NEW YORK, NY- Want to try something a little new? Maybe even want something to love? May I humbly suggest, Kid Runner for your ears.
They are an independent band out of Columbus Ohio who organically came together to create a fantastic sound that is a mash up of different genres. Front man Drew Lizon brings in a bit of hip hop; Scott Griffin (Bassist), the self proclaimed “pop punk kid” can be heard seeping into tracks like “Let’s Keep Talking”; Fran Litterski brings an 80’s electronic pop sound to her synths and backing vocals (she also throws down hard on the ukulele); and Kurt Leaner brings a bit of rock ‘n’ roll to his guitar. When you think about it, in the wrong hands the sound could be a bit of a mess, but what comes out of Kid Runners crucible is something magical and just … well … happy. Their EP Body Language gives us six tracks that are hard to stop listening to (the embedded player below to play some of the cuts).
The chemistry of the band is real, laid back and fun. Walking up to them outside a coffee shop, it was like meeting up with old friends … the kind of old friend I’d never met before. They will greet you with a warm smile and a firm handshake, something that most people don’t quite appreciate these days. But that’s who they are. Kid Runner has an appreciation for the little things.
They were also up for pretty much everything including climbing up and jumping off garbage bins as we walked around the east village finding locations for our photoshoot. (Granted these were some really artsy garbage bins and read something far too close to the sentiment of their track “Give Me Something To Love”.) But the point is they were ready and willing to commit a tiny (I swear it was just an itty bit) petty crime for the sake of art and laughs; and casually pretended to do no wrong as we meandered towards the next location.
Kid Runner is completely self aware of where they are as a band and have a completely endearing way of being optimistic and self deprecating in the same breath. When I asked them about having fans they said :
Fran Litterski: Thank you for listening to us. It’s always really cool to have people come up to you at shows, like someone came up to us in Philly and said, “Yeah I just found you randomly through bandsintown.com.” and it’s just crazy, how people find our music.
Drew Lizon: At JMU we had a couple of people who came to our show. They just found us through spotify and a weekly buzz playlist and were like, “We saw you were coming into town and had to come to the show.”
Scott Griffin: We had people coming in and singing along to every word, which is crazy because it was in an area we’d never been before, and it was like, “How does that guy know all the words to our songs? I don’t even know if I know the words to these songs!” and I thought, “Well, that’s a pretty cool experience to see someone not only listen to your music and be a fan, but, like, take it in and spit it back out to you.”
Frances Litterski: A lot of the out of town shows we’ve done in the past have been linking up with a bigger band and we will open for them, so we are used to coming to New York, opening for a bigger band and kind of getting fans at the show. So, it’s really cool that we are starting to have people who have already heard about us and are coming to our shows. [B]efore it was just playing to people that had never heard of us. It’s just fun to actually to just start having fans… in these other cities. (Laughs)
Scott Griffin: We like having fans more than not having fans, I think that is what she is trying to say. (Laughs)
Live, they are sooooo solid. Often, they switched instruments and lost themselves in the performance, which is always the best, because it makes it so easy to get lost in the music with them. They play with such a passion and a love of what they do that it is hard to not find that completely entertaining. They have fun and it is infectious. I asked them about the chemistry of the band :
Frances Litterski: We have a lot of fun together I think we are all really close. We’d practice at least twice a week and four years of that and we see each other all the time. I’d say it’s funny, we joke around a lot.
Drew Lizon: It’s a smooth chemistry I think, we all have our different backgrounds and personality types but I think it meshes really well between us four, we’ve never really had a big conflict.
Blurred Culture: You could start one now.
Drew Lizon: Yeah, I mean of course, I would love to.
Scott Griffin: I’m about to start one because I’ve been told I have to change my shirt for this photoshoot that are we’re gonna do, because it’s too similar to the one you just put on five minutes ago. So I’m ready to go. I think this is going to be it, this is the rift that’s the beginning of the end.
Kurt Leaner: This is kid runners last interview.
Nope. Not by a long shot. Long live Kid Runner!
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