This interview with John Nolan and Shaun Cooper of Straylight Run took place on May 19, 2009 in Cambridge, MA. I didn't have any questions prepared, but it was a fun interview that touched on iTunes, songwriting and Ramen Noodles.

PL: State your names and something interesting about each other.
JN: My name is John Nolan and I don’t know what’s interesting about him. I guess I’m supposed to think of something instead of asking him. That would defeat the purpose.
SC: I could talk all day about how interesting I am.
JN: He wanted to be Rambo when he grew up.
SC: I wanted to look like him.
JN: Or he wanted to look like him, and briefly considered dying his hair black and getting a perm, which he probably would have done if he weren’t six at the time.
SC: I’m Shaun and I play bass in Straylight Run. And…
JN: I know; its difficult. Its hard to think of something interesting about us.
SC: You have to think outside the box. One thing that’s interesting about John is that he genuinely likes Ramen Noodles.
JN: I genuinely do.
SC: Especially the creamy chicken.

PL: When Michelle left the band, did you guys approach writing new songs differently due to the fact that you not only lost a co-vocalist but a female voice?
JN: To some extent. We didn’t necessarily approach things differently. I think we probably would have started approaching things differently even if Michelle hadn’t left the band. I think we were feeling like we needed to around that time anyway. I think a lot of the new approach wanted to focus and find a more consistent sound instead of just jumping around to different types of songs all the time.
PL: How has that been working?
JN: Its been working well. I think we haven’t reached that goal until this new EP. We kind of found a sound that we were happy with, and except for the one acoustic song, they have a very consistent sound and they were very unique as well, and we would like to stay in the vain as we keep writing songs.

PL: You just put out a seven inch EP?
JN: The first one was. We did a digital download and a 7”. We did download cards as well. We just have a new four song EP that will be available for digital downloading very soon.
It didn’t come out in stores and it was very low key.
PL: Did it live up to the expectations you had for it?
SC: I think its good because we didn’t have high expectations for it at all. We put it out on our own label and the internet, so I think it did pretty great considering it was just us. There wasn’t a single on the record that stood out. All three songs sold the same on iTunes. That made me happy.

PL: Do you guys like iTunes?
SC: I’ve never bought a song off iTunes.
JN: I like it. I’d like to see more options for buying music online. I guess there are quite a bit, but iTunes seems to dominate it.
PL: Do you think that will eventually record labels can release CDs that can compete with the price of iTunes ?
JN: I think something is gonna have to change with the way records are sold, and I think maybe we haven’t seen what its gonna be yet. Whatever happens, the CD is on its way out. Its only gonna be a matter of time. I don’t know if its gonna be digital downloads that kills it or if record stores will be able to sell download cards in the store.
SC: One thing I think is really cool is what Fat Wreck Chords just did. They dropped their prices to under $9. I thought that was pretty bad ass thinking that they want people to buy their bands’ records.
PL: Do you ever worry how people get your music?
SC: Not really. I think we’re more concerned with whether people come out to see us play. Our experience always was that CD sales weren’t what we were making money off of anyways.

PL: Has there ever been any current bands that you haven’t been able to see live?
JN: There’s been a lot of bands that I would have loved to see, but being on tour for the past six or seven years, I missed a lot of them. I had a chance to see Pearl Jam about ten years ago. If I’m not mistaken, I had a ticket, and at the time I was going through a born-again Christian phase, and I convinced myself that I shouldn’t be going to that concert because it wasn’t Christian music. I ended up not going, and I’ve never had a chance to see them since. I definitely regret that. I’d love to see them.
SC: That’s a pretty big kick in the dick. You already had the ticket.
JN: Yeah, I made the decision, but I allowed myself to be brainwashed, so its my own fault.
SC: I’ve got to see everything that I’ve had a ticket for. I wanted to see Guns n Roses and Metallica in ’92, but I couldn’t get a ticket.

PL: What’s a little known fact about New York ?
SC: It’s the only place I’ll ever live permanently.
JN: Not many people know that.
SC: Yeah, only friends and family know that, and now I’m putting it out there.
JN: I think Long Beach is sort of a Long Island secret. It’s a town where Shaun lives and I’ve lived there for a few years. Its kind of secluded and a really peaceful community.
SC: The community is awesome. It’s a real hidden gem on the south shore.

Written by: RF
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