TOO IRISH

My parents named me Tammy Marie Flynn. We were poor. I ate Corn Flakes topped with unpasteurized cow cream for breakfast every morning and freshly hunted venison and potatoes for dinner every night. Our house reeked of incinerated lumber. I wore second hand clothes loused with the scent of moth balls. My mother co-signed my obsession with heartache and the blues. I inherited my father's loving nature. I was a timid kid. Bullies knew just how to pack the right punch and they would later become the source of my problematic issues with criticism. I was lonely. I was a poor girl, small town cliche with an unconventional future.


In 2003 I ditched the name Tammy Marie under the advice of my publisher. 'Too Irish'. I always hated my given name so I was happy to adopt an 'alias'. SCARLETT was cast along the 401 on route to Hamilton. Tammy faded into the past. In 2005 I teamed up with some fellow travelers, all searching for purpose and color. Together we failed to find the golden egg promised to us by the dream makers. We shrugged it off as bad luck and started mocking the machine that assumed our collapse. RUNNING RED LIGHTS. 5 years ago when the name was born it meant nothing but a collection of alliterated, tongue-rolling words. Today, it is a motto, a mantra, an aphorism for resilience, determination and commitment. It is a FUCK YOU to the gates of Atlantis, to the guards that refused us entry. WE SLIPPED passed the motherfuckers and HERE WE ARE. Signed to our first record deal. Standing on two feet (10 feet). Preparing to go into the studio next week and get started on the future sounds of RRL. I am proud. I thank the ceiling for open and closed doors. I thank Orange for an opportunity. I thank Josh for happy accidents. I thank Dave for selective faithfulness. I thank Kevin for his soft spot for broken pieces, I thank Jeff for turning the lights back on. I thank all the folks from Sarnia who blew just enough smoke our way to keep us motivated. I thank Clynt for his determination. I thank the Malcolms for their hyper-spirits and a good nights sleep. I thank every Fred Ann and Nancy.

Obviously there is no foregone conclusion. A lot of hard work is ahead. Failures are inescapable. Haters are taking off the kids gloves and getting ready to sucker punch at any moment. Critics are standing on their hills just waiting to satirize. In the end they may all have the last laugh. HOWEVER, for now this moment belongs to Running Red Lights and I'm just gonna go right ahead and ask, HOW DO YOU LIKE US NOW BITCHES?

Much love to all of our supporters and fellow dreamers. xo