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The term "supergroup" has traditionally settled for
recording acts that shouldn't be taken too seriously. When
members of Yes, Led Zeppelin, or Bad Company wanted a break
from not getting their way every time, the result was
infrequently a milquetoast feel-good project like GTR or the
Firm which rarely lasted more than two albums. The Traveling
Wilburys and Temple of the Dog also come to mind.
Speaking over the phone from Los Angeles, Xander Smith
chuckles at the suggestion that his band Run Run Run is what
I've called a "mini-supergroup." But he says he sees my
point. Smith's previous band, Other Star People, was
co-fronted by L7/Shocker leader Jennifer Finch. Guitarist
Peter Martin is best known for his work with emo/punk
pioneers Lifetime and for his interim stint with Jets to
Brazil. Third guitarist Phil Cunningham, in addition to
working with Electronic and Marion, is a songwriting member
of New Order. "A lot of the people who played on the
recording are guys who have played stadiums," he begins. "It
doesn't matter. You find as you go through this process of
making music, that once you're there, you kind of look
around and you're like, 'so what' if you're playing for some
famous band and you're the side guy, you don't really feel
the same satisfaction at the end of the day—if you're not
making new music and reaching people who are really
listening." He also adds that most of the material on the
band’s first full-length CD, “Drizzle,” was written using
four-track recorders at home by the five main members, who
then passed the tapes around for additional layering by the
others.
When “Drizzle” hits its stride it feels like the exact
moment at a club when a person realizes they've had too much
substance, and the sound, smoke, and strobe light is causing
a bleary but familiar confusion. The disc is versatile, with
slower Gish-like material, and the radio-ready "Skyscraper,"
the video for which was made by "Jeremy" director Tom
Richmond. When talking about the new release, Smith
interjects, "every song on our EP has been played on the
radio. Not conceptually like we'd wonder if they'd get
played, they're getting played on the radio. It's the
weirdest thing. Not just ‘Skyscraper.’"
Run Run Run has been associated by some members of the music
press with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Stratford 4, and
other "newgazer" bands which have been paying lip service to
Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and other shoegazer acts that
burned out brightly in the early ‘90s. When asked if he was
concerned about the band as being viewed as having a
one-dimensional sound, he replied "for the most part I think
people are sort of embracing it. However there are a few a
people out there that evidently hated it. I don't think
their numbers are big, a few writers and critics that were
like 'I couldn't wait for that stuff go away quick enough.'
I think a few of those people, when we surface, are going to
really start bashing us because of that. However, the
concept of the band was to really be true to what the guys
in the band bring to the table, and what that was is a
merging of shoegaze and dreampop with the angst and
abrasiveness of American punk rock music. Progressive, and I
mean like Black Flag, Minor Threat, and even late ‘70s stuff
like the Germs, or even Television as opposed to latter day
power pop." He also adds, “Live, we are crushing!”
The theme behind “Drizzle” is the thing that Smith says
worried him most about the world. “It’s people's inability
to effectively communicate and it's heartbreaking, people
that are talking past each other every day. I feel like the
only reason to be playing music for me right now is to speak
genuinely about these conditions. I have a lot of fun going
to see bands that are a little more light-hearted but I
can't get up there and feel fake about what I'm singing
about. At the end of the day I notice that the people that
respond to the band are listeners that really go beneath the
surface.”
But, Smith displayed both his passion and his lighter side
when asked what the ultimate Run Run Run merchandizing
tie-in would be. Without hesitation, he seriously answered,
“A Sno-Cone Machine. A dream of mine is having a Sno-Cone
machine on stage with us. I swear I'm going to make that a
reality sooner than later.”
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