A Chat with Winchester 7 & The Runners (15.01.21)
All the way from the USA, Atlanta-based Winchester 7 & The Runners are an alt-rock meets grunge trio with some indie ukulele in the mix. Following their well-received 2019 single ‘When The World Stops Spinning’, the lads released a full-length album entitled Argos Holiday. We had a chance to speak with Winchester 7 (vocals and ukelele), Phil Voorhees (bass) and Jack Kane (drums) about Argos Holiday, future plans and reality shows.
OSR: How did Winchester 7 & The Runners come about?
Winchester 7: Well, I’m Winchester 7 and these two were pulling a runner.
Kane: We weren’t fast enough, obviously!
Winchester 7: Well, after I caught up with them it turned out that they rocked! I had an electric ukulele so it was that or back to the Dome.
OSR: What is the backstory to Argos Holiday?
Voorhees: We took a trip to Argos…
Winchester 7: We were taking a bit of a break together after our last album and ended up writing a few songs.
Kane: They’re rubbish at being on holiday.
Winchester 7: After we got back we had plans to head straight into the studio, but then we were all quarantined.
Voorhees: So, we ended up on quite a few video conferences.
Winchester 7: I think that working remotely and the conditions that we all have had to deal with found some of its way onto the album.
OSR: Do you have a favourite track on the album?
Winchester 7: It’s hard for me to pick a favourite as we spend so much time in the writing process that I end up loving them all. I like ‘Dirty Laundry’ quite a bit though. It has a different sound than much of the album and I have an appreciation of some of its nuances. It’s got a modern feel with some Pink Floyd-esque tones.
Voorhees: Yeah, but I find ‘The Saint Simon Killer’ both lovely and dark.
OSR: What inspired the album?
Kane: It was the one that followed the second.
Winchester 7: Well, it was also what I think of as our first proper album. The first, Beyond The Dome, was a lot of fun as it was a grab-bag of the best songs that we had written. The second, The Forgotten World, was the best of the rest and a few new ones too. Argos Holiday was written from scratch and designed with a beginning and an end in mind.
Kane: Not to mention the middle. It’s a lovely middle.
OSR: What or who inspires you to make music?
Winchester 7: I think that it’s equal parts the joy of living our lives well beyond what we ever imagined and the magic of when a song first begins to form.
Voorhees: Yeah, and that part when our fans first get to hear it.
Kane: Sometimes it’s a proper pint, honestly; but when we get to playing it’s downright inspiring.
OSR: Describe Argos Holiday in three words.
Kane: Adventure.
Voorhees: Melody.
Winchester 7: Fuzz.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Winchester 7: A bit of retro rockin’ fun in an indie wrapper that makes them want some more.
OSR: Do you watch any reality shows?
Winchester 7: I caught a few episodes of Better Late Than Never.
Kane: Does The Grand Tour count?
OSR: If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?
Winchester 7: I’d like to build a studio to take on some more ambitious projects and set up an incubator for other artists that integrate analogue media into their work.
Voorhees: Yeah, and maybe play a show in outer space.
Kane: If it’s all the same with them lot I’d go in for it all, so long as I get an Aston Martin out of it.
OSR: Do you have any future plans?
Voorhees: I hope to overcome a recent bout of agoraphobia.
Kane: I’d like to get out of bloody lockdown one day.
Winchester 7: In the meantime, we’re recording a new song that’s tentatively called ‘Ever Said’ and hope to have it in mix within a couple of weeks, shoot its video and release it on YouTube in February.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
WInchester 7: Argos Holiday is out now for our purchase and streaming pleasure.
Kane: Thank you for reading. We hope that you’ll listen and watch too.
Voorhees: Keep safe. We hope to see you very soon.
Thanks to Winchester 7, Jack Kane and Phil Voorhees for speaking with us. For more from Winchester 7 & The Runners check out their official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
