Friendship Commanders' October tour dates start Friday, 10/4!

FROM FC:

Happy October!
In just a few days, we'll start playing some shows, and we'd love to have you there! This month finds us in the Southwest, the West Coast, the Middle Left (is that a term?), and the Midwest, still supporting our album MASS which just turned one year old! We'll also be playing a little from the BILL album in honor of Steve Albini and our July release of his mixes of that project—plus some brand-new work! Join us!

Speaking of new work, we spent some of September in Salem, MA making our fourth LP with Kurt Ballou! Buick still has to sing the album, but the instrumental work has been recorded and we can't wait to share it with you before too long!

Last, to celebrate the second anniversary of her solo album Conversations with My Other Voice, Buick released the audio for her in-studio performance of Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium). Enjoy!

That's it for today! We appreciate your continued support and will see some of you soon!
Buick & Jerry, FC

💎10.04 - Houston, TX @ Black Magic Social Club

💎10.05 - Arlington, TX @ Growl

💎10.06 - El Paso, TX @ Mona Bar of Modern Art

💎10.08 - Tucson, AZ @ Groundworks

💎10.09 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Dive Bar

💎10.10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Knucklehead Hollywood

💎10.12 - Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot

💎10.13 - Laramie, WY @ Ruffed Up Duck Saloon

💎10.14 - Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge

💎10.16 - Kansas City, MO @ Union Library

💎10.18 - Fort Wayne, IN @ The Brass Rail

Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium) by Buick Audra out today!

FROM BA:

To mark this second anniversary of Conversations with My Other Voice being released to the world, I have made Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium) available on all streaming platforms!

I wrote Simply Said at my brother’s house in Massachusetts—and he heard me writing it. He’d occasionally yell, “Yeah Bu!” from the other room. Months later, when I demo’d it, I had two guy friends sing with me on the song’s refrain “and I don’t have to take care of you.” When I recorded it for CWMOV, I asked eight other women in music to join me on the same refrain; both are lovely renderings. But this tendency of mine to add other voices to this song interests me. The song is about a pivotal moment where I realized my entire life’s existence was not, in fact, about taking care of other people—but rather, about figuring out what taking care of myself looked like, an ongoing exploration. So why the additional voices? Because it’s hard to enact a thing, even when you know it to the bone. It’s hard to be alone with some songs, even the ones about autonomy.

In this solo electric performance, it’s just me, the truth, and my 1969 SG named Boundary. I think it’s the most befitting of the work. This song is evergreen for me and I’m proud to share this recording. It was written and performed by me, recorded and mixed by Justin Francis, and mastered by Dan Shike. Sound Emporium is my studio home in Nashville, and a place of musical legend. It was an honor to record this there.

Stream the song here!

Buy Conversations with My Other Voice (album w/accompanying memoir) here!

Buy my t-shirts and other merch here!

There’s also a live studio video shot by Jerry Roe here!

I do have a new solo album on the way, and I can’t wait to share that with you all soon. Until then, enjoy Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium)!

My other project, Friendship Commanders, is still touring in support of our album, MASS this Fall! October tour dates begin on the 4th! Hope to see you out there if we’re coming near you! All dates below.

Thanks for you continued time and attention; I so appreciate you,

Buick Audra

BILL - The Steve Albini Mixes by Friendship Commanders OUT TODAY! Plus, Fall tour dates announced!

FROM FC:

Hello, friends!
We're thrilled to share BILL - The Steve Albini Mixes with you today! These are Steve's original analog mixes of our second album, beautiful in their loud, singular glory. They're being released today to celebrate Steve's life and work on what would have been his 62nd birthday. We hope you love them!

New Noise premiered the album today and published a new essay by Buick about what made working with Steve so special. It's called "It Wasn't Just the Mics; It Was the Man. Why I Loved Making the BILL Album With Steve Albini." Enjoy!

🔊Buy physical media & high-quality downloads for this release here!

🔊Stream the album here!

🔊Watch the visualizer for OUTLIVE YOU (Steve Albini Mix) here!

🔊We're celebrating the release this Friday, July 26th at DRKMTTR in Nashville. Please join us! Get tickets here!

AND THEN: we're going on tour! Assorted dates throughout August, September, and October have just been announced! Check to see if we're hitting your city - we'd LOVE to see you!

We'd give anything for Steve to be here among us. But in his absence, we hope you'll celebrate his life and work by turning this music up. Way up. Thank you,  Steve! And thanks to all of you for being here with us, we appreciate you!
Buick & Jerry, FC

BILL - The Steve Albini Mixes
Produced by Steve Albini and Friendship Commanders
Recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, Chicago IL
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, Portland OR

All songs by Buick Audra
(Buick Audra Music / BMI)

Buick Audra - guitar and vocals
Jerry Roe - drums, bass, and harmony vocals

Front cover photo by Zach Barocas, color edited by Buick Audra
Graphic design and layout by Buick Audra and Ric Simenson

OUTLIVE YOU (Steve Albini Mix) by Friendship Commanders out today!

FROM FC:

Happy July, pals!
We're happy to share OUTLIVE YOU (Steve Albini Mix) with you today, the only single we're releasing ahead of BILL - The Steve Albini Mixes, which will be out on July 22nd; it would have been Steve's 62nd birthday. OUTLIVE YOU was Steve's favorite song on the album. We think you can hear that in his terrific mix.

Jerry made a beautiful visualizer for the song which is bookended by some studio footage of Steve tracking OUTLIVE YOU. 

The folks at Treble kindly premiered the track today!

If you're new to us, here's the story of this record:
In late 2017, we set up shop at Electrical Audio in Chicago for a week to make our second album, BILL, with Steve Albini. The version that was released on October 5th, 2018, was mixed by Jerry. But the original mixes were done by Steve himself. Like the recordings, those mixes are analog, performed live in the studio. We always planned on releasing the Albini mixes. Always. But we kept writing and releasing new work and the right moment never seemed to present itself. We didn’t imagine that Steve would ever pass. It was a joy to make this record with him, and his mixes are reflective of the loud, lovely time we all had together. They’re guitar-forward, angular, and dynamic. And now it’s time to share them. The album was written about complicated grief, but losing Steve has given way to clean, uncomplicated grief. So, this release feels different this time around. More loving. More pure. We offer this work up in celebration of his life and many legacies.

If you'd like to buy the album, you can do so here.
If you'd like to pre-save/pre-add it, you can do so here.

Last, we're playing a hometown show to celebrate the release of the full record on July 26th at DRKMTTR. Get tickets here!

Thanks for being here, we hope you love OUTLIVE YOU!
Buick & Jerry, FC

FC's Spring tour dates & Chicago Music Exchange session!

FROM FC:

Happy 2024, friends!

Here we go! After a brief but restful winter break, we're happy to be back making loud music. Here's our live session at the legendary Chicago Music Exchange to kick off the year! We had a killer time there, we're so grateful to be part of what they do—and proud to know that we're the loudest band they've ever recorded! Here are four songs from MASS!

Next up: we're playing some shows! Very soon! Thrilled to be returning to some of our favorite cities in March and April. We'll see you soon, pals in Kansas City, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh!

03.21 - Kansas City, MO - Minibar

04.05 - Youngstown, OH - Westside Bowl

04.06 - Pittsburgh, PA - Squirrel Hill Sports Bar

Here's a new interview as well as a rave review of MASS in The Whole Kameese; enjoy!

And last, in their mighty list published in January, Everything Is Noise named MASS as one of the Best Albums of 2023! So grateful.

May we all make noise and stand for justice and equity in this season and beyond. May we all be brave in the face of dominance and harm.

Thank you for being here; let's have a powerful year!
Buick & Jerry, FC

Photo by Anna Haas

Background photo by Pete Duvall // Forefront photo by Anna Haas

Background photo by Pete Duvall

Thank you for 2023! Let's rip it in 2024✨

From FC:

Friends!

We can't thank you enough for this incredible year. We're so grateful for the response to MASS, for the attendance at the shows, and for the support you've shown us throughout 2023! Our last show of the year was our album release party at DRKMTTR here in Nashville—and wow, what a way to bring MASS home! Thanks to all who were there!

In current MASS news, BLUE was included on Weedian's awesome new compilation, Trip to Tennessee! We're stoked to be there alongside so many of our friends and peers across the state!

To our great surprise, a second glowing (and thorough!) review of MASS was recently published by Everything Is Noise, by an entirely different writer. At the end, he writes:

"There are no gimmicks here to bait you into listening – it stands firmly on the merits of excellent songwriting and boisterously enjoyable performances from a hugely talented duo. It’s an added bonus that when you drill deeper into the melodic rock of Friendship Commanders, you find a richness and relatability in the messages of MASS. Perhaps you’ll even find that it’s something to bolster you in your own times of turmoil: as Helen Keller once said, ‘Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.’"

Buick had a long conversation with fellow musician Mike Bankhead about songwriting, her guitar rigs, and a few other topics for his podcast, You Could Be My Aramis. The episode is now available wherever you get your podcasts!

And last, we're so honored that MASS was named one of Cvlt Nation's Top Ten Alt Rock albums of 2023! Some of you may remember that the MASS release process started there, as they premiered the first single, BLUE, back in March. It's so meaningful to us to be included in their end-of-year roundup!

In the new year, we'll continue to bring the new album to the U.S. and possibly beyond (stay tuned!). Also, we have some new work that you'll be hearing soon enough! But for now, please know that we love you and appreciate your continued presence in our lives. We wish you all the very best in 2024.

As always, if you're inside a container you don't know how to break, you will!
With gratitude,
Buick & Jerry, FC

💎MASS💎 by Friendship Commanders is out today & their tour starts tomorrow!

FROM FC:

Friends!

Today is the day! Our brand new album, MASS, is out everywhere, at last! We're incredibly proud of this work and hope it fills your hearts with loud, fuzzy melodies. We recorded the project in Salem, Massachusetts with Kurt Ballou, who also acted as co-producer. Best time ever. 

MASS is an autobiographical concept record about memory, language, and the state of Massachusetts. I (Buick Audra) was moved to the Boston area several times as a younger person, and my experiences there still contribute to how I move through the world today. My memories of that time and place were buried for years, but following the death of my friend Marc Orleans, I began to recover them and wrote this body of work. Jerry Roe and I brought the songs to life together. The album examines friendship, belonging, and finally putting words to what was once confusing. We hope the themes and songs resonate! 

I also wrote an accompanying memoir, MASS: Essays on Memory, Language, & the State of Massachusetts. The book expands on the stories told within the music. We recommend consuming them together for maximum impact!

ORDER THE ALBUM & BOOK HERE
STREAM THE ALBUM HERE

Our tour dates supporting MASS start tomorrow, September 30th—a day earlier than the last time we wrote! We're kicking things off in Knoxville and then we're out for six whole weeks! The Nashville album release show is at the very end of everything, on December 8th, at beloved DRKMTTR. Check our dates to see if we're coming to your town! We haven't been to the West Coast since before the pandemic, so we hope to see as many new and familiar faces as possible!

GET TICKETS HERE

09.30 - Knoxville, TN @ Brickyard
10.01 - Gainesville, GA @ Blackstrap Rock Hall
10.05 - Asheville, NC @ The Odd
10.06 - Raleigh, NC @ Ruby Deluxe
10.07 - Richmond, VA @ Get Tight Lounge
10.08 - Charleston, SC @ Tin Roof
10.11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Century
10.12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Squirrel Hill Sports Bar
10.13 - Baltimore, MD @ The Undercroft
10.14 - West Akron, OH @ Buzzbin
10.15 - Kalamazoo, MI @ The Run Off
10.20 - Catskill, NY @ The Avalon Lounge
10.21 - Allston, MA @ O’Brien’s
10.23 - Detroit, MI @ The Old Miami
10.25 - Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
11.01 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The DLC
11.02 - Reno, NV @ Alturas Bar
11.03 - Portland, OR @ Azoth Space
11.04 - Vancouver, BC @ Black Lab
11.05 - Seattle, WA @ Funhouse
11.08 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
11.10 - Long Beach, CA @ Supply & Demand
11.11 - Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewing Co.
11.12 - San Diego, CA @ Til-Two Club
11.14 - Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot
11.15 - Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room
11.17 - Houston, TX @ Kickback Bar
11.25 - Youngstown, OH @ Westside Bowl
12.08 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR

* * *

Jerry made a new lyric video for the sixth track on the album, WE WERE HERE! It's a beautiful collage of ALL of our videos so far, a fitting approach for the song.

We're grateful to have received some glowing press around the new album, including this epic write-up/interview in Everything Is Noise, and this great feature in The Nashville Scene!

Thank you so much for being here, for being part of what we do, and for listening. We offer you MASS, the best thing we've ever done, and we hope you love it!

If you don't yet have the language for what you want to say, you will,
Buick & Jerry, FC

✨STILL LIFE✨ by Friendship Commanders is out today & fall tour dates have been added!

FROM FC:

Hello, friends!
We're elated to share the newest single from our forthcoming album MASS today! It's called STILL LIFE, and it's the fifth chapter of the story. The video, directed and edited by Jerry, is premiering at Thoughts Words Action today! The full album will be here on September 29th (pre-order here).

STILL LIFE is a composite of words and sentiments Buick heard in response to voicing her concerns at different points throughout her time in Massachusetts. Writing this song felt like a fever dream for her. The video's frenetic energy mirrors the feelings of being gaslighted, and of being told to metabolize injuries large and small. We hope the song and visuals move you!

🩸VAMPIRE🩸 by Friendship Commanders is out & their fall tour dates have been announced!

FROM FC:

Hello, friends!

We're thrilled to share VAMPIRE with you today, the fourth chapter of our forthcoming album MASS (out September 29th)! The video premiered in Decibel yesterday! VAMPIRE is the sludge R&B song in 7 you didn't know you needed, a boundary song about the kind of person who tries to take on your whole identity and then lashes out when you don't let them. About the song, Buick says:

“There was a season at the end of my time in Boston where I was being turned into The Problem by someone who wanted to control me and couldn’t; it was a moment where I could have played small and gone along with what she wanted, as I had once done. But I didn’t. I played big. I kept what was mine instead of giving it away—which included parts of my identity. And while the result was a scorched earth reality that impacts my sense of self to this day, it also ended the whole thing. I learned a valuable lesson in that season: don’t fuel the narcissists. Keep your power for yourself. It’s what they hate. And if they’re going to drag your character out in front of everyone you know, you might as well burn it all down for the warmth.”

The story is told in more detail in Buick's essay collection we're publishing alongside the album. Pre-order both here!

Our summer and fall tour dates are coming up fast! We head out for a week of shows on August 19th, and the dates supporting MASS begin on October 1st!  Check the list to see if we're coming to your city, and get tickets here! We'd love to see you.

08.19 - Warren, OH @ Modern Methods Brewing Co.
08.20 - Columbus, OH @ Dirty Dungarees
08.22 - Champaign, IL @ The Space
08.23 - Kansas City, MO @ Minibar
08.24 - Wichita, KS @ Kirby’s
08.25 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
10.01 - Gainesville, GA @ Blackstrap Rock Hall
10.05 - Asheville, NC @ The Odd
10.06 - Raleigh, NC @ Ruby Deluxe
10.07 - Richmond, VA @ Get Tight Lounge
10.08 - Charleston, SC @ Tin Roof
10.11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Century
10.12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Squirrel Hill Sports Bar
10.13 – Baltimore, MD @ The Undercroft
10.14 - West Akron, OH @ Buzzbin
10.15 - Kalamazoo, MI @ The Run Off
10.21 - Allston, MA @ O’Brien’s
10.25 - Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
11.02 - Reno, NV @ Alturas Bar
11.03 - Portland, OR @ Azoth Space
11.04 - Vancouver, BC @ Black Lab
11.05 - Seattle, WA @ Funhouse
11.08 - San Francisco, CA
11.10 - Long Beach, CA @ Supply & Demand
11.11 - Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewing Co.
11.12 - San Diego, CA @ Til-Two Club
11.17 - Houston, TX @ Kickback Bar

We hope you love VAMPIRE! Thanks so much for being here! We appreciate it more than you know!

Yours in autonomy and loud riffs,
Buick & Jerry, FC

☀️HIGH SUN☀️ BY FC IS OUT & THEIR SUMMER TOUR DATES ARE UP!

FROM FC:

Happy summer, friends!

Our brand new single HIGH SUN is out today and we can’t wait for you to hear it! This is the third single from our forthcoming album, MASS, out September 29th. The song is about Buick’s memories of her time living in Boston, about being scapegoated in her social circle for speaking up and being different. The video was made by combining Super 8 footage with hi-res digital footage to depict the passage of time. It was directed by Buick, and shot and edited by Jerry! The video premiered in No Echo yesterday!

We're also thrilled to share this essay Buick wrote for Talkhouse, which features an excerpt from her memoir in essays that will accompany MASS. Read to learn about how and why Buick wrote an entire album about her previously missing memories of Massachusetts.

Also, we’re coming out to see you if you live in any of the below cities! We can't wait. The first show is next weekend: June 24th at Portal in Louisville!

6/24 - PORTAL, LOUISVILLE KY

8/19 - MODERN METHODS BREWING CO, WARREN OH

8/20 - DIRTY DUNGAREES, COLUMBUS OH

8/22 – THE SPACE, CHAMPAIGN IL

8/23 - MINIBAR, KANSAS CITY MO

8/24 - KIRBY’S, WICHITA KS

8/25 - HI-DIVE, DENVER CO

We love and appreciate you! Turn HIGH SUN way up, and we’ll see you very soon!

Buick & Jerry, FC