Runaround Kids Interview

The next leg of Runaround Kids’ ambitious plans for 2012 begin at the end of the month with a short Irish tour to promote their upcoming split 12” with new to Rhubarb Bomb band We Are Losers. Bassist Jack Winn has promised this new venture will be documented for us – each tour bus break down, each band member comatose – in a tour diary for our next issue. For now, he speaks about how the tour and the split release came about.

How did you go about organising a tour in Ireland – a place you perhaps don't have the contacts you do more locally?

Myself and Gavin from We Are Losers have been talking online since both our bands played Live At Leeds and Leeds Festival last year, and doing a tour together has been something we've talked about for over a year now, I reckon. All the booking and press for the tour has been sorted on their side. The wonderful Rob Dee (Philophobia Music) is going to be driving us around in a people carrier, and we're staying on people's floors and flats in venues. In all honesty, I'm not 100% on where we're staying but I'm sure it'll be fine.

Will it be the longest you've been on the road? Is that a kind of lifestyle you enjoy / crave?

Work and logistics often mean we don't really ever leave home for too long when we're in England, so maybe the longest is only three or four days. Personally I love it; we end up staying friends from school who have scattered around the country, or people I've met when I've travelled to gigs. The worst situation we've had, I think, was when we ended up staying in Bethnal Green when it was feeling particularly rioty. But that was a bit of an exception.

Tell me about We Are Losers and the split release.

We Are Losers are an ace four-piece from Kildare/Dublin. They started off as noisy, electronic stuff, and ended up becoming this summery, catchy-as-fuck pop band. Their song Cheerleader has been stuck in my head since around July last year. The Narcissist was one of the early electronic ones, and we covered it with powerchords and loads of shouting, it's such a fun song to play.

The record is a 12" vinyl with three songs each side, two each and then another of us covering each other. They've done a great acoustic version of Can't Lose Lover. We've also got a comic we've done to go with our first song on the record, Drinking History, which is going to be coming with the record for people who bought the bundle with the You'd Feel The Same T's, as well as being on sale while we're on tour. We Are Losers' songs are amazing.

How do you find playing to crowds outside Wakefield and Leeds? 

Naturally, it's a bit hit and miss in places we haven't played as much. But Wakefield, and most Leeds gigs, almost feel a bit 'safe' for me. The main concern with gigging further out is whether people will be there, but I think we'll be okay with We Are Losers in tow in Ireland. There's always going to be a couple of total disaster gigs, but no-one's there, so no-one needs to know about them. It's all just part of getting better known outside of the 'local' bubble. When it goes right, it's amazing.

How do you George and Rob get on when on tour? Who has the most annoying habits?

We get on great most of the time, through a heavy diet of somewhat eclectic mix CDs, unrepeatable jokes and service station stops. They do fall asleep all the time when we're travelling, and Rob Dee will often drive us, so I'm the one who has to make sure he's awake and we're not about to go flying off a motorway at 5am. Keep Rob fed and George with a cig and you're laughing. They're two of the easiest people to get on with in the world. But if you don't feed them or their addictions, you're in for trouble.

What are the dates and venues of the tour?

We're in Dublin at the Twisted Pepper on the 27th June, Bourke's Bar in Limerick on the 28th, and Roisin Dubh (still don't know how to pronounce it) in Galway on the 29th! And our record is out 9th July.

Dean Freeman