Run Silent Run Deep

"Season of Fire is an 8 song disc full of songs that are all rich in character, musical feels, and quite different from one to the next. There's a bit of grunge guitar/vocal, a bit of early '60s Brittish invasion, a sprinkle of Jane's Addiction style writing, and deep lyrical subject matter to keep the thinkers happy. Music and lyric writer Thomas Schantz delivers lyrics that prove honest, thought provoking, and full of imagery. Although the subject matter leans on the darker side one can't help but stop and think about what the guy is saying. And the music and lyrics compliment each other quite naturally to bring you "inside" the song. And that is one of the reasons why the CD is successful. Thomas and the rest of the bandmembers take credit for bringing the listener "inside" the songs. The band features Thomas Schantz on lead vocals/guitar, John Graham on guitars, Brad Dietz, and Julie Rozansky sharing equal time on bass tracks, and last, Ryan Hayes and David Stanton playing equal amounts of the drum tracks. The disc was engineered by Don Zientara with production by Don Zientara and Thomas Schantz. Mastering was done by Chad Clark and CD Design by Eva Absher. I give it a thumbs up.

"Overcome" is the opening track with an interesting rhythmic time change, a cool 70's style fuzzy guitar line floating around on the top of and early 60's sounding pop rock vocal arrangement.

"Crusades" is one of my favorite tracks on the whole disc. Nice changes to the tune that progresses to different feels from section to section. Nice bridge too.

"Signs" is a hard hitting tune with lots of heavy Marshall amp guitar crunching that seems to go on. It's rebellious, nasty, and blunt to get the point across about people's overall disrespect for the environment, their pampered lives, and "looking out for #1" attitudes of selfishness. the song works well but could have been edited down a bit.

"Last Breath" is a mid tempo tune with a creative arrangement of Thomas's lead and backing vocals with galloping tom toms and cool guitar riding on the top. This one grows on you. It's in my opinion one of the best tunes on the CD.

"Arrow" a simple tune with a simple message of finding one's "arrow" or way in life. Nice backing vocals, but who is singing all those backing vocals? Is it Thomas again? He does all the lead vocals and backing vocals on the entire CD. Creative vocal arrangements done with a colorfull sense of imagination. The song has a straight shooting, honest message within it that is accompanied by a sweet and soft musical landing to end the CD.

- Dan Mudd
- Music Monthly

Rated: 4 out of 5 stars

Perhaps the best word to describe DC’s Run Silent Run Deep would be ‘moody’. If there’s anything these folks know how to do, it’s using music to create moods. A la Miles Davis, it seems that the songs were written more from an emotional place more than an intellectual one.

Not that the music isn’t cerebral. With plain but effective vocals, vocalist / guitarist Tom Schantz sings “Think you are better than him/Her thin blood dripping from the chin/It’s everywhere open your eyes/ It only gets worse from here out" in "The Color of Bruise", a song which seems to be about a specific kind of violence (or fantasies of violence). No lyrical lightweights, RSRD’s music doesn’t always broach such dark subject matter. For instance, in “The Stakes”, we have a song which seems to address a common problem today. RSRD asks the question, “Should I pay 100G’s/just for some BS degree/ and end up a beggars misery?”

The music’s power stems from their sense of dynamics, and the cleverness of the arrangements. "Signs" is texturally and harmonically interesting, invoking Pearl Jam and Queensryche; taking the listener through myriad emotions in barely four minutes. Clearly a song borne of frustration w/ urban sprawl, Schantz sings, “Apartment complex sprawls / ….buying mini malls / spreading like disease.” And yet, RSRD’s music is born from the very thing they describe.

Tracy McMillon - Desire Media

Run Silent Run Deep plays a kind of music that is soulful and magnetic. Musically, it is creative and inventive. The songs draw you in and the lyrics complement the music design in the background. Their album "Season of Fire," released in July of this year, is a collection of eight songs whose subject matter ranges from relationships, to capitalism, to death.

At first sight, it is easy to see that these are laid-back and fun people. The members of the local band are lounging in the Black Cat's Red Room bar before their show Oct. 6.

As the band began talking about their music, Jacobs said that although it sounds cliché, he wants the audience "to feel anything, to feel emotion." Schantz expressed a similar opinion, and said that in the music, he wants the listener "to take away whatever they take away."

"When I wrote, I wrote whatever came to me. I didn't write for anyone else," Schantz said. His attitude about his music shows in his lyrics - they are personal and reflective. "Last Breath is about a significant death," he said, as an example. He laughed and said, "I didn't realize how negative the lyrics are until someone pointed it out to me."

Jacobs said the music is not meant to be negative, but ismore anti-establishment and anti-corporate America; Schantz said some songs are anti-right wing, as well. Schantz described their new song as anti-corporate radio. "You only hear whatever pays. Whatever plays is whoever pays," he said.

The concert wasn't packed and filled with crazy fans, but the crowd at the Black Cat a couple weeks ago was impressed and supportive as Run Silent Run Deep played the Black Cat's backstage for the first time. "We had close to 50 people come on a Monday night, which made the Cat happy. On a Monday they can get anywhere from 5 to 100," Schantz said of the Oct. 6, 2003 concert.

The concert consisted of most of the songs on their album, as well as one new song. But they threw in a couple of cover songs for good measure. Self-described as a former avid Police fan, Schantz and the band played King of Pain, which the audience received well. Since Jacobs cites indie-rockers Modest Mouse as one of his favorite bands, Run Silent Run Deep also covered one of their songs.

Musically, the concert was nearly perfect and the audience gave a warm applause to each of the songs. Yet, the concert did not go off completely as planned. Rozansky had a string on her bass break before the show, although someone was able to finesse it a little to make it work for the concert. And in the middle of the set, a string on Schantz's guitar broke and he was forced to switch guitars.

But though playing live presents challenges, all the band members agreed that playing live is much better than recording. "I love to play live," Rozansky said. Jacobs said that their live sound is "really raw," and Thomsen described their live shows as "energetic." Schantz explained that during an album recording, "we are recording on our own money and there are time constraints."

Run Silent Run Deep acknowledges the fact that they have more to work on as a band. "I want the music to be about tone - a full sound is more important to me, but I don't think we're quite there yet," Jacobs noted. They still have a way to go before they become an established band, but they are on the right path. With a blue-collar work ethic, concerts that combine muted passion and energy, and music that is original and creative without being crazy and obscure, Run Silent Run Deep is sure to make their mark on the music scene soon enough.

-Katherine Silkaitis - CUA