeles musician joked that his first song attempt featured that type of imagery due in part, he said, to influences by bands like Iron Maiden.

But Escoffie' reaped the rewards of a hard-won life, eventually producing music that asks listeners to question the world around them. To question Escoffie' yourself, his band will be performing at Convergence tonight with:
" Ali Harter,
" Chase Kerby and
" James Garrett. 

PAST DEMONS
Early in his career, Escoffie's songs focused on love and the lack thereof. He said that as he grew, so did his tendency to sing about topics bigger than himself, including drug addiction, alcoholism and socioeconomic issues.

"Hopefully the songs carry a message of hope or release from whatever it is that may be bringing people down," he said. "It's kind of a soundtrack to life."

At the tender age of 15, Escoffie' left his home of Seattle to pursue his music career. Some nights, he lived out of the backseat of a station wagon. At 18, he moved to Los Angeles and checked into a halfway home for abused and homeless teenagers.

Despite the hardships, Escoffie' remains optimistic.

"I think, man, with this life, it's a short life," he said. "If you're given something you can do, whether you're good at it or not, if it's something that can affect people, it's a pretty amazing thing." "Bryan Mangieri