My Excuse

Playing in Harrisburg is an opportunity for My Excuse to leave barriers at home.

In Greece, the group faces a musical and cultural barrier, rather than a language one.

"Growing up in Greece, people don't listen to the music we play," Steven Triantafillis, the lead singer, said. "The only reason I was exposed to American Rock and Roll is that my mother is American."

He knew that in order to succeed, the band would have to leave Greece behind and head to the United States.

"It was many, many years trying to become good enough to try and play in this market," Triantafillis said. "It was a one way option, we couldn't do anything else other than come to the States."

At last, My Excuse has crossed the ocean, thanks to funds raised through a Kickstarter campaign.

"The funny thing is, most of the people who backed our project were people from the States who didn't even know who we were, but were inspired by the fact that we're from Greece and trying to get here [to America]," Triantafillis said.

Harrisburg will be the fourth show in America for the group - who will have already performed in New York City and Philadelphia by the time they make it to Pennsylvania's capital.

"It's just so overwhelming to us," Triantafillis said while in New York. "I don't know if I can convey it to you, how many years we've been trying to leave the country we've lived in. We've only seen all of this stuff in the movies - I mean, we're in a movie right now. We're see all the skyscrapers of New York - we've only seen that stuff in the movies. The whole experience is overwhelming."

Already the shows played have been a success in the band's eyes.

"In Greece, to get gigs we have to play a lot of covers… Coming here, we get to play our own material and people don't mind that they haven't heard it before," he said.

"We feel like we're at home, finally."
- The Patriot News