Soft-Rockers The Skyline Drive Get Back Into Their Groove

February 20 2008

Dennis Newman

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 have accrued some rust. It had been six months since their last performance as Cruz took the stage for a brief four-song (of which Stanley accompanied him on three) set to a crowd of nearly one hundred at DePaul University Open Mic Tuesday evening.

Photo Courtesy James Cruz, via Facebook.

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. Both are currently attending DePaul: Cruz is a Freshman Art History major, while Stanley is a Sophomore majoring in English.

Photo Courtesy Kate Stanley

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 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 has high hopes that attending DePaul will allow him to take 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 Stanley, whose stylish keyboard flourishes add a shot of energy to Cruz’s melodious acoustic stylings. 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 and Stanley are prepared to turn the corner on their musical avenue.

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

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