Cityscapes

.... .. We may be onto something…
An introduction by former vocalist, Nick Ruscoe

Dedication, patience, and vision --- how else could a band rehearse for two years without a steady vocalist only to have someone come on for one show and take leave for 5 months? I joined the band in 2005, a year after its inception which was more or less a weekly rock experiment in someone's garage. Everyone already knew each other. We had played with one another at some point prior and had high expectations of what everyone could bring to the table. Soon after our first show, which we weren't even scheduled to play, I left to do a semester of study in Beijing. During my time abroad I communicated with the band via e-mail to follow their progress. Why would a band bring someone onboard to play one show and leave for almost half a year? Because we all knew we were on to something, and that it was something worth waiting for. Cityscapes waited patiently in a garage for 2 years before it became a working band.

Working with Cityscapes was like being part of a team of mad scientists who liked to mix chemicals together just to see what would happen. The sound was by no means chaotic, but the music was almost always a product of inspiration --- as if every line, verse, and melody came out as a surprise. The passion to create proved to be a simple unifying joy that each of us possessed. It would not be rare to receive excited phone calls from band mates who told me that they had figured out a new lead over a part that lasted 5 seconds or altered a fill by going “boom, boom, ka ka tsst” instead of “boom, boom, ka ka tch.”

With an appeal to crowds of various musical tastes Cityscapes has defined itself with its modern and explosive rock sound whilst catering to indie and hard rock crowds alike. From playing shady dives with zero attendance to Woodward demos with Daniel Dhers and Jamie Besswick doing 360 tailwhips overhead to sharing the stage with Common, Ginuwine, and OK GO -- my time with Cityscapes was an era spent with talented individuals with passion and drive for creativity and sound.