The Runarounds may have been created for TV, but they’re a real-life phenomenon.
Videos by American Songwriter
Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, Will Lipton, Zendé Murdock, and Jeremy Yun make up the indie rock band, which has a story unlike any other.
In an interview with American Songwriter ahead of their two-night, sold out stint at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, the guys recounted how their unlikely journey started six years ago.
Ellis, Golliher, and Murdock came across a casting notice from director Jonas Pate. Assuming it was for his popular Prime Video series Outer Banks, they eagerly applied. They soon learned, however, that it was for Pate’s new show, The Runarounds.
At the same time, Lipton and Yun, who are childhood pals, were sourced for the project thanks to the videos they posted to YouTube of themselves playing together.
Eventually, all five men were cast in the show and their whirlwind rise began in earnest.
“I feel like it was pretty instantaneous in terms of chemistry,” Lipton said. “… There’s that special camaraderie with people that play music together. Now we’ve had six years to continue developing that and enriching it.”
The Runarounds’ Early Days
As they geared up to shoot the show, The Runarounds rehearsed by playing live gigs at a North Carolina beach bar.
“We were workshopping a lot of original songs and things that we’d later have to perform for the show,” Ellis said. “It was just a good excuse to get our feet wet before we got into production.”
“We were fortunate enough to have a little bit of a built-in community with the crew, and cast, and our friends,” Lipton said. “That community would soon build, and build, and build as we played more shows there. It was really fun.”
It’s not just music they had to prepare for the show, but their acting chops too. All five guys consider themselves musicians more than actors. As such, they spent hours with an acting coach. They ran scenes from Almost Famous until they were prepared enough to “survive an entire season,” Golliher said.
All of that hard work paid off, and the show became a hit. It amassed hoards of fans, all of whom now support the real-life band as much as they do the show.
The Runarounds’ Success
So much so that the band’s The Minivan Tour sold out shows across the country. Fans even took to lining up outside the venues hours before door time, just to get the chance to stand closer to the stage.
“We keep telling them to stop doing that,” Lipton quipped. “They won’t listen.”
“When you put out a TV show, people tend to get very excited to see you,” Golliher said. “… They’ve been with you for an eight hour-long journey most of the time. Most musicians don’t get eight hours of screen time and narratives and stuff like that. People grow with the characters. It’s really cool.”
“They almost feel like they get to know you in a way, without actually having ever met you in person until they come to the show,” Murdock added. “They’re the sweetest kids ever. They really are.”
While The Runarounds’ audience has grown substantially over the years, the heart of their shows hasn’t changed. They’ve also strived for one thing when the get on stage—for it to be loud.
That was certainly the case during night one of their Brooklyn Bowl stint. Loads of fans packed the venue, scream singing along to every word they knew and eagerly taking in new songs the guys delighted them with.
Those lucky attendees were transported into the world of their favorite show, and given an unforgettable rock concert for good measure.
“I feel like they do a good job of setting the tone for us,” Murdock said. “We come out. We put on a high-energy rock show. They respond in kind.”
The Runarounds’ Future
While some may attribute the massive response to the band to the whims of teenage girls, the music actually lives up to the hype.
The Runarounds have worked with Brad Shultz of Cage The Elephant, Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, and songwriter Matthew Koma on their music, which lends an authenticity to the songs. And more than teens are taking notice. The band is set to make their Bonnaroo debut in June.
Their latest releases—”Chasing The Good Times” and “Arrhythmia (I Hope You Stay)“—have only enhanced the hype around the band. That’s very much the point to for guys, who are eagerly awaiting news about a potential season 2 of their show.
If fans had any say on the renewal it’d be a sure thing. The Brooklyn Bowl crowd was unabashed in their “season 2” chant ahead of the band’s return to the stage for the encore.
“This tour has been very special for us,” Murdock said. “It’s our first bus tour. It’s our first time doing the real thing on this kind of scale, so we were all very stoked for this.”
In addition to playing more shows, The Runarounds are hard at work on their second album.
“I’m excited to dedicate some time to that and really give it a good crack,” Lipton said. “I think we’ve all developed immensely as musicians, and I feel like we can write some really, really solid tunes.”
Photo by Isaiah Pate
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