Jon and Roy are a group of long-time friends from Victoria who just may have recorded the running song of the summer entitled, quite perfectly, Runner. The song is the lead single from their record The Road Ahead is Golden, that came out last month. Ben Kaplan caught up with the boys and their bass player Louis Sadava, the lead runner of the band of up-and-comers.
iRun: What does “Runner” mean to you?
Louis Sadava: Runner is a song about running away from problems but conversely I use running to solve problems, to clear my brain out and be able to see problems from a fresh perspective. A runner is someone who routinely runs for no apparent reason. It’s a introspective pursuit and our reasons are our own. Someone who runs away from problems or bears I wouldn’t classify as a runner, more an irresponsible person who still enjoys living.
iRun: Can you please break down the song and the video, inspiration, themes, motivation?
Jon: Well, the song itself is actually about deadbeat dads. But in a broader sense, it’s about running away from things that one shouldn’t be running from and suffering as a result. Inspiration for the video came about mainly due to time pressure actually. We were told by our German label to have a video done, and the original concept and filmmaker fell through so we had two weeks to think of an idea and shoot it. I always pictured the song having motion, so had the idea of having us play in the back of a moving vehicle. Then from there started thinking of ways to expand upon that base. Originally, the idea was going to have a more serious tone, but after a few middle of the night awakenings, realized that this wasn’t the best route. So instead, we went with a more humorous tone. Our friend Zulu immediately came to mind as the person to play “the runner” and he said yes so onwards we went…
iRun: Louis, regarding this tune for running, could you elaborate on the rhythm corresponding with running. Some people might choose a really fast tune to call Runner, but this one is almost Paul Simon-esque. What’s the connection between running tempo and the tempo of this song?
Louis: I get a relentless guitar-driven feel from how this song turned out. It reminds me of running in that it sets a pace and maintains it without many ebs and flows. We are not all fast runners:)
Jon does have a slight Paul Simon vibe to his song writing sometimes but is still distinctly unique. I can’t speak to his intentions, but I know he’s a Paul Simon fan so there’s that.
iRun: Is this amazing clip Royal Tenenbaums influenced?
Jon: Absolutely, we all love that movie and Wes Anderson in general. Thankfully we found the last three red tracksuits available in Victoria (thank you Foot Locker.)
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