Runner Runner // Provided photos by Alex Martinez
It seems like the hip thing to do in today’s musical landscape is proclaim the demise of major record labels from the roof tops. But, going out of their way to be “hip” has never been the M.O. for Huntington, Beach California-based pop rockers Runner Runner. They opt for an open and honest relationship with their fan base.
The band, which released its self-titled debut album in February, is signed to Capitol Records and can’t say enough positive things about the relationship.
“The public has kind of a prejudice about (major record labels) being old school or having an obsolete mentality or irrelevant ideas of how the business works,” Runner Runner guitar/keyboardist Pete Munters told NOISE!. “Those notions might be changing, but the music industry is not entirely stupid. They see the way the new instant connection (via Facebook, etc.) will yield sales, whether that be digital sales or merch sales or however else.”
Since forming in 2008 with members from former bands Over It, Rufio and Don’t Look Down, Runner Runner has seen a dramatic, and expected, boost by Capitol Records.
“There have been both subtle and overwhelming indications,” Munters said of his band’s success. “I can remember a year ago when we went on our first radio promo run, looking at our Facebook site we had a few thousand ‘likes’. After a little bit of hype and touring, the number started to escalate by the thousands.”
Blazing the tour trail for a year straight, Runner Runner is back on path to Grand Rapids, where they will appear in the front lounge of The Intersection on May 25 as a part of their three-week acoustic tour. Before that, they will hit Mac’s Bar in Lansing on May 24.
Runner Runner is no stranger to G-Rap, after first appearing at MXTP and also playing at 105.3 HOT-FM’s big New Year’s bash.
“We have a mantra in this band that if it doesn’t rock acoustic, it don’t rock at all,” Munters said. “…We keep the acoustic set high-energy and bring lots of humor and involve the audience.”
The format is a perfect way for Runner Runner to push its new single, “I Can’t Wait”, an acoustic piece that unexpectedly made it on the album.
The band will then hop on tour with Good Charlotte and Yellowcard for June and take a brief break in July as vocalist Ryan Ogren gets hitched.
And while many would think the pressure really mounted when releasing its first album on a major label, Munters said the coming months and year is when it really starts to kick in.
“I think the pressure really begins now,” he said. “We were lucky going into the deal with Capitol that we already selected the songs we thought were strong enough. …Now, we’re writing on the road and thinking ahead a year and I think the pressure is on. It’s kind of like ‘How do we keep our innocence and write about our experience?’”
