Meet Kid Runner, a local five-piece band making moves with their new EP, Wake Up Now:
Genre: Indie/Alternative, Electronic pop.
Members: Drew Lizon – lead vocals
Kurt Keaner – guitar/synth
Scott Griffen – bass/synth
Bobby Heigel – Drums
Frances Litterski – vocals, keys
I’ve known Frances Litterski for quite a few years now. Pixie-like, soft-spoken, with an angelic voice, Fran consumes her spare time with her fellow roommates/bandmates playing in Kid Runner. All of the members of the band work nine-to-five jobs with Kid Runner following suit as a second job, treating it as an undeniable passion project.
During their freshman year at Capitol University, Fran, Scott and Kurt met as strangers and gravitated towards one another through similar musical interests and sarcastic humor. After graduation in 2011, the three met Drew at a Wombats show, and Bobby soon after. Kid Runner was fully formed.
The work on the new EP began about a year and a half ago. While playing new tracks live, the EP slowly matured into its full potential through trial and error. With lyrics pouring from the corners of each and every bandmate’s head, the five members chose to write and compose as one unit. This process was a lengthy and progressive one, but with equal involvement and contribution, Wake Up Now became a direct product of the band as a whole.
While recording the EP in January 2013, the band experienced their first gleam of stardom. Their track “Move” aired during the 2013 X Games, and the momentum only continued to grow as the band was then featured as ESPN’s “Artist To Watch” in January 2014.
The album artwork for the EP alludes to a sense of personal discovery and questioning, as a mysterious, faceless individual sits on a building, thousands of feet in the air, legs dangling free.
“We chose to license this photo and have it represent our EP for multiple reasons,” shares Litterski. “We saw a guy sitting up on this building, just thinking. Our songs are about starting over — a new beginning. With each track you can interpret your own way to change something, whether that’s about your life, a relationship, or something on a larger scale.”
The catchy opening riff to “Move” takes the listener through their own introspective experience. With Fran’s echoing vocals melting into the guitar, synth and percussion, the track immediately fuzes into a head-bobbing, alt-pop tune. Pulling from inspiration ranging from Passion Pit to Foster the People, Kid Runner’s sound has an authentic layered spine, glazed with a poetic undertone from their noteworthy lyrics. “Everything fades away/the clock keeps moving/but everything that we changed still stays the same.” The three minute track takes the listener through an effortless exploration and Drew Lizon’s sweet and smooth lead vocals lie against the delightfully electro-pop backbone.
As if you’re floating face-down in a warm body of water, and the waves are comfortably pushing against your body in irregular patterns, “Move” keeps you floating towards something. That something is specific and relative to the individual — a personal discovery. Kid Runner’s devotion toward uncovering this restless nature that has settled in their minds and bodies is a dicey and vulnerable journey. Fortunately, this new six-track EP softens the blow for those of us experiencing the same troubles within our own lives. Like a trusted, beloved-friend, Wake Up Now is a wake-up call for us all.
Kid Runner is playing an EP release show at Skully’s Music Diner on Friday November 14th. They’re sharing the stage with Columbus bands Captain Kidd and Wolfman & the Airship Captain.
Take the opportunity and support local music.
Doors at 8 p.m. || Music at 9 p.m || $10.00.
For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/KidRunner and itunes.apple.com/wake-up-now-ep/.
