Soft-rockers The Skyline Drive Get Back Into Their Groove

Getting back into old habits has been tough for burgeoning indie duo The Skyline Drive. Having grown accustomed to showcasing their bouncy pop tunes on a regular basis, vocalist/guitarist James Cruz feared they might be rusty as they took the stage for a brief four-song set at DePaul University Open Mic Tuesday evening.

Cruz and band mate Kate Stanley (piano/vocals), who he scooped up after she was kicked out of dance-rock upstarts Hefron last year, are both natives of northern suburb Mundelein, where they absorbed the magic of middle-class suburbia and honed their craft. Their influences range from Coldplay songwriter Chris Martin to Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, who Stanley lauds “for her honesty, and ability to place the listener right there with her in any situation”. In terms of lyrical source material, both members state that they turn to everyday situations in their own lives: “If I’m pretty stoked about meeting a new girl, maybe I’ll write a song about it. It’s a pretty emotional process”, clarifies Cruz.

The pair have high hopes that attending DePaul will allow him to taken advantage of Chicago’s vibrant music scene and broaden their horizons; however, their expectations for the band’s future remain grounded in reality. “We’re planning on recording some new songs as soon as we can”, Cruz says, “and we’ll send them out to record labels this summer. Maybe we’ll get signed and sell a million records, but probably not. If not, I still like to just have fun with it”.

At the Open Mic, the crowd has sat through a rapper, two stand-up comedians, and an amusing recreation of R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet”, and they’re quickly becoming restless. When The Skyline Drive took the stage, however, the crowd’s mood instantly brightens. Kicking off with a cover of Angels & Airwaves’ “Everything’s Magic”, Cruz instantly took control of the crowd as he looped and layered acoustic guitar riffs.

For their next three songs, Cruz brought out fellow DePaul student Kate Stanley, whose stylish keyboard flourishes racheted up the sass factor. Despite minor technical imperfections, the seventy or so packed into the DePaul Student Center appreciated the effort.

After the show, a feeling of relief is evident in Cruz’s face. “I hadn’t been expecting quite so many people to show up; I mean, I haven’t played in a while, and to step up there in front of that kind of crowd was a little nerve-wracking. Once I got up there, though, I was fine”. Things weren’t always so easy for the young troubadour. He then described a show he played at the Congress Theater two years ago with his previous band Last Summer’s Heroes: “our guitarist had a couple strings break and we were forced to just half-ass it the rest of the show. And the quality of the mixing was just terrible; one guitar louder than the other, stuff like that”. Thankful to have gained experiences from his youthful failures, Cruz is ready to push forward towards new days.

Media Attributes:

Photos of the Performance

Audio/Video of other Performances

Further information on Open Mics elsewhere in Chicago

Audio/Video of other DePaul Open Mic performances

Sources:

James Cruz

JCruz16@students.depaul.edu

Kate Stanley

KStanley@students.depaul.edu