With this recent single, ‘The Rest of Us’ Ridge Runner’s next step is clear. Instead of walking through the door of opportunity, they’ve burst through the entire frame as a true rock powerhouse, leaning harder into the genre than ever before. In the track, the band returns to bare bone Rock & Roll roots: pounding drums, husky, overdriven guitars, textured organ sounds, and a strong voice carrying a message. There’s no ramp-up; the band bursts out of the gate loud, confident, and with something to get off their chest. We talk to Ridge Runners about ‘The Rest Of Us’ release…
Hey Ridge Runners! We absolutely love The Rest Of Us here are Urbanista! It’s so great to talk with you.
“The Rest of Us” addresses several poignant issues in society today. Can you delve deeper into the inspirations and observations that inspired the lyrics for this track?
Just a lot of head scratching, confusion, and frustration with our so-called leaders…leaders in all aspects…politicians, media, and business. We head down a path of further divisiveness, which shows me they aren’t doing their job very well. “The Rest of Us” aims a little higher than this obvious truth with a goal to unite. The realization I had is that people persist despite all of this turmoil. Almost as if some of the obvious mess ups our leaders make are…irrelevant, or speed bumps in life. People still find ways to move on, live good lives, be happy, and prosper. The sooner we realize our own inner strengths, the less we can rely on these leaders, and the more freedom we can have to make our lives what we want.
It’s amazing that the single was recorded as a live take! How did this approach impact the energy of the song compared to your previous studio recordings?
We’ve wanted to record live for years, and this felt like the right track to do it. There’s a message of unity in the song, so it only felt right.
We also play together in a room with each other CONSTANTLY…we’re a band it’s our natural state. Looking back at past projects, we realized we were fighting against what we do most which is play in a room together. Those records turned out fine, but I think there’s a palpable energy to this new song because there is no over-thinking, no strategizing for recording…just a band playing.
Working with Barney Cortez and Matt Poirier at The Church for this single must have been an exciting experience. Can you share some insights into the collaborative creative process?
These guys both rock. Matt is a close friend to the band and has always helped craft our sound…he’s just so good at distilling quality sound and creative intent down into a final form. Barney is one of our favorite artists in Philly so getting to work with him was a pleasure..from the beginning he had a “hell yeah” attitude about tracking live as a band, and gets what being in a band is all about. This made it easy for us to show up and just put down a great performance with minimal interference of the recording process.
In The Rest Of Us, the lyrics emphasise the spirit and resilience of people despite the turmoil in politics, business, and media. What message or feeling do you hope listeners take away from “The Rest of Us”?
That we’ve all made it this far..and we will continue to persevere.
Your sound blends classic rock spirit with a really intriguing modern indie flair. How do you infuse these influences in your music as you write your songs?
Lately I’ve thought less about “I want this song to sound like X” or “I’m going for Y this time” and more just tried to follow where my energy and inspiration is leading. Most of my upbringing and music background is in classic rock and indie rock, and with so much of that swirling around in my subconscious, I trust that the end result will be in that zone of music I adore.
Your live performances are known for their raw energy and electrifying presence. What’s your favourite part of performing live?
That moment I look around at my band members and the crowd and just see everyone riding a collective energy. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like there is a momentum in the room moving forward and we are all just along for the ride, but no one person or thing is in control…it’s taking us somewhere and we are just enjoying it and in the moment.
The moment the band and audience give in to this force is always very special.
With a growing discography and a strong local presence, what’s next for Ridge Runners? What can Urbanista readers get excited for this coming year?
We only really know how to do a few things in this band…and that’s write, continue to release, and play shows. We have some shows booked through the fall, but everything else sort of comes out and evolves when it does…but the guarantee is that it will happen and that this will always continue to grow. If anyone wants to follow along with us, they’ll have no shortage of new things coming their way.
Thanks so much for talking to us, Ridge Runners!
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