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None foundMarch 16th, 2009 | Audio Stuff, EarthBound

Jeffman let me know about this the other day – there’s an actual band called the Runaway Five. They cover all kinds of video game music, not just EarthBound. You can check out their site here, where you can listen to some of their music. They’re based in Canada, so if you’re in the Toronto-ish area, see if you can find them playing sometime!
In fact, here’s an audio clip of them being introduced before playing some music. I especially like the guy’s puzzlement about the number of band members and the reaction everyone gives at the mention of EarthBound 😀
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Also, here’s a lowish-quality video of them playing the Sound Stone song:
Now they just need to get in debt so some kids can save them. And if they have a tour bus, I bet ghosts don’t bother them 😛
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26 Comments to The Runaway Five are Real!
![]() | Jesse said on Mar. 16, 2009 |
That was great, love their sound. I just wish the quality was better, but that’s just me being nitpicky. 🙂 The fact that there’s footage is still cool.
A real-life video game music band is the kind of thing that makes kids wet their pants.
That’s a really nice jazzy bit they have going there in the video. Interesting interpretation of the original tune.
I love learning about bands which perform video game tunes, especially those consisting of real kids who’ve played and loved these games. Thanks much for this.
When he said Earthbound, the crowd went crazy! Now to figure out how I can see them live.
I definitely know a girl that used to play sax with these guys.
They’ve been to Calgary a few times; they’re AWESOME live.
![]() | Darien said on Mar. 16, 2009 |
Oh, they’re pretty decent. Too bad they don’t seem to have much range from Toronto; I’d love to book these dudes, but I’m a few hours away.
They’re also based Calgary/Edmonton or something, like there’s two groups of people but they’re part of the one main band.
I saw them at Video Games Live in Toronto; I’m actually present in that sound clip, but you can’t distinguish my yell because too many people were screaming. 😛 Had I known it was being recorded, I would have done a prolonged yell or something. You can check their site for upcoming appearances.
With the musical and video game-interested parts of my brain firmly fused together, I’ve always thought about doing something like this – I’m an amateur saxophone player and my preferred idiom is jazz, coincidentally. Having said that, I always raise an eyebrow when I hear about “jazz-influenced” or “jazz-interpreted” music; there are enough bastardizations of the music out there that some of these things devolve into crappy swing grooves and cheesy big band-ish arrangements.
So…with that somewhat elitist mindset, I lent an ear to their music and was pleasantly surprised. I love their interpretation of the Fourside theme – the swing works well and they swing hard. I would question the application of the same groove to the FFVII boss music, but that’s just me (the original 12/8 rhythm, I think, is great. It loses something as a plain jane 4/4).
But hey, I’m inspired now that I know that my fantasies of re-imagining video game music aren’t just manifestations of extreme nerdiness. You all may see a compilation of stuff within a year or two…
![]() | ZEROGRAVITY-A01! said on Mar. 17, 2009 |
What the…
So they ARE real!
I just sent them an e-mail on their site, congratulating them on great work and requesting the making of a CD. I also said where I learned of them, just in case they wanted to know (it’s usually good to know where your publicity comes from). Great stuff, I think.
You know, it’d be pretty ironic if they didn’t try to remake a Runaway Five song.
And they probably didn’t.
I also noticed that in the intro they were called the “Runway Five.”
I’m trying to convince my band partners to name our band DC/MC or Runway Five.
Since we are trying to make video game’s music cover, guess i have to drop Runway Five. ;_; I’ll try DC/MC.
wow, i never thought that would happen… and Ilana i was tryin for runway five to, so i guess its a race for DC/MC. May the best…… umm drummer win! (I’s a drumma!)
Why were you all trying for “Runway Five”? That sounds like a modeling company haha. Why not the real deal “Runaway Five”?
Oh man, a band named after the Runaway Five from Earthbound! This friggin slays!
![]() | BigDream said on Nov. 23, 2011 |
SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!
Wonder if they ever did the Mischievous Blues…?
That would make me feel…g..o..o..d…
Hot damn! That’s awesome!