Interview: Tyrus A (2 Tone Runts)
Patrick Larson from MNSKA caught up with Tyrus A, singer and bassist from the MNSKA band 2 Tone Runts, for an interview about the band’s 2010 plans. Make sure to catch the 2 Tone Runts on January 29th at The Red Sea in Minneapolis, MN when they play with Voice of Addiction (Chicago), Panel of Experts and Skaliticians.
You can check out the interview after the jump.
Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed, it is my understanding that a lot has changed in the 2 Tone Runts recently.
It’s true, we have continued to grow and change as a band. In the last few months we recruited two new members. Greg Futchi is our new drummer and Dan Weides is our new organ player. Kinaundrae has moved over to trumpet. We still bring a message of social justice to the table but you’ll be hearing a bit of a more “rasta punk with a little more funk” sound.
What brought on the decision to add more members?
We’ve always wanted a trumpet player as a band but never had any luck finding the right person. Our original line-up included a trumpet player for a show. Kinaudrae casually mentioned one day that he was first chair in high school but hadn’t played since then. For the past year we’ve been looking for a new organist so he could make the switch. Dan, who is a high school friend of Greg, happened to move back from California a few months ago and started jamming with us. He fit right in and has helped us continue to develop our sound.
Ah, it sounds like things are working out nicely. Thinking back to August, how did it feel to play at Warped Tour?
It was awesome! I, like so many other musicians, grew up going to warped tour and looked forward to it every summer. I only dreamed of one day being up on that schedule board. Being that it was our first year we applied, we didn’t expect to be chosen. The whole tour its self is inspiring and filled with remarkable young people and bands. We got to spend all day meeting people and making friends. Everyone was so supportive of the band.
Very well said. I think you guys did great. Last year you guys released a teaser trailer for the music video of “Cute Girls In Combat Boots” Has the video been finished?
Ha good question. We didn’t have time to finish shooting last spring before 2 of our members left the state for a month. After they got back we were busy gearing up for our East Coast tour and Warped Tour and now we are left with trying to figure out what to do with the current footage we have and how to finish editing. Above the Line Entertainment has many other great projects you can check out while you wait. We had a bunch of really amazing people show up for the shooting of the video and we will hope to get something out before the snow melts.
Alright. Will you be debuting any new songs this Friday?
We sure will! We will be playing a new song currently titled “Not Alone”. It’s for everyone who ordered true change but instead was served an increased war in Afghanistan, record bonuses for wall street bankers while foreclosures continue to put working class families on the street, and continued health care for the profit-hungry medical industry instead of a publicly supported single payer plan. We will also be playing our version of Eddy Grant’s “War Party” at the show.
That is some powerful stuff. Do you have any other shows planned?
We currently are planning a tour for March and will be heading south. Until then we will be working on new songs and our plans for the summer.
Alright,sounds like you’ve got things well planned out. Thank you for your time.
Thank you for the interview.
Tags: 2 Tone Runts, Panel of Experts, Skaliticians, The Red Sea, Tyrus A, Voice Of Addiction