See Me Escape

See Me Escape is a local band from Luxemburg, which is near Green Bay. Their music is a mix of pop and punk and their major influences are All Time Low and Blink 182. I interviewed the Singer, Brandon Kinnard, and here is the complete interview:

Q: Where is the band from originally?

A: Luxemburg. It's just southeast of Germany. Just kidding! It's just about 15 miles east of the great city of Green Bay, WI.

Q: Who are the members of your band and what do they play?

A: Brandon Kinnard-Vocals/Guitar, Justin Anderson-Bass, Brook Luedtke-Drums

Q: How did you guys meet?

A: We were bound together in the womb of a medieval dragon, born in the cold hills of Nunavut! Nah, we went to high school together.

Q: When did the band form?

A: June of 2010.

Q: How did you come up with your name?

A: One of our favorite TV shows is Futurama, and in a certain episode, Dr. Zoidberg says, “Did you see me escaping, I was all like ‘whooooop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop!” And the rest, my dear friends, is history!

Q: Who are your major influences?

A: We all have very different individual influences, which we feel helps the band as a whole. 

Brandon’s main influences are: All Time Low, Yellowcard The Rocket Summer, The Wonder Years, Fall Out Boy, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Say Anything, old punk bands like The Ramones, The Stooges, and The Sex Pistols, and even some pop influences like Katy Perry and Lady GaGa.
Justin: Nirvana, All Time Low, blink-182, The Offspring, and Neil Diamond.
Brook: blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Simple Plan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and All Time Low.

Q: How did you know what type of music you wanted to play?

A: We all love pop-punk with the entirety of our hearts. Nothing else makes sense.

Q: Who writes your music and how do you come up with the songs you write?

A: Brandon is the primary song writer and the lyricist.  Song ideas usually stem from inspiration from a life experience, then lyrics, and finally a catchy vocal melody.  Then the lyrics are put to chords, and a rough version of the song is introduced to the rest of the band during practice. Then we all work together to complete the song!

Q: Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues?

A: We’ve performed at several local places, including the Titan Underground in Reeve Union, a few local bars, and some coffee shops.  Our favorite venue is a tie between the Rendezvous, a bar in our hometown of Luxemburg, and the Titan Underground.  Our least favorite would have to be the Copper Rock, a coffee shop in Appleton.  Nothing against the venue, but we just feel that coffee shops don’t really suit the energy of our live show.

Q: If you could play in any arena in the world, what would it be?

A: The overall venue that we would most like to play in would have to be The Rave in Milwaukee, just because we all grew up going to shows there and it holds sentimental value.  But if you mean arena, it would have to be the Roman Coliseum.  Because, you know, when in Rome…

Q: How has your music evolved since you first started making music?

A: Brandon began writing music at age 15 on nothing but an acoustic guitar.  It was awful.  Lyrically, vocally, instrumentally…terrible.  It’s been fun to experience progression throughout the years.  As a band, the first two songs we wrote last summer are no longer even in our arsenal, even though back then we thought they were great.  It really goes to show how much we’ve progressed since we started working together.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had as a band? Have you been able to overcome it?

A: Our biggest challenge has been finding shows that suit us in the metal-dominated Wisconsin music scene.  Don’t get us wrong, we love this state, but it’s tough to group up with optimal bands, especially when venues are limited.  Our friends in A Familiar Voice and Thank You, The Management have helped us out and asked us to play with them for a few shows, that helps.  Overall, finding shows is really all about knowing the right people, and we’re on track.

Q: How many albums do you guys have out?

A: None yet, but we are in the process of recording a six song EP!!  If everything goes right, it will be released on August 27, 2011!

Q: Do you have a website future fans can check out?

A: We have a Facebook page, which you can find at www.facebook.com/seemeescape! Go there, “like” us, and stay tuned for updates regarding the EP and what shows we will be playing this summer.

Q: What are your future goals as a band?

A: Our short term goals are to continue to make beautiful pop-punk music, to release a successful EP, and to get as many shows as possible. Long term, our goals are to release at least one full-length album and to go on at least one tour, no matter how short it may be! If everything goes right, maybe a goal of ours would even be to sign a record deal and make a beautiful career out of this.

Q: What do you do on your free time outside of being in the band?

A:We like to be lazy! We all hang out together, most nights. Watching sports or movies or How I Met Your Mother. Brandon and Justin play a lot of video games. We’re all college students, so we spend a fair amount of time studying.  Brook and Justin are both nursing majors, so they spend lots of time “studying” each other’s anatomy. Wink wink!  Did I mention they were dating?  Oh yeah, that’s kind of important.  Brandon’s first love is sports, and he serves as the Sports Director at WRST, hoping to make it as a sportscaster one day.  Overall, we enjoy hanging out, watching sports, playing video games, and eating as much Taco Bell as possible.