Run Coyote

White is the colour of winter, but the milky background on the cover of Run Coyote‘s Youth Haunts, when paired with the crisp musical production of the band’s debut, evokes a decidedly autumnal feeling.

A cold wind blows through the saturnine “Troubles”, but vocalist and guitarist Sam Allen, his brother, guitarist Jake Allen, Amanda Grant on bass, vocals, and keys, and Jeremy Ramos-Foley on drums, imbue intensity and passion in their playing to warm the coldest heart. Grant’s vocals offer a delicate, angelic counterbalance to the otherwise ferocious “Love Like A River”. “Cold Outside” captures the atmospherics of the best Cowboy Junkies songs without ever sounding like Run Coyote is trying to be something that they’re not.

Youth Haunts is a fine debut from the London/Kitchener ON-based band, and available now in digital and physical (CD and LP) formats through Run Coyote’s Bandcamp site. - Quick Before it Melts

Run Coyote, runs through us with a bite. A savvy combination of swinging 50’s beats, country twang and hometown rock n’ roll, Run Coyote sets an eclectic alt- folk-blues mood with their latest album, Youth Haunts. The entire album is diverse and colorful. “Only Human” is a dynamic spaghetti western, “Love like a River” beats to your heart with smooth rhythm, and “Neighbors” circles chanting melodies and spooky harmonies. Kicking off their Winter 2015 tour from Kitchener to Windsor, get to see them tonight @ the Cavern! - The Deli Magazine

It’s that time of the week again – CBC Hamilton reporter Adam Carter is back with his three picks for new Ontario music that you need to listen to this week.

Adam is on the air each week on CBC Radio for In the Key of C, hosted by Craig Norris. He’ll choose three Ontario bands or artists that are releasing new music for your listening pleasure. Here are this week’s picks:

Run Coyote: Wreck of a Man

First up this week is a song from Run Coyote, a band that has members from London and Kitchener.

It’s called Wreck of a Man, from the band's new album Youth Haunts. The band says the record "takes the listener on a tour of the Canadian landscape, through farmers’ fields and forest cities." That's pretty accurate, as the album shifts from driving indie rock tunes like this one to earnest balladry with pit stops in between on the way.

Though Wreck of a Man is the last track on the album, it's a great starting point for those who aren't familiar with the band. You should definitely check these guys out. - CBC Radio

By Alex Hudson
Ontario songwriter Sam Allen started Run Coyote as a solo project, but it has since evolved into a full band based in Kitchener and London, ON. They will release their debut album, Youth Haunts, on October 3.

Run Coyote made the album at the Sugar Shack studio in London. It was recorded by Simon Larochette (Single Mothers, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers) and produced by Mack Edwards of the Allens. The results are said to span indie rock, pop and country, with influences including Neil Young and Link Wray.

A press release calls the resulting 10 songs "a stew of folk and blues cooked on your grandmother's wood stove in a farmhouse kitchen." Aaron Goldstein of Daniel Romano & the Trilliums and City and Colour guests on pedal steel, while former Olenka & the Autumn Lovers contributor Kelly Wallraff plays cello and violin.

Get a taste of the music by streaming the premiere of the album track "Stranger (In My Own Home)," which features Goldstein on pedal steel. Also, you can hear the song "Rain On," along with a couple of behind-the-scenes videos.

On top of all that, Run Coyote have rolled out a string of Canadian dates in support of Youth Haunts. Check out all those below as well.

Tour dates:

09/23 Guelph, ON - The eBar
10/03 London, ON - The Aeolian Hall
10/09 Toronto, ON - The Piston
10/15 Edmundston, NB - Le Deck
10/16 Halifax, NS - Gus' Pub
10/17 Fredericton, NB - The Cellar Pub
10/19 Bathurst, NB - The PlayHurst Theatre
10/20 Quebec City, QC - House Show
10/21 Ottawa, ON - Pressed
10/25 Barrie, ON - The Clarkson Pub
10/26 Toronto, ON - TWiMFeST at Rancho Relaxo - Exclaim!

Run Coyote’s Youth Haunts is an impressive debut, showcasing a variety of musical styles, solid song writing and clever arrangements. The introductory lament Jump in the River gets things started followed by Only Human, with spaghetti western guitars and Lennon-esque vocals.

Stranger in my Own Home is pure country with weeping pedal steel guitar by guest musician Aaron Goldstein (Danny Romano & the Trilliums, City and Colour), and a heartbreaking chorus. There’s some nice 60′s sounding touches, the moody Troubles reminds me of the Yardbirds’ Heartful of Soul. And Meadow Boy with its rich layers of vocals and baroque strings. Love Like a River rocks out nicely with a catchy chorus and sweet harmonies. The album holds many moods, whether it’s Cold Outside, made even icier by its sparse instrumentation or the dreamy Neighbours – one of my favourite tracks. Never Wanted is probably my absolute favourite of the many fine tracks. In the world of top 40 radio this would be the hit to pick, a gorgeous ballad with a killer chorus, and a shiver inducing trumpet interlude. The album finishes with another rocker Wreck of a Man, and again another killer chorus. Nice job Run Coyote.

The Allen Brothers, Sam and Jake, grew up in a musical family. Their Uncle John is the six-time Juno-winning fiddler from Prairie Oyster and also played with The Dixie Flyers and The Great Speckled Bird. Sam told me, “Most family events at the farm involved family members playing together or performing for each other.” Playing music seemed just natural and Sam played around town as a solo artist for several years. Longing for the fun of musical interaction and hoping to develop a more realized sound, Run Coyote was formed with brother Jake on guitar, keyboardist/bassist/vocalist and future Allen family-member Amanda Grant (Sam and Amanda are just recently engaged) and drummer Jeremy Ramos Foley. I asked Sam if there were any advantages to working with someone who has more than just a band member connection and he said, “My brother Jake and I have a familial bond and a shared history that allow us to connect on the same wavelength and complement each other musically. The same way I know where Jake is to complete a pass playing road hockey, he knows what riff to play to complete my song.” The ten tracks for their debut album, Youth Haunts, were recorded here in town at the Sugar Shack by Simon Larochette and the album was produced by Mack Edwards of The Allens. Run Coyote will celebrate their Youth Haunts release with a special concert at the Aeolian Hall on October 3rd with special guests Allana Gurr & The Greatest State. Tickets are $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show gets underway at 8 p.m. - The London Yodeller

By Neil McDonald

Playing music with family is something that comes naturally to Run Coyote.

Formed in London, Ont., but now also based in Kitchener, the indie rock band is fronted by guitarist and vocalist Sam Allen and features his brother Jake on guitar and fiancée Amanda Grant on bass (drummer Jeremy Ramos-Foley completes the lineup).

Earlier this month, the two-year-old group released their debut full-length album, "Youth Haunts," recorded with producer Mack Edwards and engineer Simon Larochette over the past year at London's Sugar Shack studio.

Sam Allen is also the group's chief songwriter and, as he explained in a recent phone interview, working with family members "makes the whole musical process easier," he said. "For example, working with my brother, we grew up together and have that family bond where you kind of know what the person's thinking in a way, you know, completing each other's sentences or, in this case, completing each other's songs. It definitely makes it easier and enjoyable to kind of play in a family band. I grew up in a musical family, so it just kind of feels like a natural progression for me."

Though Allen's parents moved from a rural area to London just before he was born, they would often return to the family farm for special occasions and holidays while Allen was growing up, where music inevitably became part of the celebrations.

"Everybody gets together, the instruments come out and the music starts," said Allen.

Though country-western and old-time folk often dominated the family jams, Allen was also influenced by his family members' eclectic musical tastes.

"At home, my dad used to play a lot of Frank Zappa all the time, so I grew up listening to a lot of Frank Zappa records, which my friends think is cool now, but at the time, I was the weird kid," he said.

Partly funded by a Kickstarter campaign, "Youth Haunts" is a showcase for Run Coyote's rock and country roots, and captures the push and pull between urban and rural influences in the band's music.

"I think, in a way, they can complement each other, but there's also some tension there, I guess, which is kind of interesting to explore," Allen said. "I've always been drawn to moody or maybe slightly peculiar things as well, especially musical sounds, so that ties in there (as well)."

The band recently got to see quite a bit of the country on a fall tour of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, though Allen said he was often stuck on the inside looking out.

"It's interesting — in one way, you get to see a lot of the country, and in another, you don't really get to see much more than what's outside your window. When I came back from tour, some of my friends were making fun of me because a lot of the photos I had were just photos of out the window, you know, 'Oh, there's another photo of the window, there's another photo,' " he said.

Seeing the country whip past the windshield, however, was still inspirational in terms of generating new musical ideas.

"I'm definitely very influenced by the Canadian landscape, especially the Canadian Shield. I really like going up to that part of the country," he said.

Allen said the band has plans for more touring beginning in February of next year and are looking forward to continuing to share their family album across the country in 2015.

"It's kind of been a labour of love, and we're very excited to get to share it with people, the album, and now it's just kind of getting out there and trying to share it with as many people as we can," he said. - Waterloo Region Record