Interview: Evacuate The City

I got a chance to talk to Eric Sky, the guitarist of the quickly rising metalcore band, Evacuate The City, based in Orlando, FL. Check out what he had to say about their influences, how they came together, Denny’s, Justin Bieber, as well as their response to support from multiple major bands!

Check out their amazing new single, “The Catastrophe,” below:

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us! How are you doing?

Absolutely fantastic!

You’re a fairly new band, how did you come together?

I had the idea of forming Evacuate The City a few months back, but had no one in mind member-wise. What I ended up doing was walking around school campuses with a huge posterboard reading “Seeking Metalcore Musicians!” .. I also posted in every nook and cranny of Facebook that I could think of. Every spare moment of my time was spent searching as hard as I could, and in about a month I had found the perfect group of people who I can now proudly call my family. We’re still relatively new to each other, but we’ve connected and grown to love each other like brothers through the time we’ve been together that it barely even seems that way! It’s quite surreal!

You kinda exploded onto the scene and already have a promising following on Facebook, how did that happen?

Honestly, it’s taking all of us by surprise! We’re putting all of our heart and soul into ETC and our music, so we’re beyond grateful for how things are turning out in such a short period of time already!

How has the response been to “The Catastrophe?” Can we expect any new music soon?

Absolutely overwhelming!!! In less than a month, it has over 4,300 plays on YouTube, and our Facebook page is blowing up with fans, art, and the support we could only dream of! As a brand new band, it’s really incredible! You can surely expect new music very soon! We’ll be releasing another single, immediately followed by our EP which is to be expected in Fall!

What can we expect from future songs both musically and lyrically?

That’s a difficult question to answer, as all of the members come from broad musical backgrounds with lots of experience in so many aspects. We have a lot of experimenting to do before we really settle on that ETC sound! One thing I can surely say though, expect heavy, expect melodic, expect catchy, and expect electronics/dubstep in the mix as well! As for lyrically, our vocalist Alex is a phenomenal writer who has so many thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions that he’s beyond ready to throw out and hit all of our songs HARD with, and the rest of us are right behind him to back up his message! Expect some very heavy hitting lyrics!

I noticed that members of Ice Nine Kills and Pierce the Veil are fans, how did that happen?

The members of not only Ice Nine Kills and Pierce The Veil, but also bands such as Jamie’s Elsewhere and I, The Mighty for example, were fans after listening to the song! It’s absolutely breathtaking to hear such positive support from them! I managed to get a hold of them and they took the time to listen to The Catastrophe (which I’m beyond grateful for!) and really enjoyed what they heard! It’s an absolute honor to hear such positive feedback from them!

Let’s say you guys find out that Justin Bieber wants to do guest vocals on a track, how do you respond?

Absolutely not. Justin Bieber is a perfect example of the polar opposite of what we stand for, and we would never go against our morals, values, and beliefs for exposure.

Any tour plans or shows coming up?

Nothing that is 100% set in stone, seeing as we are still relatively new. But once we finish up with our EP, I’m sure we’ll be seeing opportunities!

Speaking of which, if you could gain sponsorship from one restaurant and eat there for free while on tour, which would it be?

Denny’s!!

List your five favorite Metalcore albums!

The Flood – Of Mice & Men

New Demons – I See Stars

The Predator Becomes The Prey – Ice Nine Kills

Rebel-Revive – Jamie’s Elsewhere

Two-Faced Charade – Famous Last Words

If you could tour with any three bands, who would they be?

Of Mice & Men, Ice Nine Kills, Famous Last Words!

How do you guys approach writing new music?

First we speak about the tone and feeling/message we want to send with a song. Once we figure that out, we normally start off with creating a solid rhythm to fit that tone/message between the guitars, bass, and drums. Once we have that set in stone, we start adding more technical as well as subtle elements to give the sound a bit more dimension. Lastly, we whip up a perfectly fitting set of lyrics and have Alex let loose as we play through it until we wrap everything together perfectly and call it our next song!

Which musicians do you guys look up to for inspiration on your respective instruments?

Me (Eric Sky) and Kyle Bouffler (guitar) both have always looked up to JB Brubaker from August Burns Red, he inspired us to play guitar and always reminds us to keep challenging our ability!

Javon Walton (bass) was inspired by Les Claypool from Primus to start playing bass and always keep it going strong!

Chris Holton (drums) was inspired by Jordan Mancino of As I Lay Dying to start playing drums, but also heavily looks up to Matt Halpern (Periphery), James Cassells (Asking Alexandria), Alex Shelnutt (A Day To Remember), Matt Nicholls (Bring Me The Horizon), and Daniel Williams (The Devil Wears Prada)!

Alex Stephenson (vocals) is inspired and influenced by Austin Carlile (Of Mice & Men), Jeremy McKinnon (A Day To Remember), Caleb Shomo (Beartooth, ex Attack Attack!), Matty Mullins (Memphis May Fire), and Robert Ljung (Adept)!

Thank you guys again for taking the time to talk to us! Anything else you’d like to say?

Thank you very much for taking the time to interview us! We’re all very grateful!

To keep up with the band, check out their facebook page.