Anyone in my life knows how much I love a limited series. I don’t know what it is, but the shorter it is the more I’m bound to love it.
I must give credit where credit is due – my parents got me into The Runarounds over winter break and I was hooked. The 8-episodes span interesting plotlines, fantastic music, and overall character development that hooked me immediately; I recommend The Runarounds to everyone I know will listen.
Fun fact: the creator of Outer Banks is the same creator of The Runarounds – Jonas Pate.
This might be where it gets confusing, but please bear with me. The Runarounds are a legitimate band, but they also formed because of the tv show The Runarounds. I don’t know if any of you remember or have even watched Outer Banks, but there was a scene with a live band playing in someone’s backyard (I personally don’t remember it, but I believe it) and that’s how The Runarounds came to be. They were all cast for that specific scene, but their musical chemistry was so palpable that they had their own show four years later.
The way that The Runarounds came to be is flipped compared to how almost every other show is formed. They were a legit band before and they knew the music long before they knew how to act. So what’s really cool is every song performed in The Runarounds was originally created, written, produced, and performed by The Runarounds live and in real-time.
Essentially they began as a group of independent artists brought together for the purpose of a small performance in Outer Banks and five years later they were signed by the record label AWAL and began their first tour as an official band.
With 456,779 loyal listeners on Spotify, The Runarounds are still considered a relatively “underground” band, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t huge. I hate being that person who uses the term “underground” as a legitimate descriptor, but, unfortunately, it’s the best word I could think of, so I’m going to go with it.
Over this last weekend, I had the absolute pleasure of going to their latest Denver concert as one of the many stops on their first official tour as a band. It was their first sold-out show and it was also one of the most entertaining concerts I’ve ever been to.
The energy radiating off of the five members – William Lipton, Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, Zendé Murdock, and Jeremy Yun – was infectious. Lipton and Ellis are the main vocalists and guitarists, Golliher is the bassist, Murdock as the drummer, and Yun as a guitarist. While Lipton and Ellis are the main vocalists, it’s not just a one-man show – they all operate and play together.
It was obvious to everyone that they were having so much fun on stage playing with each other and that untouched joy sprinkled down into the audience. Ogden Theater was home to many rhythmic dancing bodies that night and, I have to admit, I was one of them.
I had some favorites already going into the concert like: “Beautiful Stranger” (the live USC version), “Ghosts”, and their cover of “Valerie”. As much fun as those were, I left with a new appreciation for the rest of their soundtrack album. Songs like “Funny How the Universe Works”, “Arrythmia (I Hope You Stay)”, “Senior Year”, and “It’s a Wash” ended up being some of my favorites from the entire night.
As I said before, their energy was unbeatable and the audience jammed right along with the band. Ellis and Lipton’s unique individual voices wove in and out of each other, sharing the spotlight, and they compliment each other almost perfectly. Murdock is an absolute powerhouse on the drums keeping the audience enraptured with the beat. Golliher had his time to shine in Denver as well, taking over songs like “15 Rootbeers” and “Downtown” and with his small appearances the audience went crazy. This is all not to forget about Yun who is integral to the band as a guitarist in the front with Ellis and Lipton.
Not only are The Runarounds such a fun band to watch perform, it’s just as fun to watch them all just enjoy themselves on the stage. They’re not only bandmates – they’re also friends outside of it all and that love shines through their work. They were loose, laughing, dancing, and engaging the crowd in creative ways that communicate that they truly do love what they’re doing.
The majority of their discography stems from The Runarounds, but they came out with a single “Chasing the Good Times” outside of the show and a studio rendition of “Arrythmia (I Hope You Stay) which I’m going to assume is going to be on my Spotify Wrapped this year. They’ve shown so much growth in comfortability and creativity since their small role in Outer Banks and I, for one, am so excited to see what’s in store for the future of The Runarounds (I’m hoping for an album).
I don’t know if they’re always going to be The Runarounds or if they’ll go their separate ways, but I do know that I had the time of my life at their first sold-out show with some of the most important people in my life. Even if The Runarounds don’t stay together – they gave me a night to always remember.