10 Questions with ... Runaway City

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

BAND LINE-UP:

• Josh Edwards (vocals)
• Jace Bowman (guitar)
• Tyler Ricketts (guitar)
• Chris Burrow (drums)

LABEL:

• Vertusent Records

DISCOGRAPHY:

• Armored Heart (2010)

1) How did you connect with Vertusent?

It was actually quite random, believe it or not. Derek Graham from Vertusent happened to run across our Myspace page one day and listened to the songs we had put up the day before. He emailed us and within two weeks he was flying out to see our live show. We really hit it off in person, and it's been great for both parties!

2) What's the story behind the debut single "Fade"?

"Fade" is a love song that demonstrates the kind of love God has for us. He'll never abandon us, and he makes us feel like we're the only thing in the world that matters. That kind of unconditional love is something we should all try to show others!

3) What is the message you hope to convey on the album "Armored Heart"?

The new album "Armored Heart" conveys a strong message of hope. A lot of our songs talk about redemption, a theme everyone can relate to no matter where they may be in life!

4) Do you have any humorous or interesting or inspiring stories from any visits with radio stations?

Josh and I visited a station in Toledo a few weeks ago, and about halfway through the show, the DJ said someone was on the phone for me. Turns out it was my babysitter from elementary school! She just so happened to hear us on the show that morning, several hundred miles from where I grew up, and wanted to say, "Hello." Random!

5) Do you have a favorite song from the album?

We have a lot of favorites, but if we had to pick, the universal favorite is "Try." Our guitarist Tyler wrote this about what it would be like if his wife passed away and the tremendous struggle that would be. The lyrics are very touching, and it's got such a great vibe to it. We find that it's a crowd favorite live too!

6) What does the rest of the summer look like? What cities might we find you playing in?

We have several exciting things coming up this summer. We will be heading out to Texas shortly to do Forty Fest with Red, Decyfer Down, Bryan Head Welch, etc. We'll also be playing on a 25-city tour with Decyfer Down this fall.

7) Where is your favorite place to play? Do you have a favorite city/venue?

We always love the good old South! We all have some Southern roots so we really seem to connect live with Southern audiences.

8) If you weren't doing music, what would you be doing?

Oh, wow. We'd probably all be doing different things. I know Josh would be doing MMA style fighting; he's literally a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo. Tyler and I would be scheming some hair-brained million-dollar idea, and Jace would probably be a guitar tech for U2!

9) What song do you wish you had written?

Wasn't there some song about cartoons by Chris Rice like 10 years ago? HA! Seriously, I think we'd all be happy if we'd written any Bon Jovi song!

10) Do you have much time to check out other artists' music? What are you listening to right now?

We all LOVE the Paper Tongues album. It'd be awesome to do some touring with them since we're all North Carolina boys. Other than that, Switchfoot, U2 and Chasen are always great to rock out to!