Emi Night of Strawberry Runners. Photo by Matt Hogan.
has only been around for two years, but the band members are no rookies in the Denver scene. You may have seen the musicians in local pop punk band Mega Gem, or at Film on the Rocks in May or heard them on Colorado Public Radio’s new music station Open Air.
But you haven’t seen them at . Later this month that will change. Strawberry Runners — made up of Emi Night on lead vocals and guitar, Davy Timm on vocals, keyboard and trumpet, David Runge on vocals and guitar, Tyler W. Morse on vocals and bass and Max Barcelow on drums — will make its first appearance at The UMS on July 23-26.
How would you describe your sound and influences?
Emi: We’re pretty like sparkly, indie pop, kind of music. A little bit with some folk influences. So I listen to a lot of Belle and Sebastian. I listen to a lot of Sufjan Stevens. And then I love the Pixies and older, ‘90s, post-punk stuff. So yeah, itap a mixture, just like everyone else.
Whatap a live Strawberry Runners show like?
Emi: Itap fun. Some of the songs are pretty serious so I’ll get pretty serious about some songs and some are just fun, dance songs. So everyone will just be dancing on the stage and once in a while someone will jump off the stage if they’re not playing an instrument and go dance with the crowd. We like to engage the crowd, we like to talk to the audience and a lot of our songs are pretty catchy so you can catch onto the chorus and if you’re into it, sing along. But they’re pretty engaging and they’re fun. We like to be pretty active and playful.
A lot of your lyrics deal with very personal topics such as in Dog Daze when you sing about a woman losing her son. Was Dog Daze based on a personal experience?
Emi: All my songs are based on personal experience. That one in particular is about a really beautiful woman I know back in Lexington, Kentucky. I’m from southern Indiana and I spent a lot of time in Lexington because thatap where my Mom’s from. But yeah, all my songs are based on personal stories or narratives.
Is it easier or harder to write about personal experiences?
Emi: It takes time because I like to be intentional about how I tell these stories, especially if they involve other people because I know that itap my perspective but itap not just about me. Other people are involved and I wouldn’t want to say something that — for instance with that song I wouldn’t want to say something that makes someone else feel uncomfortable about the song. But I like to be as honest about my experiences as I can and sometimes it takes time to sit with something, if it was a really emotional experience or something. So you have to sit with it and really think about what it was for me and how I want to say that. So it does take a while but itap not very hard, it just takes a while.
Your band name seems very reflective of the kind of dreamy pop music you make, how did you come up with the name Strawberry Runners?
Emi: The name comes from — itap like in strawberry plants, the strawberry runners. The first time I was taking a gardening class, someone mentioned it. And then I thought of my Mom because my Mom grows strawberry plants and she has a little garden. Itap funny because those strawberries are the only thing that seem to come back every year. Sort of, out of everything she grows every year, they seem to be stronger than everything else. So I just remembered strawberries really strongly from when I was a kid. I thought that was a very evocative name that kind of made me think of my Mom. Itap kind of funny because itap also, you know, itap own thing too besides being an evocative sort of phrase.
Have any of you played the UMS before with other bands?
Emi: When I first moved to Denver I played with the band Mega Gem. I think they were called All Liver No Onions at the time. Max Barcelow played in a lot of other bands. Right now he’s playing in The River Arkansas and he’s playing with Mike Clark and the Sugar Sounds, so he’ll be playing at UMS with a couple of other bands.
What are some of the benefits of playing the UMS?
Emi: I love the UMS. I’ve just gotten to meet so many of the musicians in my community through it. Itap nice because itap in a large enough area that you can wander a while and find things. But it doesn’t feel too overwhelming with sound. Itap nice because it is so much happening at once that you have the option to go out and find something that draws you. And if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you can just wander and you’ll hear it. For me, as a musician, itap great to meet other musicians. Itap great to hear whatap happening in Denver and Colorado and all across the country. I really like it.
How would you describe the Denver music scene to up-and-coming bands?
Emi: The Denver music scene is growing quickly. There’s so many people in Denver that aren’t from Denver so people are coming from all over the country and maybe all over the world and they’re bringing with them what they learned from wherever they’re from. So itap like a big melting pot of ideas and creativity. Itap just different from any other place because itap just so diverse. And people in Denver are so — there’s something so positive and energetic about the people I meet here. As a rule, I feel like anyone I meet here will be a total sweetheart. So it just comes through in the music. It feels positive, it feels uplifting and itap exciting.
