Run With The Hunted – Interview with Ian (Guitar) and Jason (Bass)

RUN WITH THE HUNTED
IAN (guitar) and JASON (bass)
Interview and Photos By Dan Gonyea

Arizona’s RUN WITH THE HUNTED has been touring heavily in support of their self-titled album on Panic Records. Just off a full US tour, the band will be a part of the first ever Panic Records Showcase in May as part of Seattle’s Rainfest weekend. Their guitarist Ian and bassist Jason took some time to chat about their recent touring and latest record.

What were the highs and lows of the huge tour you guys just wrapped up?
IAN: The tour was great and a huge success for us. I can’t really think of too many low points about it to be honest. It was definitely our best tour as a band thus far. Most of the shows had good turnouts, and more people were coming out to see us since the last time we went out. Of course there were a few shows that weren’t the greatest, but even then, it gave us the opportunity to play to some new people that had never heard of us before, so that still made it worthwhile.
I guess one low point that I can think of was for our guitarist Jonathan. He sprained his ankle during a very intense game of “Frockey” (which for those who don’t know is a hybrid of ultimate frisbee and hockey) against the guys in ANOTHER BREATH and MAYFLOWER. We had quite a hefty lead, and we still think Teddy took Jonathan out on purpose. So for the next few shows, Jonathan had to either sit down or stand in one place during our set. Sadly, that is about as exciting as one of tours gets, aside from us arguing about movies, music, and politics with each other.
Do you have a niche of kinds of shows you enjoy playing the most?
IAN: I don’t think we have a specific niche or group of people that we prefer playing to over any other. We make a conscious effort to have something that can appeal to a broader spectrum of people; whether it’s musically, or whether it’s something lyrically. We’re not concerned with being “big” or “hyped.” For us, it’s about putting all of our frustrations and passion to music, and as long as people have something they can connect with when they see us live or listen to our records, then I feel that we’ve been successful.
I will say that we typically don’t go over too well with the “tough guy” groups. I don’t think we really consider that a bad thing though.

How important is it being able to tour with bands you get along with vs. new bands you haven’t toured with before?
IAN: It’s always great touring with people you know. I think that is a no-brainer, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. The idea of meeting (or touring with) people you don’t know is one of the greatest aspects of being on the road in my opinion. It gives people the chance to get out and interact with other, and in most cases, make new friends which seems to be something less and less people are doing nowadays. For instance, when we toured the U.S. with ANCHOR, we didn’t know them at all beforehand, but by the end of the tour we had a very solid bond with them. I think the same goes for the guys in THE EFFORT and CHOKE UP. Other than Jonathan, we didn’t really know them all too well. But we played a couple of really fun shows with them here in AZ and had a great time, and now consider them our friends.

How has working with Panic been?
IAN: They give us a lot more promotion and distribution than we’ve had previously. They work very hard at keeping a lot of people up to date on what Panic, and their bands, have going on. Timm has always been a huge supporter and friend of this band. Even as far back as our first EP, he has been helping distribute our records and asking us when we were going to put out a record on Panic. He seemed to actually understand what we were doing, and also appreciate it, so it made perfect sense for us to work with him.

Your self-titled record is now out on Panic Records. How do you think the record came out in retrospect?
IAN: It’s something that we are all very proud of. We all feel that our last release Destroy All Calendars was where we started to finally come into our own as a band, so we wanted this record to not only be an extension of that, but a progression as well. Being that it was going to be a full length, we had a lot more room to explore a lot of new things, and I think we took full advantage of that. I think we all feel that it’s the best thing any of us has ever created musically.

The record’s artwork is pretty intricate. Who did it, and was it envisioned with a certain motif of the record in mind?
IAN: I don’t think we really had a particular idea in mind when we chose who we wanted to do the artwork for the record. We wanted it to be something less typical of most hardcore record covers. That, and wanted to go with an artist whose art we also enjoyed, so we decided to go with Drew Speziale. He has done artwork for many bands like KYLESA, JUNIUS, and CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE, whom he is also the vocalist for. We really liked his style, and he agreed to do it, so that was pretty much it.

You guys said a couple years ago that punk and hardcore “was always supposed to be intelligent, poignant, and political.” Is there an emphasis on politics in your band specifically?
JASON: Without question, nothing has had a greater impact on my development than the punk/hardcore community. I can trace the moment I first considered Veganism to the first time I heard ONE KING DOWN. I know that my life long struggles with sexism, racism, and homophobia were birthed through bands like PROPAGANDHI, CRASS, and the DEAD KENNEDYS. I can even attribute the idea that it’s okay to be vulnerable to bands like AMERICAN NIGHTMARE and SAETIA. It’s so disheartening to tour around the country seeing radical politics disappearing from a community that thrives upon it. Our primary focus as a band is, and always will be, based on this premise.

RWTH’s lyrics tend to be on the dark side. Does writing and playing in the band offer a form of self-therapy of the issues often brought up lyrically?
JASON: It would be safe to say that RUN WITH THE HUNTED is a cathartic release for everyone involved. We are often times misunderstood as being a solely political band which almost sells short the aspect of the band that interests me most. While many of the lyrics/themes are blatantly political they come from a place of self-examination and seek to document a personal struggle. For example, Destroy All Calendars was dealing with Drew’s total contempt for being born into a culture that is so utterly destructive. The goal is never to expound some sort of “Anti-Civ Manifesto,” but to help come to terms with and utilize these feelings. So I would say it’s totally fair to call this process: “Self Therapy.”

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