No Friends features members from Municipal Waste and New Mexican Disaster Squad. Influenced by the fun, old school hardcore bands are 4 dudes that make up No Friends. Listen to their music if you’re a fan of hardcore or just good tunes in general. Check out my interview with Tony (vocals) and Alex (bass).

So give me a background on No Friends.
T) No Friends is a project that me and my Floridian friends came up with a little over a year ago. We didn’t really have a plan or anything. I just really liked these guys as not only good people but good musicians. I knew that New Mexican Disaster Squad broke up and they were all still good buds so I basically did some convincing and talked them into working with me.

A) Basically NMDS broke up because our one guitar player (Brian) couldn’t tour anymore. We didn’t want to go on without him, so we called it a day. Tony called and asked about starting a hardcore band and our asses were put promptly back in gear. Since it was a new project we didn’t have the awkwardness of playing without Brian, and so far it’s been a pretty amazing experience.

How did you all meet?
A) Tony is one of our oldest Richmond friends. We became bros pretty quickly and kept crossing paths on tour over the years. We even randomly met up in the UK for a show and neither band had any idea that the other was playing. It was an awesome surprise and a pretty crazy night.

T) Some of the earliest Municipal Waste gigs were with NMDS. I cant think of exactly what show we started chilling. I think it was a house show in Richmond or something. Shit I think Ive know these guys for around 9 years now. Its a big drunk blur now. I do remember when the Waste did our first full U.S. tour ever we had them play all of our Florida gigs and that was a hoot.

Who is who in the band?
T) Alex (Bass), Tony(Vox), Richard (drums), Sam (Guitars)

Who’s idea was it to start the band?
T) I guess it was Me and Richard that cooked up the idea. I was calling him about getting some artwork done for Best Friends Day and we got to shooting the shit about The NMDS break up. He explained how theyre all still good friends and that they just wanted to do something different.  I was like “Ya know I always wanted to sing for you guys” and we just started brainstorming from there.

What are your main influences?
T) With this band I feel we pull our influences out from a different place than we do with our other bands. I would say a lot of the old D.C. Dischord stuff like Goverment Issue, Void and Dag Nasty is what inspires No Friends. Perhaps the early Orange County bands as well like Agent Orange and the Adolecents.

Are they bands you grew up listening to?
A) Definitely. I became obsessed with everything Dischord really early on   and never let go. The first time I heard Minor Threat I was floored by how absolutely honest and angry those songs sounded. It definitely shaped the music i listen to and play in a huge way

T) I was a surfer when I was a kid so I listened to bands like Janes Addiction and DRI. I fucking hate Janes Addiction now Haha. At least I still like DRI.

Are they influences for all of you or just the main songwriter?
A) There’s not really a main songwriter for No Friends. Sam and I write most of the music, but Tony mouthed (because he doesn’t actually play guitar) a couple cool riffs that we used on the upcoming EP. Sam, Tony and I have all contributed vocals/lyrics and Richard helps a ton with song structuring and tempos. Luckily, our music tastes are almost identical so we generally don’t have a whole lot of conflict with everyone’s input.

How do you like being on No Idea? They have a lot of good bands on the label and you guys are the only band I can think of with your sound on the label.
T) No Idea and NMDS have worked together in the past and Muni Waste has ties with No Idea from the Fest. It seemed like a no brainer for us to get our friends to put the record out.

A) No Idea are great people and run a great label. We knew they’d do an excellent job and it was a super comfortable move because they’re really old friends.

What do you find to be the biggest achievement for No Friends so far? Are you satisfied with the way things are going?
T) I had a really good time at both The Fest and Best Friends day. But for me I would have to say writing and releasing the full length was my highlight so far. We all worked our butts off on that thing and I’m really stoked with how well it came out.

A) The full-length was a pretty big accomplishment, but I think the new EP we just recorded has some of the best hardcore songs we’ve ever written. I’m absolutely stoked on them.

T) I agree the new EP is some of my favorite stuff I’ve ever sang on.

Do you have any tours coming up in 2010?
T) A 10 day east coast tour in April with Deep Sleep. Looking forward to getting out there and playing some gigs.

How have the fans been at shows? I imagine they’re pretty intense.
T) We have only played like 5 or 6 shows but for the most part its pretty rowdy.

A) The kids at Best Friends Day and at The Fest this year were incredible. I think the fact that we play so infrequently has made people really stoked when they come to see us.

What are you thinking when you’re playing and the fans are going crazy?
T) It gets me pretty excited and makes me play harder but for the most part I’m thinking about how I better not mess up the next line! They might stop dancing! Haha

What can we look for in the future from No Friends?
T) We just finished recording an Ep for Kiss Of Death Records that should be out really soon. I’m really excited about it. We also have a split 7” coming out with Off With Their Heads on No Idea.

Anything else to say?
T)Thanks for the interview!

Check out No Friends:
http://www.myspace.com/wevegotnofriends

Buy some stuff:
http://www.noidearecords.com/display/?search=no%20friends
http://shirtkiller.com/LiteCommerce/cart.php?target=category&category_id=319

East Coast, keep a lookout for No Friends touring in April!