Past, Present, Future: Escaped Zoo Animals

Combining laid back Southern California style with a Kinks-esque vocal quality, I present Escaped Zoo Animals. Formed just nine months ago in Riverside CA, they just released their self-titled full length album in January. Check out our interview below; it sounds like they stumbled into becoming and band and are riding that wave.

Favorite Tracks (player at bottom of post):
English 403
Model UN

Members/Instruments:
Travis Coover - vocals, guitar
Chris Menezes - guitar, percussion
John Bennett - keys, guitar, percussion
Andrew Ballenger - bass
Daniel Menezes - drums, percussion

1. Past: What is your musical background? What has led you to this point?

Escaped Zoo Animals is a collection of friends, some of whom have known each other since grade school. Though we had played together in the past, nothing serious had ever come to fruition. In early 2008, I (singer/guitarist Travis Coover) finished grad school, and wished to record a few songs I had written while in school. I approached now guitarist Chris Menezes about laying down these tracks, and thus, the nucleus of Escaped Zoo Animals was formed. Initially functioning as a "project," Chris and I asked Chris' brother Daniel to play drums on the demo. This later expanded, calling upon the talents of keyboardist John Bennett, and bassist Andrew Ballenger.

After finishing the demo, we posted the songs online, not knowing what to expect. The reaction, was the inquiry of many as to when we were going to play live. It was at this moment that we realized we were officially a band. From that point, we played many shows around Riverside California, fine-tuning our live performance. In October, we entered the studio to record what is now our first full-length, self-titled album. The primary influences of the band are Belle & Sebastian, Paul Simon, The Kinks, The Zombies and The Velvet Underground.

2. Present: Where are you at now in your career? What are you currently working on?

At this point, we are coming out of the gates, so to speak. Though only having existed for roughly nine months, we have already released a full length, and are ready to gain as much exposure as possible. Currently, the plan is to play pretty much any, and everywhere.

3. Future: What's coming up for you? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In the near future, we plan on promoting our new album across the country, and hopefully, the globe. In five years, we'd like to be able to be doing this as a sole priority. Essentially, we'd like this to be our job.

4. Where can people find more of your music?

People can listen to our music on our page at www.myspace.com/escapedzooanimalsmusic . If you like what you hear, you can buy our record on itunes, there's a link to the store on our myspace page.

5. Anything you'd like to plug?

Check out four songs from our record (now on itunes) at www.myspace.com/escapedzooanimalsmusic. Also you can peep a remix of one of our tracks at www.myspace.com/frankielideo.