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oz2oNo sign of distress A!;liF,[:iST":-
alk about an understanding fami-
ly: Growing up in Hamden, Conn.,
Tom Kavanagh says his late mom
would hear him singing along to
the radio and say, 'You can carry a
tune!" I-ate4 Kavanagh was studying
economics when he left college for rock
'n'roll. But Kavanagh's dad (who had a
glam-rock band of his own in the '80s)
didn't criticize him; and when Kavana-
gh recruited drummer Brandon Rapp to
move to Connecticut and tour with his
band Signal the Escape, Dad let Rapp
move into their house.
Now that trust is paying off, with Sig-
nal the Escape's catchy first Ef; "These
Scars Are Just the Beginning," get-
ting airplay eveqrwhere. And the five
guys in the group are eager to return to
New York for the first time since earlv
2006 in their touring van, which they;ve
dubbed "El Guapo." (fhey play Europa
in Brooklyn on Thursday.) Maybe some-
day the group - with songs like "Maud-
lin," "Exorcism in the ER" and "Bovs
Lie" that feature surging choruses and
memorable hooks - can quit their jobs.
"Me and Brandon work at a Dairy
Queen," explains Kavanagh, who turns
24 this month. "Mark [Kovalcek, theband's bassist] works at a video store.
Adam [Sanford, guitarist] has the most
adultjob - he details cars. Ivan [Fial-los, guitaristl doesn't actually have a
job, per se. He's gettingpretty good at
producing local bands in Connecticut.,'
Rising from the ashes of the hard-
core band Forgive and Forget, Signal
the Escape isn't afraid of strong melo-
dies. And the harsh vocals ofthe ear-
ly gigs that shredded Kananagh's throat
will soon be a thing of the past, he says.
"It's terrible. I hate screaming now. I
loved screaming when I first got into
the scene; it sounded bad-ass. But I've
learned it's not good for me."
As long as Kavanagh and Rapp re-
member to ask for the time off. thev
say their manager at the DQ is pretty
cool about music, not tast5r treats, be-
ing their priority. With a tull-length al-
bum coming soon and a hope of joining
biggertours, they could soon put aside
chocolate-dipped ice cream for good.
"Our biggest goal is to just be able
to go out and play every night," says
Kavanagh. "If that pays the bills one
day, that'd be great." (Signolthe Escape
plays Europa in Brooklyn on Thursday;
718-383-2322) . Michaet Gittz
oz2oNo sign of distress A!;liF,[:iST":-
alk about an understanding fami-
ly: Growing up in Hamden, Conn.,
Tom Kavanagh says his late mom
would hear him singing along to
the radio and say, 'You can carry a
tune!" I-ate4 Kavanagh was studying
economics when he left college for rock
'n'roll. But Kavanagh's dad (who had a
glam-rock band of his own in the '80s)
didn't criticize him; and when Kavana-
gh recruited drummer Brandon Rapp to
move to Connecticut and tour with his
band Signal the Escape, Dad let Rapp
move into their house.
Now that trust is paying off, with Sig-
nal the Escape's catchy first Ef; "These
Scars Are Just the Beginning," get-
ting airplay eveqrwhere. And the five
guys in the group are eager to return to
New York for the first time since earlv
2006 in their touring van, which they;ve
dubbed "El Guapo." (fhey play Europa
in Brooklyn on Thursday.) Maybe some-
day the group - with songs like "Maud-
lin," "Exorcism in the ER" and "Bovs
Lie" that feature surging choruses and
memorable hooks - can quit their jobs.
"Me and Brandon work at a Dairy
Queen," explains Kavanagh, who turns
24 this month. "Mark [Kovalcek, theband's bassist] works at a video store.
Adam [Sanford, guitarist] has the most
adultjob - he details cars. Ivan [Fial-los, guitaristl doesn't actually have a
job, per se. He's gettingpretty good at
producing local bands in Connecticut.,'
Rising from the ashes of the hard-
core band Forgive and Forget, Signal
the Escape isn't afraid of strong melo-
dies. And the harsh vocals ofthe ear-
ly gigs that shredded Kananagh's throat
will soon be a thing of the past, he says.
"It's terrible. I hate screaming now. I
loved screaming when I first got into
the scene; it sounded bad-ass. But I've
learned it's not good for me."
As long as Kavanagh and Rapp re-
member to ask for the time off. thev
say their manager at the DQ is pretty
cool about music, not tast5r treats, be-
ing their priority. With a tull-length al-
bum coming soon and a hope of joining
biggertours, they could soon put aside
chocolate-dipped ice cream for good.
"Our biggest goal is to just be able
to go out and play every night," says
Kavanagh. "If that pays the bills one
day, that'd be great." (Signolthe Escape
plays Europa in Brooklyn on Thursday;
718-383-2322) . Michaet Gittz