At the memorial live performance prepared by means of Ashby Stokes, in memory of Alex Gonzalez in June, Ismario Gonzalez, Alex’s father, stated, “Alex’s short existence in Greenwood changed into surrounded all the time by track. What higher manner to extend the legacy of tune and Alex than with track training?
“I brought him to song when he turned into just a boy,” Ismario said. “There, his dream turned into to be the following Carlos Santana.”
During the live performance, Ismario performed percussion, along Gage Kinard, a former pupil of Alex’s who has been named as the first recipient of a scholarship established in Alex’s reminiscence by means of his dad and mom.
Gage and Ismario performed with a recording of Alex’s rhythm guitar. (Alex used a loop pedal to record tracks he may want to then layer.)
That overall performance, in line with Ashby, “took a whole lot of bravery.”
“I recognize I could not have carried out that if it have been my child,” Ashby said, lauding the assist of the network in attending the concert.
“That’s simply our tune scene,” Ashby said. “Man, it’s thriving, and it’s simplest going to get better. Alex became a massive a part of helping that occur by using passing on his talent and passion.”
Marianne Lenti of Greenwood, a professor emeritus of Lander University, across the world recognised concert pianist and artist-in-house an performed painter, at the Arts Center of Greenwood, stated she offered to educate Alex song idea for his placement tests as a freshman on the University of South Carolina.
“We spent many hours drilling at my dining room table,” Marianne stated. “Through it all, he became eager to examine, shrewd and an ideal younger gentleman. A joy to train. His freshman idea test become so accurate he positioned in a sophomore theory elegance at USC.”
Ismario and Dana Gonzalez, Alex’s parents, created the scholarship’s GoFundMe page simply 10 days after Alex died.
Ismario said he tends to have a strict parenting fashion, but he didn’t see apparent symptoms that Alex changed into grappling with viable dependancy.
“He turned into our first youngster going through university,” Ismario said of Alex. “He had quite a few obligations and he turned into an first rate scholar. His grades never faltered, which a few will tell you is a sign of someone the usage of drugs or alcohol. Chorus turned into the most effective class he didn’t like and he nevertheless made a B-plus.
“In Spanish, we have a announcing: ‘Tell me who you're with and I will tell you who you're,’” Ismario brought. “That is something that needs to resonate with dad and mom. If your children are with humans you don’t recognise, that may be a flag. ... When Alex become teaching, he made it a point to be as instantly as he will be. We want to remember him musically and as a son. We’re now not perfect and he had imperfections, but I wanted him to be triumphant and notice all the talent he had...You ought to give him a stringed device — one he had in no way seen earlier than — and play it.”
When phrase of Alex’s untimely loss of life unfold, The Southender Maga’zine’s Facebook web page had a put up with a picture of Alex playing guitar describing him as “a prodigiously gifted musician” and “a sincerely kind soul.”
The mag is an internet and print book from Swampfire Records, specializing in arts, way of life and personalities of Hilton Head Island.
Ismario, a native of Venezuela, is a self-taught musician and he stated Alex’s love of tune was evident early. At the age of three, Alex already had a tiny guitar.
“One night time, while a band I changed into in changed into playing at a Mexican restaurant, Alex was with me,” Ismario stated. “Alex asked me to study his guitar. People had crammed all kinds of payments into the frame of the guitar. Long tale short, he made similar to a hundred greenbacks that night time and I most effective made similar to 30. People just cherished him.”
The Gonzalez family moved to Greenwood from Akron, Ohio while Alex turned into about 5.
“His song advanced,” Ismario recalled. “By the time he became nine, he had advanced from his little toy guitar to gambling Dana’s classical guitar. He first took electric guitar lessons from Bobby Bice at Sound Systems and More in Greenwood.”
From about the age of 14, Alex performed in severa bands, consisting of a band together with his own family — Babaluu — gambling traditional Venezuelan song, as well as local rock bands inclusive of The System and later, Hilton Head’s Pretty Darn.
Alex taught tune lessons here in Greenwood and in more recent years inside the coastal community of Bluffton, wherein he additionally labored some in production and as a kayak manual and helped control a music shop.
Among his students here had been Gage and twin sisters, Kameron and Madison Amerson, both 18. They are seniors at Greenwood High School.
Kameron wants to observe tune in college and Madison, visual arts. But, as younger young adults, they each were given interested in gaining knowledge of to play rock song.
Kameron desired a guitar one Christmas and Madison desired a bass guitar, Katherine said. Alex taught both women the way to play, starting in 7th grade.
“Both girls have been born premature, but after they started taking track lessons, some thing just clicked,” Katherine, their mom, said. “It awakened elements of their brains and they have been not at the back of anyone in lessons however beforehand.
“Alex had them play a rock and roll mashup for a skills show in middle faculty,” Katherine said. “They performed ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ ‘One,’ and ‘Thriller.’ He prepped them for several talent suggests and paintings with them till they perfected it. Alex also had the twins play guitar for his dad’s fiftieth party. At that celebration, Alex showcased his students. It was like a jam session on the Gonzalez’s deck. Every time Kam performs, Alex lives.”
Madison stated that she and Kameron found their “detail” within the arts.
“I in reality desired to work on tune on my own,” Kameron said. “Alex helped construct my self assurance and he’s the motive I have gotten so desirable. Alex changed into like my musical brother.”
When they discovered of Alex’s demise, Madison painted a guitar with Salvadore Dali-inspired elephants and Kameron determined an inspirational quote about the impact Alex had on Madison and Kameron as a mentor. The layout can pay homage to a tattoo Alex had. Madison and Kameron gave the guitar to Ismario and Dana.
Her voice triumph over with emotion, Kameron said, “I assume from some other human being in the world, I probable found out the maximum from him. He made me a very good participant. I nevertheless have notes he wrote down for me about gambling.”
The Amerson twins took classes from Alex till he moved to Bluffton. Now, Kameron is taking training from Gage.
“He moved to Bluffton in 2016,” Ismario said, noting Alex had one semester of university left to complete. “At the time of his passing, we realized he had 4 bookings to play for weddings and he had instructions with tune college students, too. At one factor, he become gambling with 5 extraordinary bands, all extraordinary genres of tune.
“My brother-in-regulation is a professional musician,” Ismario stated. “He advised me that musicians often deliver the entirety to their audiences through their song. In giving the entirety, they locate themselves nearly in this vacuum of loneliness and vacancy as soon as they're off degree. Alex had a popularity in Bluffton as a superb bassist and guitarist.”