Band of the Week: Wezmer

Conner Yarbrough
Blog Content Contributor + Staff Editor

In many ways, music is an entity that continually defines and redefines those who care enough to truly indulge in the art form. While it may sound pretentious to brag on how “powerful” and “sooo relatable” music is, I don’t think one can overstate how transcendent it can actually be. The world of music and musical expression is a community and (for some) a way of life. San Marcos-based band and art collective, Wezmer, exemplify just how powerful that sense of belonging is both in their music and in their lives.

Getting an editorial team of full-time college students together in the heat of the semester was difficult enough and to have our stars align along with those of the members of Wezmer proved to be even more of a challenge (naturally). Despite orchestrating what seemed like a home-grown militia of twenty-somethings, getting to create with Wezmer proved to me just how lucky I was (how lucky we all were) to be coming together to celebrate what we all love.

So, there we were, sitting on the steps of some abandoned high school’s entry, amidst the sound of cars and warnings from old men in pickup trucks, hoping to get to know Wezmer at least a little more than we did driving up. And, as the evening melted into night, I would say we did just that.

Wezmer, whose name combines the names of two small towns in The Valley, Weslaco and Mercedes, is a band made up of five multi-talented members: Adrian Perez on rhythm guitar and vocals, Carina Cruz on tambourine and vocals, Branson Fairbrother on lead guitar, Alejandro Pena on bass and Ulises Chavez on drums – each slowly met as they entered the San Marcos music scene after moving to attend Texas State.

Pena described to me this “culture” of guitarists who would play together in the Quad and how one day he met Perez, who just-so-happened to live in the same residence hall as Fairbrother at the time. Eventually, Perez and Fairbrother moved in together at Iconic Village where they met Cruz and where the band just fell into place.

“I honestly don’t remember how it happened. It was just always there. I never knew when it started, it just… it was cool,” Perez explained.

As existential and annoyingly analytical as I am, I couldn’t help but be moved by this story of five students, musicians and creators, who, by chance, ended up in the right place at the right time to become not just a band but a family. A family that is there for each other even when they find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

After the Iconic Village fires in late-July, a tragedy that devastated not just the San Marcos/Texas State community as a whole, but Wezmer personally, the group got together to host a benefit concert along with an array of other local bands. And, while donations helped fill the spaces of material losses, it was the community and family that Wezmer and the San Marcos music scene contributed to uplift the spirit. An act that, to me, speaks louder than any answer to an interview question could.

Wezmer looks to create more of an art collective through the conglomeration of each of their talents – be it video editing, writing, photography, poetry, playing an instrument or singing – the group looks to better one another for the benefit of the whole. This mentality and genuine care for each other carries on into the atmosphere of their live shows as they challenge and encourage listeners and attendees to be their authentic selves in the way that they do. And, as someone who appreciates music for its power to transcend any specific time or place or situation, I only come to realize just how powerful it is when I meet people in the way that I met Wezmer.

When layers of stars align.

Featured image by Lucero Trevino.