"Maybe I'll Fly Instead" by Buick Audra is out!

From Buick:

Thank you for being here! My new single is out today! “Maybe I’ll Fly Instead” is my second single in this chapter of my solo work. The song is about rising above family dynamics and choosing a path that offers more personal freedom and self-worth. It’s about autonomy. Stream it everywhere!

The track was written and produced by me, and of course, it’s me on guitar and vocals; I am joined by Kris Donegan on additional guitars, Lex Price on bass, and Jerry Roe on drums, percussion, and vibes. I recorded my vocals, but the full band was tracked by Dan Knobler; mixing was handled by Collin Dupuis; mastering was done by Dan Shike. Anna Haas shot the cover photo.

I’m delighted to share the video for “Maybe I’ll Fly Instead” with you, as well! The video is a single shot, done at sunset on Tybee Island, Georgia. We had a very narrow window of time with which to make this happen, but we were given the gifts of light, birds, a child and parent, magic, and a bloodmoon. Look for the full moon at the very end of the video; there was a total lunar eclipse seven hours later. Jerry Roe masterfully shot, directed, and edited the video. We hope you love it! Huge thanks to Americana Highways for premiering the video earlier this week!

I’m so grateful to have your attention and support. If you feel moved to share the work, it would be quite appreciated. I’m a one-woman show over here, doing my best. I send you my love and respect! Go fly.

Buick Audra

Americana Highways premieres Buick Audra's "Maybe I'll Fly Instead" video!

From Buick:

Hello, friends! 

I’m so happy to share the video for “Maybe I’ll Fly Instead” with all of you! Huge thanks to Americana Highways for the premiere love! Thrilled to be featured here with this song about autonomy and breaking family cycles.

This subject is easier for me to sing about than talk about. It’s taken me years to get to a place where I can say that I come from cyclical silence, punishment, and shame. It’s happening in my life right now as I type this. I’m grateful to the version of me who was able to write this song about it. It’s always a surprise what comes from within. Sometimes it’s hope and power. 

Please enjoy this single-shot video that Jerry Roe directed and shot on beautiful Tybee Island! I had to get back to the Atlantic for this one, to borrow courage from it. Jerry’s vision for this was perfect.

All my love and thanks to the folks who played on this track: Kris Donegan, Lex Price, and Jerry Roe. Thank you all for always showing up and bringing your best selves to my work. Thanks and appreciation to Dan Knobler who tracked the band, Collin Dupuis who mixed, and Dan Shike who mastered! Thank you for helping me make this song sound like my Miami childhood. Love to Anna Haas for the cover photo! 

The single releases on all platforms on Friday! Pre-save now!

Thanks for being here!

Buick Audra

"All My Failures" by Buick Audra is in the world!

Today is the day! Here are some words from Buick Audra:

Friends!

Thank you all for being here. I am so thrilled to share my new single “All My Failures” with you! She is my first proper solo release in ten years. Stream it anywhere and everywhere!

“All My Failures” came to me in my sleep about a year ago. I woke up and heard the chorus as clearly as you’ll hear it on the track. The song is about the middle-of-the-night panic attacks I’ve lived with for years. Months later, I recorded it with some of my favorite musicians on the planet. Here’s the band: Jerry Douglas, Lex Price, Jerry Roe, Bryan Sutton, and myself. The great Trina Shoemaker mixed it, and Dan Shike mastered it. Anna Haas took the cover photo as well as all press photos for the release. What an absolute pleasure to work with all of them.

We also made a video for the song; it premiered in Rolling Stone earlier this week! They named “All My Failures” as one of the best Country songs of the week! Jerry Roe directed, shot, and edited the video—and did such a beautiful job with it.

I wrote an essay about the origins of both my panic attacks and the song. The fantastic literary site, Brevity, published it today! I hope you enjoy it.

Last, there is one small piece of merch for this release: Failure Mail. I’m hand-writing out all of the things I’ve considered to be my failures, and then I’m mailing them out—releasing them to the world. If you’d like one, you can buy them exclusively from Bandcamp! Each card comes with the song, too! The lyrics are also up on Bandcamp.

Thank you for celebrating today with me, It means the world! I look forward to sharing more work with you in the coming months. For now, please enjoy “All My Failures.”

Buick

Rolling Stone names "All My Failures" by Buick Audra as one of the best Country songs of the week!

Hello, all!

Terrific news over here: Buick Audra’s forthcoming single, “All My Failures” has just been named one of the Country picks of the week by Rolling Stone! You can read the piece and watch her video for the song at the link below! And please pre-save the single! Enjoy! From Buick:

Friends! I am beyond thrilled to share this news with you. Rolling Stone has named “All My Failures” as one of its picks for the week. They’re debuting the video in advance of the official release date, this Friday, April 23rd (pre-save here)! Huge thanks to them and to Jon Freeman for honoring the work in this way!

My love and gratitude to Jerry Roe, who wrote, shot, and edited the beautiful video, and who loved me through the process of realizing this pivotal work of mine. Immense gratitude to the brilliant and generous musicians who joined me for the track: Jerry Douglas, Lex Price, Jerry Roe, and Bryan Sutton. Gratitude to Trina Shoemaker who mixed the track, and to Dan Shike who mastered it.

(And to younger versions of me: congrats, kid. We did it. We’re doing it.)

This song has been grown from seed, set out into daylight, protected from the elements, and watered at safe intervals. Here she is. Love and thanks for being here!

Buick Audra

FC December 10th Live Stream from Exit/In!

FROM FC:

Friends!

We have one more thing for you this year and it's a full-volume, full-impact live stream show one week from today! We're going to play the stage of Nashville's legendary Exit/In! For those who have seen the video for "Stonechild," it's that amazing stage! We'd be so honored to have you in attendance from wherever you are! It will probably be our last live performance for a little while. Get tickets HERE.

Speaking of "Stonechild," Talkhouse published an essay Buick wrote about writing and releasing the song, and about the cultural responsibilities of making work about someone else's life and death. We hope you enjoy it.

Buick also had a live conversation with Robin Little Wing Sigo of the Suquamish Tribal Council on November 25th! Robin graciously spoke to Buick about the impact of Stonechild's death on the Tribal community, the systemic racism involved in the still-unfolding story, and all kinds of other things. We've made the video available on Youtube and you can also find it below!

As always, we'd love to send merch to you or anyone you think deserves the gift of FC this holiday season! We're happy to gift wrap stuff, too - just send us a note when you order!

We are so incredibly grateful to all of you for your support and attention. It's been difficult to be off the road for all of this year, but we have so appreciated being able to stay connected with you in this and other ways. May 2021 bring us more opportunities to see one another.

We send you love and solidarity!
Buick and Jerry
Friendship Commanders

NEW FC VIDEOS / MERCH / ROLLING STONE!

FROM FC:

Dear community!
Thank you for your kind attention and support over these last few weeks! We're so grateful for the reception of "Stonechild" and "Your Reign Is Over." We want to share this piece that Rolling Stone (!!!!) did about it. Unreal!

Last week we premiered the video for "Stonechild" at Brooklyn Vegan! You can watch it below. Jerry wrote, directed, shot parts of, and edited it. The narrative shots were performed by Austin Strobel; the performance shots were done at Nashville's EXIT/IN, one of our favorite independent venues, and one that is in danger of closing without support. We hope you enjoy it! And this week on Election Day, we released the lyric video for "Your Reign Is Over"! Also below!

Today is another beloved Bandcamp Friday, which means fees are waived for artists. We do have merch for the new release, and since it's a digital release, we so appreciate all who buy merch to help us offset recording and production costs. All of the merch items come with downloads of the new songs, and the items are all limited edition, only available this time around! Buying the songs themselves is also great!

Last, tonight we're part of a fundraiser for another venue we love, ONCE in Somerville, MA. We're playing a couple of songs live for a great cause. Join us if you're available!

That's it for now. Thank you again for sharing in what we do.

We send you all love and solidarity. The next time you hear from us, we'll have elected a new president. Can't wait.

Our best to you,
Buick and Jerry
Friendship Commanders

OUT TODAY: STONECHILD / YOUR REIGN IS OVER BY FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS

FROM FC:

Dear community!

We are so happy to be connecting with you today. We have brand new work out, a two-song single: STONECHILD / YOUR REIGN IS OVER. This work was written in response to events of the last year and recorded mostly at home. Kurt Ballou mixed the songs, and Brad Boatright mastered them. Ethan McCarthy did the cover art.

“STONECHILD” was written about the circumstances of Stonechild Chiefstick’s death on July 3, 2019. Stonechild was a Chippewa Cree man who was part of the Suquamish Tribal community in Poulsbo, Washington. Stonechild was 39 years old when he was killed, a father of five. He was killed by a white police officer in front of many community members who were gathered to observe the 3rd of July fireworks display. After he died, they held the fireworks anyway. Systemic racism continues to inform the unfolding story and we want to elevate what we can here. We want you to know his name, his life. Cassy Fowler, who speaks in Lushootseed on the track, does so on behalf of Stonechild’s family. The txʷəlšucid (Lushootseed) lyrics were written by txʷəlšucid Cassy Fowler (Suquamish), Zalmai Zahir ʔəswəli (Puyallup), and Chris Duenas (Puyallup). The song was written to acknowledge a life, question a death, and stand in solidarity with a community that has lost someone. We, alongside the people who knew him, demand justice for Stonechild.

“YOUR REIGN IS OVER” was written in a fit of frustration. During a year that has held a pandemic, a revolution for racial justice, economic uncertainty for so many, devastating environmental emergencies, and what is likely the most important presidential election of many of our lifetimes, the song was written to shout-down people who use immense privilege and platform to cause further harm.

More can be read about the new work at Destroy//Exist, where the songs premiered on Friday, October 9. They call the new work, "a pair of very dynamic post-grunge rockers fueled by the events of 2020, drawing its subjects from real-life tragedy." 

The music can be streamed everywhere, and the songs and corresponding custom merch can be purchased from our Bandcamp. The lyrics are also up on Bandcamp.

We appreciate your presence in our lives and your support of our work. May we all move forward with bold intentions to confront and disrupt all forms of bigotry. May we change our culture, one song, one step, and one day at a time.

Our best to you,
Buick and Jerry
Friendship Commanders

HOLD ON TO YOURSELF BY FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS IS OUT TODAY!

FROM FC:

Big day!
Hold On To Yourself is out in the world today! You can stream or purchase it everywhere here! We're so grateful to everyone who helped us make and release this work, and to you for your support. We hope you love it! Audiofemme did a wonderful piece about the record and our process yesterday, and there's also an interview with us. 

We released the video for "The Enemy I Know" earlier this week, too! The video was shot, edited and directed by Jerry. Performances by us, Ashley Wolfe, and Jay Tooke. Kerrang! listed it as one the Five Songs You Need to Hear Right Now on Monday! Watch it below!

This record is about resilience and autonomy, about living through it, about standing in who we are after the fact, about not being ruled by the shame. It was important for us to make, and we hope it's important for you to hear. There will be more to share in the coming weeks, but right now, we're just proud and happy to have the new work out. 

We want to say how much we appreciate you making space for our work in what is a truly scary, uncomfortable, and uncertain time. We're going to keep moving towards the future in every way we can, and we're super grateful you're making the trip with us. Hopefully, we'll see you all in person sooner than later.

Thanks so much! 
We love and appreciate you,
Buick and Jerry
Friendship Commanders

"The Enemy I Know" from the Hold On To Yourself EP by Friendship Commanders - out April 3, 2020 on Trimming The Shield Records. Starring Buick Audra, Jerry R...

SECOND FC SINGLE OUT TODAY: "ANYWHERE (FROM THE NAMELESS BRIDE)"

NOTE FROM FC:

Hello, friends!
First, we hope you are well. It's an intense time to be a person right now and we feel it, too. We live in Nashville which was hit by tornadoes ten days ago. Much of the city is badly damaged, and that's on top of the virus outbreak we're all going through. It's a lot.

Still, the world keeps moving and we're trying to as well. The second single from our forthcoming EP is available everywhere today! Please enjoy "Anywhere (From the Nameless Bride)"! Please follow us on Spotify, and also check out the single premiere on Punk Rock Theory! The full EP, Hold On To Yourself, will be out on April 3rd via Trimming The Shield Records. There are cool limited purple 10" vinyl records, t-shirts just for this release, and custom neckties! Pre-order here!

Engineers on this record were Jerry Roe, Buick Audra, and Zaq Reynolds, with assistant engineering by Matt Luthie. The music was tracked between Fort Knockout and Sound Emporium in Nashville TN. It was mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity in Salem MA; Brad Boatright mastered it at Audiosiege in Portland OR.

A note about our upcoming tour dates which are listed below: we are committed to them and plan on seeing them through. We will be monitoring the situation closely, and acting rationally with intelligence, caution, and logic. We're grateful that these venues want to have us, and we understand fully that none of them can withstand the loss of income from show cancellations. We've put a lot of work, time, and money into this release, and are committed to it getting the biggest reach that it possibly can. We're also very aware of the concern and potential danger that this presents. As such, we ask that everyone be safe, responsible, and if you're well and able, come see us. 

In the meantime, enjoy the rock music. Share it if you love it! We love and appreciate you.

With profound gratitude,

Buick and Jerry
Friendship Commanders

HOLD ON TO YOURSELF

SPRING TOUR DATES 

March 20 - Atlanta GA - 529

April 04 - Murfreesboro TN - Media Rerun

April 10 - Knoxville, TN - Club Fungus

April 12 - Louisville, KY - Magnolia Bar

April 13 - Chicago, IL - Reggie’s Music Joint

April 14 - Hamtramck, MI - Small’s

April 15 - Columbus, OH - Space Bar

April 16 - Youngstown, OH - Westside Bowl

April 18 - Cambridge, MA - Hardcore Stadium

April 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie

April 23 - Raleigh, NC - Slim’s

April 26 - Pompano Beach, FL - Lozer Lounge

NEW FC MUSIC OUT TODAY! Single today, EP in April!

We have new music for you today! Please enjoy "The Enemy I Know" from the forthcoming Friendship Commanders EP, HOLD ON TO YOURSELF. Thanks to Everything Is Noise for premiering it. It will be available across all streaming platforms tomorrow, February 14.

Engineers on this record were Jerry Roe, Buick Audra, and Zaq Reynolds, with assistant engineering by Matt Luthie. The music was tracked between Fort Knockout and Sound Emporium in Nashville TN. It was mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity in Salem MA; Brad Boatright mastered it at Audiosiege in Portland OR.

The new record is available for pre-order today. The vinyl is a very limited pressing 10" on purple vinyl, 45 RPM. There are bundles available with two different t-shirt designs that are specific to this record, and also a necktie designed exclusively for this release. Buick designed and made them and there are only twelve! Grab them while they're available. 

This record and this song are dedicated to abuse survivors. We see you. We hear you. We support you. Hold on to yourself.

With profound gratitude,

TTS