INTERVIEW - ROBERT ORITZ

ESCAPE THE FATE

INTERVIEWED BY TODD

ToddStar: First off, thanks so much for the time.  We here at The Rockpit appreciate it.  You guys are still riding high on your last release, the self-titled, Escape The Fate.  A new single, “Gorgeous Nightmare”, is killing at Rock Radio and Octane.  Why do you feel this album really has had the success and longevity it has?

Robert Ortiz: Good songs!  We put a lot of work into these songs and really believed in everything we created, and people seem to be responding to that.

ToddStar: What did you learn from writing for and recording the first couple albums that you realized you shouldn’t do this time around?

Robert Ortiz: A lot of things: to make a record we wanted to make we actually had to put in the work.  The only people who were going to be able to create the songs we wanted to create was us.  Whereas before with John Feldman, he was super creative, and we could rely on him, and knew the song would get done.  We knew what we wanted on this record, so it was up to us to get it done.

ToddStar: “Gorgeous Nightmare” is my favorite on the disc.  What was the inspiration for the track?  I can only imagine!

Robert Ortiz: This song started off as something Monte Money was doing with Josh Todd from Buckcherry.  It was written as a slow chuggy song, and we wanted to keep that vibe.  Musically it was written around Craig's vocals about a significant other that was so gorgeous, but a nightmare to be around.

ToddStar: Listening to the album from front to back, I find this album more modern rock oriented than your last effort – was there a concerted effort to move in that direction and awat from as much of the metal core sound?

Robert Ortiz: We just wanted to play what sounded good to us at the time, and this is what we came up with.  There was a concise effort to maintain our old sound, an much as we wanted to be greedy and create what we wanted to create, we wanted to keep the fans in mind and keep a part of us that they liked to hear.  In the end we had to follow what was in our hearts.

ToddStar: In putting the album together, did any of the songs come together really easy?  You always hear those songs that seem to write themselves and just fall into place.

Robert Ortiz: No.  No song came out easy.  We had to work on all of these songs – some came faster, others took longer but we had to work on everything.

ToddStar: Escape The Fate is on the main stage for one of the fall's largest package tours, Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival.  How do you expect the band  will come across with this crowd, as opposed to other crowds or more core crowds you have faced earlier in your career?

Robert Ortiz: It's definitely a challenge, going outside of our comfort zones to reach new crowds.  It will go over fine.  It's great to realize how many people know our songs at these shows and how much radio play has had an impact on the crowds.

ToddStar: I know you’re a big Avenged Sevenfold fan.  How does it feel to be on the same bill with them on Uproar?

Robert Ortiz: It's a dream come true, and I've waited many many years for it, and to finally be able to do it is amazing.  I wish my 14 year old self could see what I am doing right now.  No matter how bad of a day I may be having, I'm lucky to get to see my favorite band play every night.

ToddStar: If you weren’t writing songs and playing drums in a rock band, what would you be doing today?

Robert Ortiz: I find myself wondering that more and more, and I don't know.  But I really like physical activities, so something like that, something that involves me being in a gym.

ToddStar: If there was one piece of music that isn’t yours, it can be an album or song, that you wish was yours – you had written it, recorded it, been in the room during its creation - what would it be?
Robert Ortiz: Probably, "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson.

ToddStar: Finally, before I let you go Robert, what’s the meaning of life?

Robert Ortiz: I don't know.

By Todd Jolicoeur