Run Into the Night. I know I bang on about this band a lot. There is a simple reason for that, they are, quite frankly, wonderful. A dazzling light shining in the dark times we find ourselves in – not only because of their music, but because they are genuine, lovely people too. Since I first saw/heard them they have sustained their glorious ascendency getting better and better each time I see them live.
On the eve of their new single, Blow a Kiss/Catch a Knife (out today), I had the pleasure of being able to ask Christina and Ellie a few questions about the single, inspirations, the current climate and how it is affecting bands and venues, and what is coming next for the band.
Blow a Kiss/Catch a Knife
GQ – You’ve got a new single out, Blow a Kiss/Catch a Knife. Tell me more about the song, what is it about?
Christina– Blow a Kiss/Catch a Knife is a upbeat punk/funk/disco trip with descriptive lyrics such as “ghost from the past, ex-lover with a mask, oh how you love to haunt me” and “skin tight, leather and boots, cheap thrills, single life” painting the image of a wild night out with friends gone dark! The track channels 70s vibes influenced by the likes of Debbie Harry to Joan Jett and every time I hear the song, I get flash backs from a time in my life where I partied hard, kissed demons and fell in love with the night. This side of me will always exist except I know how to channel that alter ego more these days, haha.
GQ – The song has a classy video that goes with it with some “mysterious” extras. It looked like a lot of fun to make. Who came up with the concept & what was it like making the video?
Christina – When I write a song, I see imagery to go along with it and with Blow a Kiss/Catch a Knife I wanted to do something simple, fun and energetic. It was filmed in one take by the talented Neil Jarvie and my sister helped guide the three ex-ghoulfriends around the set. I was actually hanging out with my nephew when he was playing in a kids ball-pit and I thought hmmm, it would be cool to have the ghouls launching these plastic balls at us in the video. We had so much fun making it but maybe a little too much as the clean-up was brutal!
Ellie– The clean-up took us about an hour most of which was just the seven of us picking up thousands of individual bits of confetti with our hands as it wouldn’t sweep up. We filmed in Broadscope Studios in Glasgow where they have an infinity wall cove which suited our video idea perfectly. The video was all filmed in one take. We did several run throughs of the video to get the filming angles, scenes and direction down to a tee before we attempted to bring the confetti in for the real take. When the video comes out on the 27th of March, you will see the genuine surprise on my face as confetti is poured over my kit by one of the ex-ghoulfriends.
Inspirational Women
Q. It was International Women’s Day last weekend. As a female duo, who are your inspirational women – either musically or in general?
Christina – This is hard as there are so many! Katherine Johnson who did the math’s to help NASA launch astronauts into space and for not being brought down by the sexism and racism she experienced at the time. I’ve also been reading Debbie Harry’s autobiography and my god, she really is one strong human. She has survived rape, stalking, sexism and drugs, yet throughout her book remains strong and focused. It’s a very interesting read and has gave me a lot of respect for Debbie Harry as a person and musician.
Ellie – Like Christina said, it’s hard to pick only one. Recently I have read Rosa Parks: My Story. From her standing up for her rights by sitting to her later activism for civil rights and freedom of political prisoners, she is a huge influence to many out there including myself.
Touring
GQ – You have/had a tour coming up to promote the single. What do you prefer, recording music or playing live?
Christina– I personally love performing live, feeding off energy from the crowd and meeting new people every night after shows. We were so excited about doing this tour with our friends Yur Mum and GENN, however due to COVID-19 we had no option but to cancel it. At this time no one really knows what the future holds with regards to bars, venues and live music but public safety comes first. We all know someone who is at high risk of becoming seriously ill with this virus and as a band we want to give back to our community through volunteering during this difficult time to help those who need it the most.
Recording is equally important to me as for some reason, when I’m in the studio and time is ticking, I tend to get most creative. This is when ideas explode in my brain and what I planned on doing with a song changes, evolves and becomes something new. I think this is a really important part of songwriting for me which is why I have made it my goal for 2020 to collaborate and experiment writing songs with other musicians. To support this, I recently converted my empty attic space into a creative space/studio and anyone and everyone is welcome to join me for a ‘Call of the Void’ jam session.
Ellie– Recording music is so exciting when you see all your ideas coming together and you can take a step back and hear it all professionally done. When we recorded our new single Blow a Kiss/Catch a Knife with Chris Marshall at 7 West Studios, I was thrilled with how it was turning out and I have longed for the release. Performing live is always loads of fun and I always get lost in the moment when on stage. Plus, I love meeting new and old friends when on tour and having a good after party dance, then returning to wherever my bed is for the night sweaty but satisfied. As Christina said, it is unfortunate that we can’t tour the next couple of months, but we have plans to spend a few weeks touring in the second half the year with a brilliant band from Bristol, Jemma Freeman and The Cosmic Something. Our booking agent, Beating Hearts Agency, are working on that right now and we will announce more on the tour soon.
That is certainly something to look forward to, if you follow my blog, you’ll know that Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something released one of my top 10 albums of last year.
Music & Coronavirus
GQ – I’m going to ask about the elephant in the room, the C word. There are uncertain times ahead, and I’m fully aware of the health implications, I’m sure we all know people who are on the at-risk list who will potentially be seriously impacted health wise. This is a music blog however, so I want to focus on that side of things. Given that we’ve just spoken about the tour which you have had to cancel, and every day more and more events are going the same way, what are you most worried about in terms of how coronavirus will impact you, and the music scene in general?
Ellie- Unfortunately this has had a huge impact on the music scene with more bands, bars and festivals cancelling every day. It is an uncertain time for everyone involved. I have seen the music community reaching out online already with alternate solutions.
One Facebook page in particular, The Coronavirus Cabaret Club, has recently been created allowing musicians to arrange a time and date to perform a set live streamed through their page. They are offering each musician or band to choose a charity actively working to alleviate the suffering of others at this time, and a donation link that goes directly to the organisation will be put up with the stream so those watching are able to make a donation. I think this project is excellent in helping the music community come together under the current circumstances we are in and for a good cause. I am sure we will see more bright ideas in the coming weeks from people involved in the music community.
Christina – Yes, it’s a scary time for everyone right now. We all have routines and like to socialise so I fear what impact isolation will have on some people’s mental health. I recently posted on my personal and RITN accounts letting people know that if they are suffering right now and need someone to talk to that we are here, whether that is talking via email, Facebook Messenger or on the phone, I’m here to listen and right now we need everyone to support enough each other through this dark time. We are fortunate to have jobs right now and understand that this isn’t the case for everyone so I can’t help but think about how each individual’s situation is different.
Album?
GQ – Finally, Tony Gaughan recently gave away a bit of a teaser about working with you, with mention of an album. Can you share any more details about this and what is next for Run Into the Night?
Christina – Yes, we met Tony Gaughan when we first opened for The Filthy Tongues at Saint Luke’s, Glasgow in 2018. (GQ – a cracking gig from all concerned) We are really excited to be releasing our first full length album on his label, Neon Tetra Records. The idea of releasing an album on CD/Vinyl has always been a big goal for our band and an opportunity that we are very grateful for.
With the recent Coronavirus crisis, all future tour dates are currently on hold till we know more so Run Into The Night will use this time wisely helping out in our community and taking the time to be creative by uploading live sessions, covers and acoustic sessions. We are unable to comment on time scales at this point, however when the time is write, we will be back on the road promoting a new album and playing every show like it’s our last.
If our music can be an escape and distraction from the outside world for even just 3 minutes then we are happy. Thank you.
Thanks to Christina and Ellie for taking the time out to talk to me. I can highly recommend the single, so go and download/stream it now from your preferred platform – link
Don’t forget to look out for the video when it is released next Friday (27th March)
Teaser…
Run Into the Night website