A champion of slacker culture, Control Escape slides from stoner punk to psychedelic singer-songwriter, crafting songs that are full of double meaning and self-deprecation.
Control Escape’s frontman/multi-instrumentalist/pr Ken Adam sings and plays every instrument on Generation of Waste, including guitars, drums, bass, organ, accordion, violin, wall, and wine glasses.
Ken Adam was born and raised in San Francisco, where he was classically trained as a flutist. From a young age he was encouraged to make his own instruments and even made a string bass out of an old wok and a goat's hide. (Today, he still mills all of his own drumsticks from locust trees that grow in his backyard in Central New York.) As a teenager, Adam was half of experimental hip-hop duo Natural Freak, and later played upright bass in the Cabrio College Orchestra. He is the grandson of acclaimed sculptor Ruth Asawa. While Asawa's work explores the forms and space echoed in nature, Adam’s songs trace the cracks and spaces normally overlooked in human nature.
Co-lyricist Peapod sings back-up and makes all of Control Escape‘s music videos, live video extravaganzas, and still images. She grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Live, the duo is joined by über drummer Chuck Raniewicz, guitarist Zach “Big Stax” Rohrer, and bassist Travis Christie. The band is based in Ithaca, New York.
Latest bulletin 09.26.08
Yeah! They said the album doesn't suck!
We just got a review from Love to Play Network which they're going to publish in their...
We just got a review from Love to Play Network which they're going to publish in their print mag, Singer & Musician Magazine, too.
Review by R.A. Lindquist
Control Escape CD: Generation Of Waste Track Added: "Erased"
After scanning the track listings (titles like "Back On The Drugs," "Kenny's Big Adventure," "Animals Will Hurt You," and "We Went To Ireland") I was pretty much predisposed to expect something… different. Those suspicions were confirmed right from the drop of my digital needle, as track one opened with the grinding drone of electric fuzz guitar. I wasn't quite sure where this was going… until, rising from the grind, starts some very palatable '90s style alt rock. This band is loaded with electricity, in the sound, the lyrics, the production and performance. Driving beats, strong vocals, nerve-edge guitar work—its all there.