Running has been around for a few years and is a band you are bound to see if you go to Chicago-area garage, noise or punk shows often enough. The trio is a favorite support-slot act at several venues, and it’s easy to understand why: Running is jarring, fun and perfectly unexpected. Drummer Alejandro Morales spoke to the Tribune last week about the importance of making your audience cringe. This is an edited transcript of the conversation.
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Q: How did Running begin?
A: It came out of spending a lot of nights at shows at (defunct show space) The Mopery. We would just go to shows and drink beer and just chill. One day (Matthew Hord) and I, we were at some hardcore or noise punk show, something like that, and I just told Matthew that we should start a band. I was just saying it because I was kind of bored, not sure if we would ever play. I assumed it would fall through. Then, after getting together, I saw another friend, Jeff (Tucholski), on the CTA bus after work. He was just defeated, how you are after work, and I asked does he want to play in a noise punk band? And that is how we started. No plan. Just happened.
Q: Did you start a noisy band on purpose, or was that just how it came together?
A: The joke was, when we got together, that we were a hardcore band, but we were too old to do the testosterone of it (laughs). We were just inspired, in this dumb kind of way, by the magic of just getting to hang out with each other. It was not a concept or an idea, it was just what we went for.
Q: For being such an abrasive band, there is a sense of playfulness about it. Where does this come from?
A: I don’t know if this is too telling, but we all have a certain kind of humor — we like Seinfeld — and to a certain extent the skronk we do hints at no wave, and that informed what we do. We just try to organically put together abrasive songs with harrowing guitar, something that might make you feel nauseous.
Q: Is noise beautiful to you, or do you value it for it’s jarring effect?
A: It depends. All the abrasiveness, it’s intentional to make you cringe. I know that the majority of the people at a Running show are possibly sedated, are f—– up, and I identify with that. I like to rage and have an awesome time, even though I am going to feel totally terrible the next day.
Q: Why do you want to make people cringe?
A: Well, we don’t exactly try for that. We want to do things that make people uncomfortable. I am not a musician. I just make these sounds. And there are people who connect with the music of Running. We do not set out to make them cringe; it’s just whatever happens in the moment, it happens. Some people are going to be blown away by the sound, some people are going to feel sick, some can rage — push people, drink too much — there are many reactions.
We are not looking for, how can I say, a reaction. We want people to enjoy the shows, but we do not know if anyone enjoys stuff like this. We keep it fun for us; the accessibility is something the audience determines. People might love it, we love it. And the people who hate it, we love that too.
Q: What is in Running’s future?
A: The future is uncertain. I keep getting slower. It’s useful for us to be more into the creation of new sounds, challenging our typical sound but keep that vibe, our tough vibe.
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When: 9 p.m. Monday
Where: The Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave.
Tickets: Free (21+); 773-276-3600 or emptybottle.com