(by Ray Moore)

My friends are always giving me music suggestions. Sometimes I listen to the bands and sometimes I don’t. There is so much music in this world that I feel I don’t have time to listen to all this music. I wish I could just sit around and listen to music all day but alas I cannot. My good friend and editor of this fine blog, Ryan told me about this band named Comrades last year. Ryan is one of my friends that 8/10 times I will actually listen to a band if he says they are good. He would not stop talking about Comrades so when I finally listened to them I was instantly blown away. The next thing he told me was I had to see them live. No problem, right? WRONG!!!! The next 2 or 3 times they came to Columbus, I was sick. ARE YOU KIDDING!!! That’s how my luck runs. When I was finally able to see them live, I was in awe of how good and tight they were. I see lots of shows and I cannot recall the last time I was so blown away by a band’s live show. From the very first note to the last. Take my word this is a band you do not want to miss at Audiofeed. You will regret it. So I’m done running my mouth. Lets get to this interview.

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Tuned up: What’s your favorite fair/festival food? What fair food would pair best with your sound?

Comrades: Ben calls it fried dough, but we’re saying funnel cake. They might be the same thing.       Caramel apple would be the Comrades descriptive food: sweet on the outside, and authentic to the core.

Tuned Up: Is the band trying to send a message to the world? If so, what?

Comrades: Seek truth and create space in your life for recognizing it. Our music reflects how we see God and the world, and we hope that people can reflect on those things while they hear it.

Tuned Up: What summer blockbuster has you most stoked? This can include movies that are already out.

Comrades: Everyone is stoked on Jurassic World, but we’re stoked on Star Wars because it’ll be summer in Australia.

Tuned Up: What’s the one band from your area everyone needs to know about and why?

Comrades: Servants is from MA, and they are freaking sick. We’ll be heading out on tour with them immediately following the Blood and Ink Tour. It throws back to times when melodic hardcore intricately and creatively brought the mosh. [writers note, if this tour comes near you, you need to go. Servants are amazing]

Tuned Up: Who are you most excited to see on the Audiofeed lineup and why?

Comrades:

Flatfoot always rules. Narrow/Arrow has been blowing our minds since we first heard them, so we can’t wait to see them live. Sean Michelle, because no one brings the rock n’ roll quite like he does. And just having our friends and labelmates play will be so good.

Tuned Up: Summer festivals seem to be the in thing now, if you had your own, what would it be called? And who would you get to play it?  

Comrades: It would probably be called The Entmoot and it would basically be Audiofeed but in Middle Earth. You know, elf choral groups between sets.

Tuned Up: This festival is held over 4th of July weekend. What is your favorite 4th of July tradition?

Comrades: Ben eats lobsters, lots of them and then goes tubing with Uncle Scott. The rest of us sometimes eat watermelon and watch fireworks.

Tuned Up: Sweet tea or lemonade?

Comrades: Laura votes South Juice. Ben likes limeade. Joe drinks Dr. Pepper, exclusively.

Tuned Up: Describe your band in 3 words?

Comrades: Honest, passionate, contemplative

Tuned Up: If you have played this festival before what is your favorite thing about it? If not what are you looking forward to?

Comrades: Audiofeed creates such a genuine and open space for people to enjoy and perform music. We’ve rarely experienced such a sense of community in a fest setting, and I think it gives people a great place to be exposed to new music and continue the love of the familiar.

The fact that it’s small-band-centric and keeps the less diy vendors at bay is so good. It’s really a breath of fresh air.