Forging their own scene

The five members of The Escape Engine lounge around their rundown van, waiting to take the stage on the first night of the 2003 College Music Journal Music Marathon. They are tired, hungry and broke, but the 30 minutes they get to spend on stage this evening will make it all worth it.

The emotionally charged, New Jersey hardcore band thrives in a live environment, mixing melodic lyrics and forceful rhythms and capturing its audience with passion and powerful sounds.

'If people don't see us feeling emotion on stage, than there is no reason why they should feel it,' guitarist George Leontaris said. 'Our show is more of a display of how we feel than a performance. We just let loose and see what happens.'

Although the band is one of the latest to emerge from the developing punk scene in New Jersey, which has also produced Saves The Day and Thursday, the members distance themselves from the similar-sounding groups of the area.

'Scenes are the worst. People can't just enjoy music anymore,' Leontaris said. 'People have to classify everything and they have to do whatever it is to be cool.

'We just want to play music. If we fit ourselves into a scene, I guess that happens. Our goal is to stay focused on our band and make music we enjoy.'

Although Leontaris names bands like Thursday and The Used as influences, he is less thrilled about some other artists dominating modern rock radio.

'If you take a band like Linkin Park and remove the vocals, you have a great band,' he said. 'The electronic backgrounds are amazing, but the vocals are so fake. I don't feel anything coming from that.'

Dom Lettera is responsible for The Escape Engine's vocals. Live, his dynamic range and intense stage presence allow other band members to feed off his energy.

'Playing live is the only release we have,' Lettera said. 'Every show we play, we videotape it, and we go back and see where we messed up and try to correct it. We are our [own] biggest critics, and we do whatever we can to put on the best live show possible.'

For a band that formed fewer than 18 months ago, The Escape Engine has been incredibly successful because of its members' persistence and hard work. Last May they released their debut CD, Celebrity Role Model, on independent label Fidelity Records, and their video for the album's first single, 'This Jagged Alibi,' is in rotation on MTV2.

'We're a hard-working band,' Lettera said. 'We're not on a big label, and we don't have a lot of people working for us. We do everything that has to be done ourselves, from advertising to booking shows.

'The reason we don't have money is because we don't let money get in the way of things that need to get done,' he said. 'If we have to spend $300 to get to Florida to play a show where we are only going to make $100, we'll be there without hesitation.'

The band will embark on a cross country tour at the beginning of November and will not return home until Christmas. Lettera is worried about how they are going to survive.

'Sometimes we don't eat,' he said. 'We make sure we have water.'

The rest of The Escape Engine is rhythm guitarist Kevin Robbins and bassist Amanda Klimek, who will be joined by the new drummer, Chris Osborne, on tour this fall.

Although it might be surprising to find the classically trained Klimek playing in a hardcore rock band, she is proud of being a member of The Escape Engine and downplays the fact that she is a woman.

'Sometimes girls come up to me and are like, 'Oh my god, you're a chick and you rock'' she said. 'If that inspires them to play music, that's great, but in the long run, I'm just another member of the band.

'Bouncers give me such a hard time,' she said. 'When I tell them I'm in the band they don't believe me. I always have a hard time getting in.'

Despite its financial situation and the rigorous effect of touring, The Escape Engine is adamant about being known as a live band.

From the moment they hit the stage at Tobacco Road for CMJ, the intensity and energy of each band member has been captivating. They have been waiting all day for their chance to let out the frustration and emotion that has been building up inside of each of them.

The comfort and ease with which they dominate the stage indicate the preparation that has been put into the band's live show. Even 30 minutes later, as their set comes to an end, they show no sign of fatigue.

Lettera's shoulder-length hair is drenched in sweat as he jumps off the wall and falls to the floor. He screams into the microphone, unwilling to part with his final breath on stage.

'Playing live is more real than anything,' Leontaris said. 'We want people to like us for the connection that we make with our audience.'

Although no more than 50 people are crowded around the stage, the band has made a connection with each one of them.