"It's a long game, it's a long drain / I didn't see it going down / I've got my own mind, I take my own time / It should be said, I own my sound..."
The blistering heaviness / emotional pummeling of "DRAIN" by Nashville-based alt rock melodic duo Friendship Commanders, and from their fourth album "Bear" on Magnetic Eye Records, is an alt rock track that effortlessly pulls from diverse genres. As co-produced by band members Buick Audra on guitars and vocals and Jerry Roe on drums and bass, with longtime collaborator Kurt Ballou (who tracked the instrumental performances and mixed the record), I am feeling not only tonal genre blending but sort of cross generational things happening too. Buick Audra's particular fuzz on fuzz guitar sound (for me) has a decidedly grunge / acid metal quality while her vocal countenance, absolutely gutsy, gritty and quite hard core like a Brody Dalle or Lzzy Hale also is somehow tempered with the melodic hard rock / pop prowess (go with me on this) of a Pat Banatar. In a similar fashion, Jerry Roe's drumming is full on prog rock but with a grunge raw patina like an amalgam of Jon Theodore, Dave Grohl, Deantoni Parks. This is to say that Friendship Commanders does not possess a singular sound or mood but, instead, a tropicalia of things that, yes, is mostly face melting but also spiced with artfully compelling nuances and melodic clarity.
In celebration of "Bear", the band offer the video for the single, "DRAIN" and Audra shares: “It’s about people who take parts of your story and wear them as their own. Musically, it’s one of the heaviest songs on the record and one of my favorite vocal performances.” And truly in FC's DIY aesthetic, Roe adds, “We made the video ourselves. It’s a callback to how this chapter of our band began with just the two of us making everything from scratch.”
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
https://www.instagram.com/friendshipcommanders/
https://www.tiktok.com/?_r=1
https://www.facebook.com/friendshipcommanders
https://magneticeyerecords.bandcamp.com/
https://friendshipcommanders.bandcamp.com/album/bear
Friendship Commanders are a heavy duo from Nashville TN. The band is vocalist/guitarist Buick Audra, and drummer/bassist Jerry Roe. Their recent single “And If My Body” challenges the attitudes that led to the dangerous Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The single is the lead track on their new EP, "RELEASE THE REST", a limited vinyl compilation of the singles they have released since their 2020 EP, Hold On To Yourself. The vinyl was released on 12/1/22 and is available now. The band has released two albums. Bill (2018) was recorded at Electrical Audio by Steve Albini, and Dave (2016) was engineered and produced by the band. Their third album will be released in 2023; it was co-produced, engineered, and mixed by Kurt Ballou, and was recorded at his Salem, MA studio, GodCity.
Nashville-based heavy melodic duo Friendship Commanders are loudly presenting their fourth album, BEAR on their new label home Magnetic Eye Records (order). BEAR was co-produced by band members Buick Audra (guitars, vocals) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass) along with their longtime collaborator, Kurt Ballou, who also tracked the instrumental performances and mixed the record. The project is centered around the ever-elusive idea of belonging—where it occurs, and where it absolutely does not.
From LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
Buick Audra wrote BEAR after realizing she had essentially been kicked out of womanhood, if she had ever been part of it in the first place. Throughout the album's ten tracks, she takes the listener through other places of human connection: art, outsider culture, and dark rock venues, all places where empathy and creativity grow wild. She and Jerry Roe arranged the album to have two sides to it, musically: heavy and light. Salt and sugar. Fire and air.
“I’ve spent my life feeling like an outsider,” says Audra. “That can be cool in some contexts but isolating in others. Writing these songs helped me pinpoint where I’ve been a misfit and where I’ve always belonged. Being on the outside can be beautiful, and now I’m glad to be here. This is our boldest work yet, and I hope it finds whoever needs it. To anyone on the margins: you always belong with us.”
“I feel like we’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted to do within the bounds of heavy melodic rock on this record,” says Roe. “We pushed the arrangements into adventurous, expansive places, nailed our tones and performances, and Kurt captured it all perfectly. If this were the last record I ever made, I’d feel I said and did everything I wanted to as a musician.”
“I’ve spent my life feeling like an outsider,” says Audra. “That can be cool in some contexts but isolating in others. Writing these songs helped me pinpoint where I’ve been a misfit and where I’ve always belonged. Being on the outside can be beautiful, and now I’m glad to be here. This is our boldest work yet, and I hope it finds whoever needs it. To anyone on the margins: you always belong with us.”
“I feel like we’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted to do within the bounds of heavy melodic rock on this record,” says Roe. “We pushed the arrangements into adventurous, expansive places, nailed our tones and performances, and Kurt captured it all perfectly. If this were the last record I ever made, I’d feel I said and did everything I wanted to as a musician.”
Robb Donker Curtius
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/friendshipcommanders/
https://www.tiktok.com/?_r=1
https://www.facebook.com/friendshipcommanders
https://magneticeyerecords.bandcamp.com/
https://friendshipcommanders.bandcamp.com/album/bear
Friendship Commanders are a heavy duo from Nashville TN. The band is vocalist/guitarist Buick Audra, and drummer/bassist Jerry Roe. Their recent single “And If My Body” challenges the attitudes that led to the dangerous Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. The single is the lead track on their new EP, "RELEASE THE REST", a limited vinyl compilation of the singles they have released since their 2020 EP, Hold On To Yourself. The vinyl was released on 12/1/22 and is available now. The band has released two albums. Bill (2018) was recorded at Electrical Audio by Steve Albini, and Dave (2016) was engineered and produced by the band. Their third album will be released in 2023; it was co-produced, engineered, and mixed by Kurt Ballou, and was recorded at his Salem, MA studio, GodCity.
Nashville-based heavy melodic duo Friendship Commanders are loudly presenting their fourth album, BEAR on their new label home Magnetic Eye Records (order). BEAR was co-produced by band members Buick Audra (guitars, vocals) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass) along with their longtime collaborator, Kurt Ballou, who also tracked the instrumental performances and mixed the record. The project is centered around the ever-elusive idea of belonging—where it occurs, and where it absolutely does not.
Friendship Commanders, alt rock duo, Buick Audra (guitars, vocals), Jerry Roe (drums / bass), heavy metal, melodic hard rock, fourth album "Bear", Magnetic Eye Records, "DRAIN" (Official Video),
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