Fans all the way from Italy, Mexico and the Philippines have shown love on their Facebook page, but Columbus will always be home for pop band Kid Runner.
“Columbus loves to support its local artists, and we love being able to put on shows in our hometown,” singer Drew Lizon said in an email.
Friday night marks the EP release show for the band at Skully’s Music-Diner, located in the Short North. Each member of the audience will receive a copy of the “Wake Up Now” EP with ticket purchase.
“Think Foster the People meets Passion Pit, but Foster still has a thing for Imagine Dragons and Phoenix. It’s complicated,” Lizon said about the band’s sound.
Making the EP was a process that the band took seriously.
“With this new EP, we really wanted to take our time with the songwriting process and try to create something truly meaningful,” Lizon said. “The theme of the EP is about moving forward and trying to not get stuck in life. It definitely fits with how each of us in the band are feeling at this point in our lives.”
After the show, which also includes local bands Captain Kidd and Wolfman and the Airship Captain, Kid Runner is set to go down to Nashville to support Tennessee band HalfNoise’s CD release show the next day.
Lizon said playing local shows allows the band to form connections with fans.
“It’s definitely cool to see the fans that have been to our shows and to talk to them and to get to know them better,” Lizon said. “We love interacting with our fans.”
Captain Kidd opened for Capital Cities at Ohio State’s Welcome Week concert this year. The band’s guitarist, Eric Blaha, called the concert a “crazy fun” experience that “definitely got us some more exposure on campus.”
This Friday night, the audience can expect to hear a never-before-heard cover from Captain Kidd, songs from the band’s current EP and one new, unreleased song. The song — titled “Smoke and Mirrors” — is set to be featured on another upcoming EP, which the band expects to release in December.
Blaha said he really enjoys the music scene in Columbus.
“People get really into shows, and I love how people are into the scene and everything,” he said. “Everybody’s passionate about it, they make a night of it, and it’s awesome.”
As for the new music, he said audience members can look forward to some “weirdness with the synthesizer.”
The other two Columbus-based bands on the bill are fans of the electronic instrument, too.
Wolfman and the Airship Captain likes it so much that the band has two. They are tag-teaming with Captain Kidd to support Kid Runner in the big show. Colman Hickey and Jamie Watson man the synths for Wolfman.
“I’m a big fan of synthesizers. I think it adds a lot more diversity to the sound than some other conventional instruments,” Hickey said.
Drummer Jack Lynch describes its sound as “electro-psychedelic punk” and the band is set to debut three new songs at Skully’s on Friday. Playing at Skully’s has sentimental meaning for Hickey as well.
“Skully’s is the first bar that I’ve ever went to,” he said.
Captain Kidd and Wolfman and the Airship Captain share more than a city and a word in their band names. The two bands have been friendly for a while.
“Our drummer worked with Gus, the lead singer of Wolfman and the Airship Captain, and he introduced me to their music like a year ago,” Blaha said. “We were like, ‘Oh my God, this band is so good we need to get them out there.’”
Then Blaha decided to take some action.
“So I had my manager listen to them, and then he was impressed with them, so he referred them over to Kid Runner, and they liked them, too,” he said, which led to Wolfman being involved in this show.
Lead singer Gus Dieker of Wolfman also talked about the relationship between the two bands.
“We started going to each other’s shows and became friends — band friends — that way. We like each other’s music a lot, we’re supportive of each other,” he said.
Blaha said Wolfman isn’t indebted to Captain Kidd.
“They don’t really have us to thank. They’re really good. They’re really freaking good,” he said.
Both of the opening bands expressed gratitude toward Kid Runner for allowing them to be a part of Kid Runner’s big night as well.
Tickets are $10, according to Skully’s website, and can be bought online at TicketWeb or from Skully’s directly. Those under 21 have to pay an additional $2 at the door. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the music starts at 9 p.m.
