Written By: Lauren Napier
Run Devil Run, built from the fragments of Poets & Pornstars, have come back under a new name to conquer the LA rock scene and reduce bad vibes to ashes.
As Jeremy, the lead singer of the band, explains the namesake of the band is a “hoodoo mystic candle that is used to burn away negativity.”
It creates not just an image of the personalities within the band, but a “beautiful and hopeful way of looking at music.” It always nice to have something stereophonically blasting that obliterates the cloudy days and gloomy skies of sadness.
Comprised of Jeremy Aric who captures the audience with his powerful set of windpipes, Domo who wails on the lead guitar parts, Randy Austin who dabbles not only in keyboards but vocals and various percussion, Sally Hope who keeps up the low-end on bass, and Dave Plesh who pounds away with all his soul on the drums, the band (all except for Jeremy) was in place. When the singer of Poets & Pornstars took leave of the band, it was “strongly suggested” that Jeremy try out and they “just clicked right away” and shed the layers of the previous band to become Run Devil Run.
The musical influences present in the band remain diverse as Jeremy cites anything from hip-hop, to classical, to jazz, but Dave is “like a sponge and soaks up everything he hears.” But it’s certainly not regurgitated play-by-play, as the songs of Run Devil Run wax reminiscent of classic rock greats but house their own personal creativity. Music isn’t the only influence within the band Jeremy explains; he thinks “inspiration comes from the books we read, the movies we see, the leaders we hear speak about the ever-changing world around us.” A profound perspective. After interviewing countless bands, who shall remain nameless, it’s refreshing to actually find someone looks outside of the musical box and grabs inspiration from other veins of our cultural society.
“Music has meant everything” to Jeremy, a true musician who began “hearing melodies and lyrics in [his] head” since he was eight. Jeremy would have been hard-pressed to stay away from music and its persistent presence in his life as he hails from a family drenched in musical tradition: his grandfather played the guitar for over seven decades and his mother played both the guitar and piano. Jeremy’s own attachment to guitar came a few years later – his age was at least in the double digits – and his words were formed into lyrics and written down; he’s “been playing ever since.” Jeremy has joined a band in time to be a part of this “emerging middle class of artists” that he sees taking place in our current music scene. The labels might have started, or continued, to decline and the Internet has risen up and taken its place in the promoting and exposing of new artists, but “for the first time musicians can support themselves on their music without big label help” – both exciting and empowering. And Run Devil Run is “right in the heart of it.”
“Sexy, beautiful rock” is what a listener can anticipate – both on the album and on the stage. After spinning the album several times and seeing the band grace the stage at the Viper Room, I can confirm that this is not hyperbole or fabrication. So Jeremy is right on cue, though it might seem as though he is tooting his own horn, when he describes the live show as “exciting as fuck!” The music they play is the music from their hearts and they “love the connection with an audience, and the more amped [the band] gets, the more excited [the audience] gets… there’s so much exchange of energy, it just feels like the room is about to explode.”
True story. Show up ready to have a good time, “go crazy for a little while and forget everything else for a minute”, and be an active part of the show: the band is inviting you by writing and creating these songs.
Playing every day in Run Devil Run proves to be Jeremy’s greatest musical achievement. An EP that just dropped at the end of March is also something of which to be quite proud. As is playing for an energetic Hollywood crowd multiple times in a month. Not to mention being able to make the hairs on the back of someone’s neck raise with simply a note sung into the microphone. Embrace Run Devil Run and forget about your cares and stressors for an hour or so; the band members sure have and have “no regrets” of which to speak. Take a lesson from their school of rock ‘n roll thought.
Like Run Devil Run? Check them out on Myspace.
CWG Magazine 