RunRunner

There's something especially energizing about witnessing a band that's gaining musical momentum without any sort of pretension or press campaign - the music simply speaks for itself. In this mass media, MTV-saturated society, it is nice to know that this still exists. On March 14th RunRunner, a Philadelphia-based band, decided to test out their stamina in the Lower East Side hotspot Pianos.

Unlike most bands that sink or swim largely on the strength of its front person, RunRunner is a trio consisting of Dave Kain (bass and vocals), Graham Gormley (guitar and vocals), and Adam Herndon (drums and vocals), who equally distribute the responsibility of keeping listeners alerted with clear, crisp sounds consisting of slick bass lines and amazing guitar riffs.


Dave Kain’s cutting vocals are complimented perfectly by Graham Gormley’s seasoned guitar playing. Adam Herndon plays the drums with an ambitious aggression that completes the spacious sound. Herndon says, “We try to keep it simple and interesting. I don’t care how we define our music as long as I am feeling it and hopefully other people do too.”

RunRunner sings of relationships, paranoia, and fears with stark perspicuity. Kain explains their approach to songwriting has been pretty organic. He continues,
"Either a drum beat will spark a guitar part or a bass part, or one of us will have an idea for a song that we'll work on together to make our own. The lyrics almost always come last and usually during the recording. We write those over a few beers the night before we record. I like writing with someone else there because it prevents me from getting too crazy or corny."

Although they each have their own unique taste in music, the band agrees on random influences such as The Breeders, Elastica, The Walkmen, The Beatles and some classic rock.


In the next five years RunRunner hopes to be touring the universe, making a little money, and having a lot of fun. Adam jokingly continues, “We would like to be on an NME sampler, but getting trashed by Pitchfork. Playing in someone's apartment bathroom at SXSW would be cool too. I would like to do a co-headline tour with The Rolling Stones and play pranks on them.” Klain adds, “ I hope we’re eventually able to tour without postponing paying the electric bill.”

A full length CD is tentatively scheduled to be out this summer, but in the meantime you can enjoy RunRunner’s music on their MySpace page. When asked if they had anything else to say to their loyal fans, Klain commented, “Everything’s appreciated. I want our fans to come to our shows, say hello, and buy our record when it’s available or download it for free. Either way, I want them to come out and sing along.” Adam concluded, “Stay in school and only do drugs a little bit. Oh and thank you!”

RunRunner is taking us in a new (and much needed) musical direction. So in the upcoming months when the PR agencies come knocking, and the labels are dangling dollars, those that have been following this band won’t be surprised. RunRunner’s got the talent to go the distance.

Kristina Weise - New York Cool

n a sense, Philadelphia power-pop trio RunRunner is what cross-Commonwealth neighbor GirlTalk would be if 1) Pittsburgh-based and mash-up mad GirlTalk confined itself to underground rock between 1979 and 1987 and 2) actually wrote music instead of pillaging the hottest riffs ready-made from rock classics. That's because RunRunner seems to exclusively write hot numbers, all of which reference best practices from early '80s rock while benefiting from sharp, contemporary production. As a result, there is a pleasant familiarity to every melody throughout RunRunner's tight, self-titled debut. The set was released in October but is only available via digital storefronts (including EMusic, Rhapsody and ITunes).

As you might expect given what we've jotted above, there are shades of the old and new on RunRunner. Opener "False Alarmed" carries a strong whiff of bygone power-pop standouts The Plimsouls (or, dare we say, a tougher Robert Hazard and The Heros?), while the chorus of "Minor Catastrophe" surprisingly recalls contemporary rockers The Jai Alai Savant's reggae-tinged punk [coincidentally, there's more on Jai Alai Savant below]. RunRunner's "Bad Timing" shines because of a soaring chorus anchored by a hint of Descendents-ish, beat-clobbering bass. We're not sure what RunRunner has planned next, but we expect whatever it is will raise the band's profile and give it greater currency outside the invisible shield that encircles Philadelphia at a 100-mile radius and all-too-often snares great indie rock bands (with several recent exceptions and quasi-exceptions). In the meantime, check out this MP3 below, used with permission of the band. - Clicky Clicky