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The Runner Ups
- Chicago, IL
- Ska Band
- Travels up to 120 miles
- Contact for rates
Overview
Started in 2010, Allen Mendez brought a group of men together as "The Runner Ups" to become a ska punk band. The premise was to play fun, upbeat, loud music that people could get up and dance to. In early 2014, the band added new members and instrumentation to their arsenal. The music of "The Runner Ups" became more technical and began to embrace various influences like Dixieland, Latin merengue, big band swing, and even Arabic. This fusion of genres into the ska punk sound allowed the band to stray away from the standard and embrace something new in every song. Now, the powerhouse 7-piece group—including trumpet, trombone, and tenor/bari sax—have begun playing all over the Midwest.
Reviews
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Booking Info
Price Range: Contact for rates
Gig Length: 30 - 120 minutes
Languages: English
About
With Worldly Influences, Punk Rock backgrounds, and Jazz obsessions, this 7 piece group is doing their very best to make music that brings something new to the Chicago area.
Starting in early 2010, Allen Mendez brought a group of men together as "The Runner Ups" to take on the idea of a ska punk band. The premise was to play fun, upbeat, loud music that people could get up and dance to. "The Runner Ups" sought out well-known ska scene bands like "Run and Punch" and "Shortstop From Tokyo" to begin the first few years of playing in the Chicagoland area.
On January 18th, 2014, the band took on new members and added new instrumentation to their arsenal. The music of "The Runner Ups" became more technical and began to embrace various influences like Dixieland, Latin merengue, big band swing and even Arabic. This fusion of genres into the ska punk sound allowed the band to stray away from the standard and embrace something new in every song.
Now, the powerhouse 7-piece group—including trumpet, trombone, and tenor and baritone sax—have begun touring and playing all over the Midwest. "The Runner Ups" are doing their best to play everywhere and with everyone, so people with different backgrounds can all enjoy a ska punk fusion group with high energy music to dance to.
We have had the honor of playing with Run and Punch, Shircus, The Suites, Butchered, Bumsy and the Moochers, Agents of Change, The Orions, Mr. Denim, Baby Kid, Ces't La Vie, Shortstop From Tokyo, Toopin, Unplugged and Reborn, Prehistoric Holocaust, Gina From Constatine, $plor, Bedtime Bandits, Now in Stereo, Mason Cos, Must Build Jacuzzi, The Oceanographers, Club Malice, The Howell, Chango Pardo, No Such Noise, and The Kreutzer Sonata.
Set List
Our set list embraces various influences like Dixieland, Latin merengue, big band swing, and even Arabic.
Team
Allen Mendez | Manager, Vocals, Guitar |
Bill Rhoda | Tenor/Bass Sax |
Kevin Smetana | Baritone Sax |
Dan Parson | Trumpet |
Aaron Brown | Trombone |
Russ Thompson | Bass, Sound Engineer |
Bill Rentka | Drums |
Influences & Inspiration
Latin Music, Coltrane, Toh Kay
Setup Requirements
Monitors (preferred)
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