PUBLISHED June 27th, 2012 12:09 am | UPDATED March 28th, 2016 01:54 pm
Next in our series (you can read the first with Inch Chua here), we have Run Neon Tiger, another alumni band from Baybeats (2010). Run Neon Tiger first broke into the local music scene in 2009 with fervor, bringing their head-bopping tunes to us at various venues including the Singapore Street Festival (2010), Make Some NOISE (2011), and the PUMA Archive Uncovered launch.
Their music is not just radio-friendly indie-rock though – the bad-ass guitar solos steals the show as much as the vocalist’s dulcet tones, which brings an subtle dark edge to their music. The influences of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Strokes, and Singapore’s Electrico are skillfully intertwined with their energy in a rather addictive combination of melodies reminiscent of summer escapades that end with sweet uncertainty of what the future holds after. And with a new bassist on board, Run Neon Tiger is more than ready to bring us their newest tunes at this year’s Baybeats!
RUN NEON TIGER
Run Neon Tiger has been on a hiatus for a while. Singapore misses you! What have you guys been up to lately?
Thank you for those kind words, but mostly we have been extremely busy at school and moreover, Paddy is currently on exchange in Sweden, and he’ll be back only just in time for Baybeats. BUT, despite not being able to play shows physically, we are still writing via Dropbox/Skype. So thank god for the advances in technology!
You guys have said that you would want to ’embody the struggles, passion, melancholy and the youth of today’s search for its raison d’être’. That was quite some while ago. Has anything changed over the past few years for Run Neon Tiger?
Our band has in fact gone through a change of bassist. His name is Frans and he was a friend of the band, who eventually became part of the band sometime last year. Evidently, a change like that will shift dynamics and also the writing style. But the underlying reason why we do what we do is still the same. Of course, that was said a couple of years ago and since then we have grown older/matured, and more mature themes are employed in our songs.
What are some of the most memorable things that have happened for Run Neon Tiger?
Off the top of my head, we once played this show aboard a boat that housed a restaurant. Definitely the most memorable show for me. It was rocking so heavily – pun intended.
How has the music scene been, or changed in Singapore?
That’s a very open question and we could talk all day about that. But in a nutshell, we feel the local music scene is picking up. Many more bands are taking the leap; many more people in Singapore are listening with an open mind, so there is great potential in the future.
Although we have not set real goals, I think it is a common endeavour amongst us to play shows overseas. Nothing better in life than to be travelling and doing what you love!
How does it feel to be part of Baybeats again?
Without a doubt, we are ecstatic and just blown away by the opportunity to do this again. We have grown since the last time and I hope that is reflected in our new music when we play. More importantly, we feel honored to be part of this again and are definitely looking forward to it!
What are the plans for Run Neon Tiger, now that you guys are back together again?
When Paddy comes back, we will be rushing to polish up the final touches for our show at Baybeats. After that, we are still grey about that with only very broad strokes in our current plan.
Catch Run Neon Tiger on Sunday, 1 July, 7pm at Baybeats at the Arena (Outdoor Theatre).
Written by Tweedlingdum