by Ernie Thomas
This four-piece modern pop/rock outfit sounds very little today like
the seven song CD which bears their name, even though that disc is only eight
months old.
“The songs on the All Stars Fall CD were done by just me with a keyboard
and computer,” said James Laczkowski, lead singer/rhythm guitarist of Friend
Of A Friend. “It was more a demo than a real CD, but people wanted it, so
we slapped cover art on it and sell it on the internet and at shows.”
The “we” this one time solo recording artist speaks of, are his new old
band mates – drummer Nate Bohanan, lead guitarist Dan Frailich and bassist
Josh Childs – who helped to forged the new harder-edged sound that the band
now employs. Their music is akin to that of the Foo Fighters with a touch of
Radiohead added to for flavor.
This N.W. Indiana band officially began in December 2000, but Bohanan and
Frailich have history with Laczkowski that goes back to 1991, when they first
started jamming together. The three became part of the alt/goth teen band,
Midian, which released a cassette album and competed in a lot of regional
“battle of the bands.”
“We were all going in different directions at that time so we ended
(Midian) in late 1996,” recalled Laczkowski. “Looking back, we realize
that we all needed to go our own way for a while and find ourselves
musically. Doing that enabled us to get back together now in a more focused
and serious band.”
After four years, Bohanan and Frailich returned to work with Laczkowski
(described as a compulsive and obsessive songwriter), who was fumbling with a
singer/songwriter kind of career.
“We started playing together again and it was just ‘there’,” said
Laczkowski, an English major and budding entertainment journalist at Purdue
University Calumet. Childs, a former guitar player, then came on board to
play bass and completed the current line-up.
A new full band single, “Sad Song,” released via their web site is
indicative of where the quartet is musically headed. The keyboards are gone
and in place of them are twin guitars with distortion pedals and grooving
rhythms. The aggressive songs are collaborative creations. “We’re not
even doing songs from the CD anymore,” said Laczkowski. “We’ve since written
dozens of new songs together.”
Still, Friend of A Friend, are in a bit of a sonic flux. Once in a
while when the occasion arises, Laczkowski and Childs scale down the band’s
music and perform as an acoustic duo.
But most times, the entire band plugs in and rocks out electric. “We
perform both acoustic and electric right now,” said Laczkowski, “but our
primary focus is on doing high-energy electric shows whenever we can.”
The group is hoping to have a new 10-song CD recorded soon release by
the end of the year. For more information on the band and to hear sound
clips, log on at: www.mp3.com/friendofafriend