Runaway Saints are the new guys in town, but the road here was long and winding. Originally from Providence, Rhode Island the band (Johnny Gates, Jamie Jarbeau, andMatt Scanlon), traded in the traditional next step of college, for a van and trailer and hit the road, writing, recording and beginning to build a touring base for themselves.
Knowing they were serious about this dream, the guys started eyeing Nashville and sent a random email to producer Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift). By the time Nathan wrote back, the guys were making the 18-hour drive to his house to play a set for him in his living room. Shortly after that trip, they were making another one back to Nashville, but this time there was a moving truck involved.
Fully taking advantage of what Nashville does best, the guys settled in and began writing. Most days were being spent co-writing in the publishing houses on music row or jamming with friends at home studios around town. Taking what they learned in Nashville, the guys made a few writing trips to Los Angeles, and came back with more songs and a sound all their own.
Today they release their first taste of the debut album they are working on. Written by singer Johnny Gates, “Brooklyn Nights” is a song that hits close to home for Johnny.
“Growing up in the northeast, New York City is a special place,” remarked Gates. “I can remember so many nights with this one specific girl, where Brooklyn was our spot and we’d plot out our future there. As time went on, that relationship ended and I started touring more with the band and Brooklyn became this distant memory. I finally had a chance to pass through while on the road last summer, and it was my first time in Brooklyn without her. It was such a strange feeling. Probably most similar to returning to your hometown after some kind of journey. I was hanging out back stage at a show a couple days after and the song pretty much just came out then and there. It was the first song I wrote by myself in a long, long time and by far the most personal.”
Recently Johnny Gates stopped by United Stations to perform an acoustic version of the song. You can view that here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKEPPpTIJ60&feature=youtu.be
Runaway Saints have been very active on the road in the past year performing alongside artists likeJonny Lang, Moon Taxi, and Johnnyswim.
They recently completed their first ever national tour as support to Ryan Cabrera and Secondhand Serenade and are planning a headlining run for later this summer along with finishing up working on songs for their debut album, which they plan to release early next year.