Twist of Fate
When a teenage Escape the Fate fan offered to get the Las Vegas band's music in front of Brett Gurewitz, head of pre-eminent punk label Epitaph Records, the local quintet responded with a "sure, whatever kid."
"This 17- or 18-year-old wrote me a MySpace message saying, 'Hey, I have an aunt that works at Epitaph and I really like your guys' stuff. Would it be cool with you if I send it over there?' '' guitarist Omar Espinosa says. "But you hear stuff like that all the time—'I know somebody who knows somebody so I can hook you up.' "
Before long, vocalist Ronnie Radke began receiving calls from someone claiming to be Gurewitz, which he promptly dismissed as a buddy pulling a prank. "I didn't f--king believe it was him, so I kept hanging up. I thought it was a practical joke, straight-up."
Eventually, Gurewitz convinced Radke he was legit. "He'd been trying to get a hold of us for months," Radke, a Vegas native, says sheepishly. "He said he almost gave up."
Instead, Gurewitz sent his assistant to scope the group's live show—"on MySpace you can have a good song but not be a real band"—then, upon receiving a solid report, flew to town to scout it out for himself at Jillian's. "I thought they were really good, instantly," Gurewitz says.
Soon after, Escape the Fate met with Gurewitz in Los Angeles and became the first Las Vegas-based band to sign with Epitaph, a label with a 25-year history dating to the 1981 debut EP by Gurewitz's own Bad Religion. The Vandals, NOFX, Rancid and the Offspring are just a few of the bands to pass through Epitaph's ranks.
"I was in love with all those bands; it's definitely stuff I listened to growing up," says Espinosa, a 21-year-old Californian who moved to Las Vegas two years ago. "And Epitaph is doing so much. They're pushing super hard for us."
On Tuesday, Epitaph released Escape the Fate's debut five-song EP, There's No Sympathy for the Dead, recorded in Virginia with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, whose credits include the Stone Temple Pilots, Iggy Pop and Chevelle. At the same time, the Vegas five-piece—whose sound blends melodic emo and growling metal—laid down tracks for its debut full-length, due September 26.
In the meantime, Espinosa, Radke, guitarist Brian "Monte" Money, bassist Max Green and drummer Robert Ortiz can be found on the road, headlining shows, opening for Roses Are Red and hopping onto the Warped Tour for a couple of weeks this summer. Their next Las Vegas gig is scheduled for June 28 at Celebrity.
"I think they're gonna be huge," predicts Gurewitz, pointing to their recent stint on MySpace's front page as proof of their fast-growing popularity. "They're so rocking and the songs are so catchy. I think it's the new rock sound. It has punk-rock energy, but it has the sophistication and sexiness of '80s hair metal, which is a cool, dangerous combination."
Portland, Flaspar. Flaspar, Portland.
Just when you thought it had become terribly fashionable to be a rock band from Las Vegas, Flaspar is defying what could be a convention set by the Killers and Panic! At The Disco. The four Vegas-based members of the electro-post-punk outfit are relocating to Portland, Oregon, at the beginning of July.
A fifth member of the group, Jesse Jackson, already lives in that hip Northwestern city, and he is soon to be joined by drummer Jacob Soto, keyboardist Sulayla Rowe and guitarist Cody Brant. However, there is a question as to whether lead singer Keil Corcoran will make the move.
"I've got a lot of stuff going on here that I don't want to leave," Corcoran says. "I'm kind of leaning toward not leaving."
Among the reasons cited by the lean frontman is his new experimental metal band, the Vulcans. Though the band has not played a show yet, Corcoran said he is excited by the project, which has been writing new songs at the rate of one per practice.
"That's the only thing that's keeping me here," he says. "We've got about six songs right now."
Flaspar existed before Corcoran came along, of course, starting as Brant's one-man project in high school. But in its current incarnation, the band has become a popular fixture in the growing Downtown music scene, even scoring press coverage in the Review-Journal recently.
One curious episode might point to contention from Corcoran related to the growing popularity of Flaspar and comparisons with other Vegas bands that have found international acclaim. At a recent Bunkhouse Saloon appearance, Corcoran—dressed in a form-fitting Star Trek uniform—kicked off Flaspar's set with this bit of sarcasm:
"Hi, we're the Killers. This first song is called 'Douchebags of the Century.' It's about us."
Marching to the Beat of (No) Drummer
With a spot on a TV pilot and an upcoming appearance at the Hyperactive music festival in Albuquerque, local rock band The Day After should be excited at the prospect of seeing the light at the end of the Las Vegas bar- circuit tunnel.
Instead, the band's members are frustrated and worried.
Luis Cano, The Day After's long-standing drummer, unexpectedly quit the band two weeks ago, leaving its remaining members—singer/guitarist Jenine Cali, bassist KC Wells and guitarist Shaun Dougherty—blowing in the proverbial wind.
According to the remaining three, Cano gave his bandmates four months' notice of his intentions to leave, in order to spend more time with his family. The plan was for Cano to stay on for the group's summer dates and then help train his replacement before he left for El Paso, Texas.
"Two weeks later, he changed his mind," says Wells. "He didn't want to do it anymore."
Wells said Cano quit once before, about a year into his four-year stint, but returned to the band four months later. This wasn't the first percussion problem for the six-year-old group. The Day After's previous drummer would show up late to his own house for band practice.
"Every drummer we've ever dealt with has been crazy," Wells says.
The band was one of six local contestants on The Indie Show, a televised independent music competition slated to be hosted by Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, which filmed an episode at Empire Ballroom on Sunday night. Dougherty said he called the show's producer to cancel The Day After's appearance because of the still-empty drum throne.
"He told me, 'We'll get you a session drummer and a rehearsal space for free,'" Dougherty says.
The Day After was forced to cancel a gig Saturday at Matteo's Underground Lounge in Boulder City to rehearse with the session drummer.
Wells reported that though The Indie Show taping ended up turning sour—with problems ranging from starting two hours late and losing the famed Nelson twins as hosts to unfairly giving different bands longer time slots and lap dance-distracted judges—the fill-in drummer played perfectly for the one song The Day After performed.
"When the curtains opened up, we looked out and the floor was packed," says Wells. "Everyone was singing along and it was just impressive."
Hell on Earth
Benjamin Coy plans to celebrate his 32nd birthday the way any other Las Vegan might. That is, assuming any other Las Vegan would ring in 6/6/06 by bringing six local bands together for a concert dedicated to Beelzebub.
Coy, also known as DJ Rexdart of the Bargain DJ Collective, will actually begin hosting "Hail Satan, The Musical" at 9 p.m. on June 5 at the Double Down Saloon. Much of the action should take place on the 6th—Coy's actual birthday—however, he intends the event to stretch well into the early morning hours.
On the bill: Thee Swank Bastards, Suite 666, the Holy Smokes, the Holy Moleys, the Bitters and the Apocalyptics. The headlining Bastards have signed on to perform an all-Black Sabbath covers set, while Coy and his DJ Collective provide satanic musical interludes throughout the night.
The Double Down charges no cover.