Americana Highways is hosting this premiere of Run Katie Run’s song “Running On Love,” the title track from her forthcoming EP, due out on April 16. This song will be available Friday March 26. Running On Love was produced by Kate Coleman; recorded and mastered by Corey Coleman (Coleman Studios, Marietta, GA) and mixed by Ian Pendlington: (Blanket Fort Recording, Dallas, GA).
“Running O Love” is Adam Pendlington on backup vocals and banjo; Corey Coleman on backup vocals, lead electric guitar, and keys; Ian Pendlington on backup vocals, drums, and percussion; Kate Coleman on lead vocals and acoustic guitar; and Stephen Quinn on backup vocals and bass.
We chatted with Katie Coleman on the song and the EP. The song premiere and links to order are just below the interview.
Americana Highways: What is the story behind this song? What prompted you to write it?
Katie Coleman: The stress of 2020 was wearing on me: the devastation of losing my livelihood and sense of purpose, the terror associated with COVID-19, the BLM protests, the elections… everything. I was feeling scared, hopeless, tired, and completely worn out the day I wrote this. I was sick of looking for the silver linings and counting my blessings. I grabbed my guitar – anticipating to write a “woe-is-me” type of song – and the line, “I’m running on love,” popped into my head. The more I played around with the chords and hummed different melodies, the better I felt; not so powerless, not so useless. As I wrote the lyrics, it was like my heart was telling me why I was feeling so heavy: “to say that ‘I feel safe’ inside the wake of all this change is like pretending that the ocean isn’t blue…but I’m running on love.” In my music dream house, there’s room for everyone at the table and I like to write songs for people who may not be able to put their feelings into lyrics and melodies. I asked myself, “What’s the one thing everyone has in common, even now in this divisive, terrifying time?” I realized pretty quickly that one thing is love. The want and need for it: wanting to receive it, wanting to feel it in someone’s touch, words, and actions, wanting to share it, needing it to feel safe and like life is worth living. The best decisions you make are ones made out of love; even when you feel like you have nothing else to give.
AH: Can you give us a peek into how the recording process was for this song? And related to that, what was the easiest part of the recording process? The hardest?
KC: We recorded this song to a click (metronome), and, in retrospect, I wish we hadn’t. It’s such a groovy, vibey song that I wish it had more push-and-pull in the recording like it does when we play it live. But alas, what’s done is done! I think the easiest part was deciding on the instrumentation and arrangement. We all knew exactly what it should sound like, almost like it was a song we had written and recorded 10 years ago. It felt so familiar and right. The hardest part, for me, was getting a good vocal take, ha ha! I have a tendency to write songs I can barely sing because I’m addicted to improvement! I know from experience that if I write a song that stretches my range to its limits, a year from now I’ll be able to sing it without trying… and then I’m a better singer for it!
AH: This is the title track for your forthcoming EP. What made you want to name the EP after this song?
KC: I think the phrase “running on love” sums us up perfectly. We’re a bunch of 20- and 30-somethings trying our best: in music, at life, and in love. I never feel like I know what I’m doing, but I know I lead with my heart and race forward without looking back. And I know my bandmates do, too – that’s why I love them so much. So we are, indeed, a group of people “Running on Love.” How could I NOT use this as the EP’s title?!
AH: Time to share: what is a secret about this song, or about your album, that you’d like to tell our readers that they can’t learn anywhere else?
KC: This EP was originally supposed to be a full-length album. We actually had(/have) two songs that got cut. However, life and a world-wide pandemic happened in the midst of recording, and I got too restless to wait any longer and was annoyingly eager to release our music so… badda bing: an EP was born!
AH: We’re so curious: how did you get the name Run Katie Run for your band?
KC: I would love to say it’s because of my genuine adoration for the movie “Forrest Gump,” BUT it’s actually the name of a song I wrote on my solo album, Past, that I released back in 2018. The guys and I were scrambling for a band name – and like every band, we came up with some hysterical but impractical names in the process – when one day, Adam (RKR banjo/acoustic guitar player) sent a group text asking, “What if we call ourselves Run Katie Run?” and that was it – we never looked back! I was beyond humbled when they wanted to name our group after a song I wrote.
Listen to Run Katie Run for some thoughtful roots rock and electric guitar solos with warbling dynamo vocals and driving band energy.
Pre-save/pre-order link: https://show.co/OtZFEqB