Weslaco kids form rock band to spread word of God

Six local Christian musicians are on a mission from God. 

They get together for weekly practice, and they rehearse individually, but they don’t put in late nights because most of them have to be in bed by 9:30 p.m. — they are, after all, still in elementary school.

With the help of a handful of churches and Gospa Records, a Christian music label, the worship band Ready 2 Rejoice recorded a full-length album of songs with a message of faith. 

Ready 2 Rejoice will be celebrating the release of its first album with a CD release party at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, at the Mid Valley Assembly Church in Weslaco. 

The Weslaco-based band was created almost two years ago when the members met as guitar students of Joe Hernandez, who is also the band’s manager. 

“Joseph practices when we have time, usually during the late afternoon,” Hernandez says of his son. “He is usually in bed by 9:30 p.m. The recording of the CD took place mostly during the summer time and during the day, so it did not affect their bed time.”

Joseph, 9, keeps the beat as the drummer for Ready 2 Rejoice. He also plays piano, guitar and bass. In spite of his musical talent and his love for hitting the skins, Joseph is already thinking about a career in another field. 

“I’m going to work for Nintendo,” he says. 

Each of the 9- to 13-year-old children enjoys playing in the band and the reason for which they’re singing on stage at church. 

“I like the feeling I get when I sing on stage for the Lord,” Celeste Vasquez, 13, says. 

Celeste got the chance to stretch both her vocal cords and her language skills when Ready 2 Rejoice decided to perform songs in Spanish in addition to English. 

“It was a trying learning experience for her,” Celeste’s mom, Minnie, says. “She had to work on her enunciation, and she has a vocal coach who helped her.”

Though Celeste still doesn’t quite understand the words she’s singing, her enunciation has improved and she may even take Spanish lessons. 

The children aren’t the only ones going through a learning process with the worship band. 

Nearly every family is from a different church and denomination. From Catholic to Presbyterian to non-denominational, they all had to learn how to get along. 

“We’re all from different churches, and respectfully, we’re all from different religions,” Hernandez says. “We’ve grown … to respect each other and ultimately, you know, we all serve God.”

It didn’t take long for the tension to dissolve and it was easy for everyone to respect each person’s faith and come together for the common goal: watching as their gifted children use their talents to reach out to others about God. 

Ready 2 Rejoice doesn’t have concrete plans to tour this summer, but Hernandez says they will, if it is God’s will. 

“We’re going to do whatever God wants us to do,” he says. “If God gives us the ability to maybe travel a little, we’re going to travel a little, if we can. Would we love to go on tour? Who doesn’t? The kids would love to go on tour, but we’re realistic more than anything. We’re taking baby steps right now.”

Those small steps include plans to record a second album, playing a show in Los Angeles in December and a gig Saturday, June 11, at the Island of Praise event at Schlitterbahn at South Padre Island.

Amy Nichol Smith covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4420.