Escape The Fate may be headlining the Dead Masquerade Tour, but the Las Vegas hard rockers feel very much alive as they promote their self-titled third album.

“Our expectations are always pretty high, dude, but this is surpassing all of them,” explains drummer Robert Ortiz. “I’m usually a pretty dreary guy, like ‘f*** everything,’ but actually (stuff) is going right. No complaints.

“We’re still relatively new, so it’s incredible to see the turnout and see how many people are into our band and continuing to come to shows. We’ve managed to keep our old fans and get new ones, so we feel like we’re doing it right.”

Ortiz, 23, says ETF has also figured out how to make things work internally for the quartet. While frontman Craig Mabbitt remains a “social butterfly,” Ortiz says he, guitarist Bryan “Monte” Money and bassist Max Green, who was in rehab late last year, try to keep a lower and quieter profile. That means two separate busses, which he considers worth the extra expense.

“There’s such extreme lifestyles within the band, but we all need each other to function,” Ortiz explains. “So Craig’s got his bus ... and meanwhile we have a completely sober bus where you can relax and not deal with strangers and temptations and all that. We might go over to the other bus once in awhile and be social, but we have our safe place to crash.

“We’re not making a dime, but ... Those little things go a long way. Being able to separate yourself from a certain environment changes your whole outlook on life. And it keeps us around making music longer, which is the most important thing.”



The Dead Masquerade Tour with Escape The Fate, Alesana, Motionless In White, Get Scared and Drive A plays Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, 318 W. Fourth St. Tickets are $16 in advance, $18 at the door. Call 248-399-2980 or visit www.royaloakmusictheatre.com.