City Escape Congratulations on being chosen as the FReeZA Artist of the Month. Introduce us to the band members in City Escape.

Matt Millard -22 years old, Bass Guitar Matt cannot burp. Seriously.
Chris Winstone - 20 years old, Guitar/Backing Vocals Chris has a remarkable resemblance to Ugly Betty.
Jarrod Salton - 21 years old, Vocals/Guitar Jarrod is obsessed with having clean hands, and carries a bottle of hand sanitizer with him at all times.
Andrew Richey - 22 years old, Drums/Backing Vocals During the week Andy can be seen at a Priceline store selling make-up and hair products.

How long have been playing together? In that time, how do you think you have progressed as a band?
We've been playing together for just over 2 years now. We've progressed in a heap of ways. When we first started I think we all had different views as to what kind of band we wanted to be. I don't think we turned out like any of them, which is good. Haha. We were younger then and as we got older we progressed as musicians and kind of found our own sound. Our live show has definitely improved as well, and I'd like to think our songs have too. You’ve done a bit of touring this year in support of your EP, Avalanches.

What bands have you shared the stage with and who did you enjoy playing with the most?
Yeah, it’s been a pretty hectic year so far but we have loved every minute of it. We've been lucky enough to play with a handful of big artists like: Thrice, All Time Low, Craig Owens (Chiodos), Kisschasy and Set Your Goals. In late November we will be doing a national tour with The Secret Handshake, which will be nothing short of amazing I’m sure. The one I enjoyed playing with the most would have to be Thrice. They've been one of my favourite bands since I was in high school, so it was like a dream come true to be sharing the stage with a band that used to be all I listened to. I think we even used to play a few Thrice covers when we first started jamming together.

In one of your blogs you talk about your first adventure on the road, which involved driving in 45 degree heat. From what you have experienced so far, what do you think is the best and worst thing about travelling interstate to play music?
Haha. Oh yes. The first tour was definitely hell, but it was a learning experience. Being a four piece band with no money at the time we decided to just take a four seater car and tow a massive trailer instead of hiring a van like most bands do. This was a terrible idea. It was the middle of summer so naturally a car struggling to tow a trailer full of gear is going to over heat, which meant we couldn’t use the air-con. So driving in +40 degrees wasn't fun. I think we broke down about three or four times and changed our driving schedules to overnight, just to avoid the heat. But obviously things got better for us and we learnt from our mistakes.

The best thing about the tours I think is just the fact that we can travel to the other side of the country and play in front of kids who are singing along to songs I wrote in my bedroom or at band practice. I think it’s awesome. We have made so many amazing friends who will be friends for life I'm sure. I think the worst thing would just have to be the hours on the road. But we make the most of it and try and have a good time. We take the shows very seriously though and try to do our best to hang out with fans and meet everyone as best we can.

How would you sum up this year for City Escape? What have you discovered about yourselves and the music industry? Well we set ourselves a goal this year to make City Escape a known name in the music scene and we feel we've done a fairly good job at that. But it’s still a work in progress. I think that’s the discovery we've made – that we can never just stop and go "well that'll do now, let's just enjoy it" we always want to be better at what we do and always want to make progress.

Is it hard sometimes to manage being in a band as well as working outside of music?
Well it can be, yes. Depending on your boss I guess. Haha. We've all had our problems here and there with work but you kinda work out a balance that works. All of us are fairly poor though, but hey it’s kinda worth it.

Anything you would like to add?
Just a big thank you to FReeZA for all their help with shows over the past two years. And to all of our fans, you guys rule and we hope to see you soon!
http://www.myspace.com/cityescaperock

THE DEEPER WATER

You told me sincerely,
And I put my faith in this to make it through the night.
That still night.
There's ghosts where the walls once stood.
'Cause this is what I know, and I won't change a thing,
We stay away from the shallows,
It's safer in the deep.
This becomes a constant strain for me,
We are searching for a witness to this all,
We are standing where the walls will fall.
There's ghosts where the walls once stood,
High, and the shock it creeping through.
'Cause this is what I know, and I won't change a thing,
We stay away from the shallows,
It's safer in the deep.
It's what we know, not who we know.
And I will fight for the ones I love.
It's what we know, not who we know.
(We're all a part of your design,
This coast became a place in time,
A part of all these flashing lights).

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