Bio

For as much as the world has changed since Real Friends first emerged in
2010, the band’s mission hasn’t. The Chicago, Illinois quintet continue to bleed
without apology and write songs that make it okay to feel everything: The ups,
the downs, and everything else in between.
Rather than shy away from emotion, the renowned group runs right towards it
with distortion cranked and hearts opened, tightening their careful distillation
of pop-punk and emo on each subsequent release.
When the band — made up of longtime friends Dave Knox [guitar], Kyle Fasel
[bass/lyrics], Eric Haines [guitar], and Brian Blake [drums] — welcomed Cody
Muraro [vocals/lyrics] in 2020, the goal stayed the same as they crafted new
music.

“It’s really still the same mission,” affirms Fasel. “We write songs you can
connect to. We want those songs to be a part of your life as much as they’re a
part of our lives.”“This band is everything to us,” he adds. “We’re all so
invested in every aspect. We’re more grateful than ever for Real Friends.”
The band’s forthcoming 13-track album “Blue Hour” (set to release October
11th 2024) is a shift from previous works, reaching even deeper into complex
emotions and subject matter with heavier overtones. Working again with
producer Andrew Wade, Real Friends set out to make the album they truly
wanted to make, and feel like they fully achieved that goal.
Blue Hour’s lead single “Waiting Room” centering around the death of a loved
one, as Fasel notes, the heartfelt track is “the most important song Real
Friends has ever written.”“Its honesty and vulnerability will strike a chord with
anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one,” suggests the candid
bassist. “Most importantly,” he continues, “I hope this song will make anyone
who listens feel like they’re not alone in their grief.”
The highly anticipated album will also include the striking “Our Love Was Like
a Sad Song” which focused on Muraro opening up about “some of the toughest
years of my life, spiraling into depression and failing to be there for a loved
one.” Muraro adds, “This song reflects on those moments of guilt and growth.”

To date, Real Friends has amassed over 150 million streams across 4 EP’s and
3 full-length albums, and look forward to continuing their momentum with Blue
Hour, their first-ever self-released full length album – The band has even
created their own community based record label to release the album under,
calling the record label Midwest Trash.