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why we're buzzing…

we could go off on an endless music nerd tangent about all the little things we love about Slow Runner, so we've tried super hard to edit ourselves :D .

each of us girls kind of have our own connection with their music. for jenna, she's obsessed with the vocals. on a song like "You're In Luck", you feel like Michael Flynn totally "gets you" and is your best friend in some strange universe, but then 2 songs later, he's the most eerie, untrustworthy dude ever. when someone can create that much feeling in their vocals, it gives you chills. cameron is the tech nerd, so she's obsessed with this kick drum here, and that piano break there. krissie… well krissie is really shy and innocent, so she gets embarrassed when we say this haha, but she has sort of a "fetish" for clever words and phrases. no seriously, if she ever gets the nerve to talk to a boy, it will be the nerdiest guy in the room, all because he has a creative vocabulary. so Slow Runner lyrics pretty much give her butterflies. and ashlee is the smart ass of our group, so the Slow Runner sarcasm is right on par with her own. we all also love that Michael Flynn has the same aversion that we have to the proper use of capital letters when writing.

there are plenty of bands that use humor and sarcasm in their songwriting, but very few of those bands simultaneously make music that is incredibly passionate, and write songs that we have an intense emotional reaction to.

to us, that's where the magic of Slow Runner lies. they are the perfect blend of clever and beautiful. even on a song like 'Make You Love Me' where the lyric and concept are completely twisted… that creepiness is totally contrasted by the fact that the vocals are so pure and it's such an honest song. or on the other side of the spectrum, a song like "Long Division" is about such a simple subject, but the way Slow Runner tells a simple story is what makes them genius. the fact that this band isn't on everyone's iPod everywhere in the world blows our minds, so we're excited to do our own little part to pass on their brilliance :D .

the interview…

Slow Runner is one of our favorite bands ever, and it won't be long before they're far too popular, and way too cool for interviews with girlie princess websites, so we were crazy stoked that singer Michael Flynn answered our girlie princess questions, and cracked us up a little too…

Pretty Princess Girls:

We're so unbelievably amped about this, so thank you! :D We love you guys, and lately it feels like we're finally seeing Slow Runner everywhere. The history behind Slow Runner has had the full range of musical career setbacks… bands that didn't work out, record label disappointment, the frustrating starts and stops of a life in music… You're definitely one of those bands people hear and say "I can't believe these guys aren't huge yet?" With the energy and momentum surrounding Slow Runner right now, do you feel like 2010 is going to be a big year for you… dare we say a breakout year?

Michael Flynn of Slow Runner:

We're definitely hoping that 2010 will be a big year for us. We've got the new EP, we're hopefully going to be releasing more new music before the year is over, and we've been getting lots of love from TV shows and stuff like that. You never know, it's really staggering how many people I know who should be more famous than they are. I've pretty much quit putting hope into reaching that level of success since it's so completely out of our control. I think we're content to just make music that we're excited about and hopefully other people will get it too. And somehow that will magically make us rich.

Pretty Princess Girls:

One way we would describe Slow Runner, is sincerity in a head on collision with sarcasm. So which comes easier to your songwriting?

Michael Flynn of Slow Runner:

Great description. I'm a pretty smarmy dude by nature, so the sarcasm thing comes a little too easy for me. I think it's much more difficult to be sincere. The single hardest kind of song to write is a sincere, happy song. To pull that off and have it not sound cliche or annoying is the gold medal of songwriting. I guess that's why I gravitate towards happy music with depressing lyrics, or vice versa. But I have serious respect for sincerity. It takes more guts.

Pretty Princess Girls:

Krissie is contemporary dancer, and 'Streamlined' is one of her all time favorite songs to dance to. She says the song is perfect, because it has it's own breathing rhythm to it, and she connects to the song like it was written by someone who sees inside her head. She can turn out the lights, put the song on repeat, and freestyle for hours. Your creativity completely inspires her creativity. What do you find your songwriting is inspired by? Other bands, other types of art forms? Are your songs usually first person experience, or ambiguous stories from what you see in people around you? And most importantly, does anyone in Slow Runner have any dancing skills?

Michael Flynn of Slow Runner:

Let me answer the last question first: a resounding no. Our bass player Jonathan Gray has what could be called 'moves', but more along the lines of 'aww, it's adorable how silly he looks while trying so hard to dance his ass off'. Otherwise, we are painfully awkward. Thank God I sit behind a Wurlitzer at every show, that's all I'll say. In regards to the inspiration thing, that's awesome about the lights out freestyle to Streamlined. I'm honored. I draw inspiration from lots of stuff: peers, heroes, film dialogue, people watching, ruminating on my own life, etc. The songs are usually made up of lots of different stuff like that thrown together to facilitate the purging of an emotion I'm wrestling with. Or sometimes it starts out as "I just like how these words sound" and then evolves in a way that tries to make those words make sense.

Pretty Princess Girls:

haha, well we've seen you play a mean tamborine. that takes rhythm. we bet you could jive a little.

One of the things we love about Slow Runner is that your lyrics say things in a way no other band says things. A lot of your songs articulate things we would never know how to put into words, or things we would be afraid to admit out loud. Since you're smarter than the average band, are you music snobs? Or is the soundtrack to your life equal opportunity? We saw you mention Kenny Loggins in an interview once… does that mean you rock the 'Winnie The Pooh' song?

Michael Flynn of Slow Runner:

The great thing about music is that every rule is breakable. So I'm a snob in certain respects. Some rhymes drive me crazy, I can hear when somebody is being lazy in their writing, and that bothers me too (like when someone needs to rhyme the word 'me', and they rearrange a line to end with 'thee'. Really? All of a sudden you're talking in Shakespearean flourishes? Please.) But as far as being indie cred snobs or whatever, no way. I think Kenny Loggins is a legitimately great songwriter. Come on people. The older I get the more I realize there is bravery in recognizing the greatness in things that aren't hip. Or what I mean is I realize how much of my prejudices in the past (to the Kenny Loggins' of the world) were because I wasn't comfortable enough with myself to admit that 'Danger Zone' makes me drive fast, and Phil Collins is a badass, and lots of the music that my parents listened to when I was growing up was better than I gave it credit for. So watch out for your friends who are too cool for everything; they're probably the most insecure people you know. Hopefully this kind of attitude informs the music we make. I definitely think with the new EP we're taking chances and going places where even a few years ago I would have been too afraid to go. Now I'm like 'bring it'.

Pretty Princess Girls:

It's pretty obvious that you guys embrace all your geekiness with pride. We've seen you describe your music as weird and strange a few times… so does that make us weird and strange because we love it so much? We actually think we might be just as big of nerds as you are… some nerd facts about us: Krissie went to Space Camp. No seriously - she has a graduation certificate from it. Cameron loves, and we mean loves Elfquest comics. Jenna gets really excited about new episodes of 48 hours Mystery, and Ashlee has dogs named Ton Ton and Wicket. Are there any Slow Runner nerd facts that can top that?

Michael Flynn of Slow Runner:

There are too many Slow Runner nerd facts to list, but here's a few off the top of my head: I got all 120 stars in Mario 64. I wear velcro shoes. I watch 'Big Bang Theory' and get all the references. I also watch 'Lost' and analyze it endlessly. At one point while on tour we had 3 DSs in the van, all networked together playing Advance Wars (which is like Monopoly in that the games last for hours and hours). I went to computer camp (it's no space camp, but still). Kaler has a chess trophy that he won in high school. I used to wear grandpa pajamas (top and bottom) TO SCHOOL. BY CHOICE. I Tivo Mr. Rogers. When I sync my iphone it says "Now syncing 'the flux capacitor'". Cause that's what I called it There's more where that came from but if I list too much dorkiness you'll never be able to take our music seriously again, so I'll stop.

Pretty Princess Girls:

Thank you soooo much Michael! k, now everybody go get their new ep, Ghost Rendition, because it's inappropriate for you not to at this point. :D

Slow Runner Video…

"You're In Luck"

"Trying To Put Your Heart Back Together" - Live

check out more Slow Runner…

• Slow Runner Official Website
• Slow Runner Twitter
• Slow Runner Myspace
• Slow Runner Facebook
• Slow Runner PureVolume

download Slow Runner…

Download Slow Runner on iTunes -