| John Peel Day 2006 | Local events 2006 12 October 2006 The Horn, St Albans **cLUBhORN** presents The RUNNERS + Look See Proof + guests 8.00pm-midnight Tickets: £5.00/£4.00 NUS Club 85, Hitchin THE OTTERS + ENVOY + DIATH 7.45pm-11.00pm Tickets: £4.00 Albion Arms, Ampthill Acoustic Avenue's John Peel Night: Well established acoustic night brings a special lineup in memory and celebration of John Peel. Burnt Idols, Dummy Run and New Groove Formation
Cost: FREE - Just turn up before 20.30 |
Last year's Battle of the Bands winners The Runners will be back at the venue where they took the crown on 12 October, when they will headline a special John Peel Day "Clubhorn" at The Horn in St Albans. Formed in mid 2004, life long friends, front man Gus Cox and Bassist Jim Thompson started the ball rolling before enrolling Clive Romanowski on guitar and finally Clint Henderson on drums. They describe themselves as having a "fast infectious sound combined with raw and edgy energy" with retro influenced melodies. Having spent the last year gigging, developing every aspect of their performance and attracting a growing fan base, the lads are now working on new material and recording a demo CD. Front man Gus Cox told us more How would you describe your music?Gus: Quite energetic indie-punk is probably the best way to describe it. It's quite fast and we've developed an infectious sound. On stage we're very "bang bang", we just get up there and try to entertain and throw ourselves around the stage! Who would you say are your main influences?Gus: We've got quite a few retro influences like The Who, The Jam and The Clash but there are also more modern ones such as Razorlight and down those lines. It's a difficult question because between the four of us we've all been into different music so when you bring it all together it's hard to tell where it's come from - but hopefully we create something different. What sort of music do you listen to? | | The Runners |
Gus: I used to listen to The Beatles and The Stones, as my parents had some old vinyls but nowadays I listen to anything from electronica to heavy punk - I like my melodies and rhythms really. I also like searching for new and unsigned stuff because if you just look at the mainstream you miss good new bands that have gone un-noticed. You're a Hertford-based band. What opportunities are there for bands in the town?Gus: There's the Hertford Marquee which opened during the past two years and which has been a great benefit to the town and opened a lot of doors. Bands have got together because there's a venue to play at so I'd like to big up the Hertford Marquee. There was nothing there beforehand but since it's opened there's been a mass influx of bands and there's been a kind of upward spiral. Bands play at the Marquee, people come and see them and are inspired and then set up their own bands. You won last year's Battle of the Bands at the Horn in St Albans. What does winning something like that mean to you?Gus: The money was useful!! We bought a van and can now travel around the country getting ourselves known! It was also good fun and we loved the adrenalin of getting though the legs and then to the final - and then winning! What about the future?Gus: We are writing a lot more and experimenting with our stuff and focussing on that. We've got some new tunes in the pipeline and we're recording our demo at the moment which will be out at the end of the month. We're also going to Austria next month, we've got some gigs lined up and we want to try and develop a bit more there. We're also playing ITC [In The City] in Manchester which we're dead pleased about. There should be a lot of industry people around that gig so we hope to get some notice from labels. Who does the writing in the band? | | The Runners |
Gus: Generally it's me - I muck around with ideas at home and bring them to the group, then the other guys will say to try this or that - a bass line or a riff etc. Where do your ideas come from?Gus: Everyday things really, what I'm going through and the way I'm feeling. It's not really political, it's more light-hearted than that. Do you like the Horn as a venue?Gus: I do like it yes, and it's really coming out at the moment. There were a lot of covers bands playing there but in my opinion replication slips. Adam [the promoter] is trying to bring back unsigned music and going down that kind of route. How do you think John Peel affected the music industry?Gus: I used to listen to his show and I respected him because he was not afraid to put on what he wanted. He'd play anything he liked - or didn't like! You'd listen and hear everything from some unusual electronic drum and bass to something more punky but it was stuff that you wouldn't otherwise hear in the mainstream. This allowed the music access to more people. Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe are now kind of taking him as their inspiration but John Peel was the pioneer, there was no one else around who did that kind of thing at the time. | 
