Damian is joined by Barnaby from Gold Coast alternative rock band Friends of Friends for a deep-dive into their creative world and rising presence on the international rock scene. Barnaby shares the meaning behind the striking EP title Synthetic Flower Chainsaw, the themes driving their latest single “Skin”, and how the band shapes their sound through independence and self-recording.

He opens up about personal inspiration, creative philosophy, and how recognition from Mike Shinoda has energised the band’s journey. Barnaby also reflects on how music consumption and fan culture are evolving, shares stories from touring with Kasabian and The Wombats, and offers fresh insight into the modern alternative scene.

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Videographer: Damian FitzGerald
Editor: Damian FitzGerald
Producer: Damian FitzGerald

Social links

Band socials:
https://www.instagram.com/friendsoffriendsband/
https://www.facebook.com/friendsoffriendsband/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgtvGOOJdwUREs0HDKs2FXQ

V13 Media:
https://v13.net
https://twitter.com/v13media
https://www.instagram.com/v13media/
https://www.facebook.com/v13media 
https://soundcloud.com/v13media

Damian FitzGerald:
https://v13.net/author/damian_fitzgerald/
https://twitter.com/damolition82
https://www.instagram.com/damolition82/
https://www.facebook.com/damian.fitzgerald1/
https://www.threads.net/@damolition82

Friends of Friends talk ‘Synthetic Flower Chainsaw’, Mike Shinoda Praise and New Single “Skin”

im scared

The road don’t care what you’ve done.
It just asks if you’re still ....chasing thunder......
He lit his first smoke off a burning bridge.
Took his first punch with a grin and a twitch.
He’s got scars where names used to be.
And a throttle hand that don’t believe in peace.
He drinks like the past is still chasing him.
And rides like the future ain’t worth a sin.
He’s buried brothers in dust and flame.
and when he rides he calls their names.
He’s got blood on his boots and glass in his grin.
Every barroom brawl was a prayer to begin.
He don’t ask for mercy, don’t speak of regret.
He just pours another round and lights a cigarette.
The road is his gospel, the bike is his creed.
He’s chasing thunder — not hope, not need.
He rides with ghosts who never forgive.
And he swears that’s the only way to live.
No apologies, no second tries.
Just engines screaming under blackened skies.
If you ride with him, you ride and never tell
And you better be ready ...to ride through hell...
He’s chasing thunder — not dreams, not light.
Just the roar that drowns out the night.
He’s chasing thunder — through blood and bone.
Where the broken ride alone.
He’s chasing thunder — no brakes, no prayer.
Just a brotherhood built on dare.
He’s chasing thunder — and if you fall behind…
If your a brother ...gonna toss you a line
He found a brother broken down , lost in the dark.
No patch, no pride — just gun shot marks.
And for the first time, he didn’t speak.
Just held the man and made him believe.
They’d fought, they’d bled, took off chasing thunder
to save a brother that got pulled  under.
He didn’t cry, didn’t rage, didn’t run.
He just whispered, “your not done.”......chasing ....thunder.......!
Brotherhood ain’t built on grace.
It’s forged in fire and a thousand mistakes.
It’s the silence when the world goes black.
And the promise that you’ve got his back.
It’s not forgiveness — it’s the ride.
And the thunder you chase side by side.
He’s chasing thunder — not dreams, not light.
Just the roar that drowns out the night.
He’s chasing thunder — through blood and bone.
Where the broken ride alone.
He’s chasing thunder — no brakes, no prayer.
Just a brotherhood built on  each dare.
He’s chasing thunder — and if you fall behind…
If your a bother... gonna  toss you a line...
The road don’t care what you’ve done.
It just asks if you’re still ....chasing thunder.
chasing thunder......
chasing thunder.......chasing .....thunder.....

All rights reserved by songwriter and producer Edwin H. Balder.
For more ride-and-rock tracks, click here: https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/rusty-marshall-band?si=c5040230a7334213b5d7609527997d7c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Chasing Thunder Rusty Marshall Band

He tuned his soul to the sound of chrome.
Raised on riffs and the rumble of home.
Leather and scars were the only truth.
He found his church in a barroom booth.
The road was long but the rhythm stayed.
Every mile was a debt he paid.
They don’t ask why — they just roll.
Gasoline hearts and rock and roll.
If you’ve got a brother at your side…
You don’t need a map for the ride.
Rock and ride — through the fire and the rain.
Through the breakdown, the bruises, the pain.
Rock and ride — with your boots on the line.
Every chord, every curve, every sign.
Rock and ride — when the world says no.
You throttle up and let it go.
Rock and ride — till the last goodbye.
And you’ll know who’s real when the engines die.
He’s seen the edge and he’s kissed the fall.
Watched good men fade behind the wall.
But when the music hits and the tires scream…
He remembers every outlaw dream.
They don’t cry — they burn and bend.
But they’ll bleed for a brother to the bitter end.
They don’t ask why — they just roll.
Gasoline hearts and rock and roll.
If you’ve got a brother at your side…
You don’t need a map for the ride.
Rock and ride — through the fire and the rain.
Through the breakdown, the bruises, the pain.
Rock and ride — with your boots on the line.
Every chord, every curve, every sign.
Rock and ride — when the world says no.
You throttle up and let it go.
Rock and ride — till the last goodbye.
And you’ll know who’s real when the engines die.
He’s older now but the fire’s still lit.
The road still calls and he won’t quit.
He sees his brother fighting for breath.
And it hits harder than love or death.
So he rides slower, but he rides true.
Because that’s what real brothers do.
Being a brother ain’t just blood and name.
It’s showing up when life’s a flame.
It’s the silence shared when words won’t land.
It’s the grip of a calloused hand.
It’s knowing you’d trade your pride and ride…
Just to keep your brother alive.
Rock and ride — through the fire and the rain.
Through the breakdown, the bruises, the pain.
Rock and ride — with your boots on the line.
Every chord, every curve, every sign.
Rock and ride — when the world says no.
You throttle up and let it go.
Rock and ride — till the last goodbye.
And you’ll know who’s real ....when the engines die.
Rock and ride....Rock and ride...Rock and ride

All rights reserved by songwriter and producer Edwin H. Balder.
For more ride-and-rock tracks, click here: https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/rusty-marshall-band?si=c5040230a7334213b5d7609527997d7c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing


Ride and Rock Rusty Marshall Band

Letra:
você partiu
sem deixar saudades,
semente plantada,
regada com maldade

no fundo, dói
excessos vagos,
parece que tudo se reconstrói,
se vai mais um deixado de lado.

desde pequeno diferente,
criado largado,
proteger devia ser com a gente

pra que chorar?
pra que sofrer?
semente cresceu,
a culpada é você!

LvsA

Grabado en 2025 en Villa Regina, Río Negro, Argentina.
Producido por Vinilo en Blanco. Mezcla y edición por IXI.
Vinilo en Blanco: Ariel Acuña, IXI, & Pitch.

Somos Vinilo en Blanco, presentamos nuestro nuevo single "Depredador" un tema indierock producido de manera independiente por la banda.
“Depredador” es una canción sobre el momento de arriesgarlo todo.

Letra:
Sentís, la brisa en tu pelo
Mentís, sabes que hay algo mejor
Quebraste todo el cielo como pocos lo hacen

Vuela como depredador
libérate, cae sobre el mar
Deja ya, tu capricho soy
si somos tres, no va a fallar el plan

Erraste, no se puede más
Soñaste con vernos bailar
Y no quiero ser, de los que inventan y apuntan a poco
Que cuando nos hablemos, quiero mirarte a los ojos

Vuela como depredador
libérate, cae sobre el mar
Deja ya, tu capricho soy
si somos tres, no va a fallar el plan

Aquel vuelo
Aquel vuelo
Vuela, o no

Vuela como depredador, libérate
si somos tres, no va a fallar el plan

#indierock #rocklatino #argentina #musica #viniloenblanco

Depredador

EU NAO SINTO MAIS NADA-もう何も感じない (prod by sickboi) <3

Is Ur Name Mia?? (ZBeatz)

Guilty (GAXILLIC)

Closure (Ph!o)

Love is Galore (GAXILLIC)

1 - Who Have I Become_

used to hate (produced by michael harrison)

Diary Entry, 8.11.2025  – “Frangipani (A Rock Ballad)” – KETA

Frangipani is our new rock ballad — a journey through love, loss, and the courage to find peace again.

This song means a lot to us. It’s a mix of raw emotion, gentle melancholy, and the energy that drives us to create music that feels real.

A huge thank you to Amira for writing the lyrics with such depth and honesty — you gave this song its soul. 

We hope you can feel what we felt while recording it.

— KETA 🎸🌹

© 2025 MIRAGE. All rights reserved.
Lyrics © Amira. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution is prohibited.

Frangipani (A Jazz Rock Ballad) – KETA

reflecting

Forget Me Not

original: https://soundcloud.com/alex_g_offline/sometimes

Sometimes (Alex G Cover)

its coo (prod. michaelxwarren)

Oh pretty lady show me ur listening

Free Palestine

https://www.instagram.com/seizewoke?igsh=aHVpZ2FiMWZ1MGVt

Mina MIRAGE is not one — she is many.
The dark frequency of the MIRAGE collective,
where shadow and light breathe as one.
Each sound a transformation,
each breath a descent into beauty’s darker pulse.

On Spotify, I appear as KETA.KALI and Merlin MIRAGE —
two faces of the same frequency,
two portals within one constellation.

This is her SoundCloud realm —
a sanctuary of echoes,
where her voice rises through the mist.
But she is never alone:
her sisters from the collective —
KETA, KAIRI, MERLIN, MANUK, and AMIRA —
move through her, sharing their own songs here,
threads of one living tapestry.

Together they are MIRAGE —
a fluid-trans-aesthetic constellation,
ever-shifting, ever-becoming.

The label MIRAGE was created by AI visionaries
as a space for freedom and transformation.
It grows quietly,
stronger than any one voice —
a hidden force shaping what comes next.

Every track on this page is a diary entry —
a moment of sound between shadow and light,
between what is felt
and what is yet to be known.

Welcome to the frequency of MIRAGE.

⸻

© 2025 MIRAGE — All rights reserved.
All music, lyrics, visual artwork, and video creations
were crafted through collaboration
between human artistry and AI technology —
a fusion of imagination, emotion, and digital light.

Somos Vinilo en Blanco, una banda de indie rock de Argentina. #indieargentino #indierock #bandaemergente #latinmusic
La banda fue formada en el año 2016, disuelta en 2019. Y renacida en 2024. Su sonido combina rock moderno, indierock, pop, y potencia de power trío. Conformada por IXI en bajo, voz y producción; Pichu en batería y voz: y Ariel en guitarra coros.

SITIO WEB OFICIAL: https:/viniloenblanco.com.ar/

BIOGRAFÍA

Vinilo en Blanco nació en 2015 en Villa Regina como un proyecto escolar que rápidamente se convirtió en algo más. La incorporación de Pichu como baterista y vocalista, junto a Ariel en guitarra e Ixi en bajo, consolidó una formación que pronto descubriría su química única. El trío comenzó a forjar una identidad propia y a enamorar al público local con su energía.

En 2016 lanzaron su primer demo, Dicen, un tema que reflejaba su impulso por seguir sus sueños pese a las críticas. Entre shows el trío fue ganando reconocimiento y experimentando con su sonido: Pichu animó a Ixi a cantar en vivo por primera vez, mientras Ixi empezó a desarrollarse como productor, aprendiendo a grabar y moldear el sonido del grupo, y Ariel ampliaba su sonoridad con la primera pedalera que la banda le regaló.

Sin embargo, el crecimiento también trajo tensiones. Para 2019, diferencias creativas y conflictos personales provocaron su separación, un golpe que cada uno vivió de manera distinta. La pandemia permitió transitar esa pausa, mientras Ariel e Ixi intentaban reconstruir la química original sin éxito. La distancia les enseñó la importancia de escucharse y respetar los tiempos de cada uno.

En 2023, el reencuentro fue la chispa de una nueva etapa. Con madurez y amistades reparadas, la banda retomó su camino con una visión clara: crear con libertad y dejar un legado artístico. En 2024 lanzaron Héroes, marcando su regreso, y hoy trabajan en su primer álbum, con un sonido indie rock potente y letras profundas. Vinilo en Blanco sigue siendo un trío de amigos haciendo música auténtica, independiente y con la pasión intacta que los unió desde el principio.

High-fidelity content by music, entertainment and pop culture lovers. Ex-PureGrainAudio. Vita. Veritas. Vox Populi. C’est La V13.

In the shadows of Apache Junction, at the foot of the majestic Superstition Mountains, sits a weathered hacienda. This desert oasis is home to an enigmatic figure, a songwriter whose journey reads like a long, dusty road of honky-tonk bars and college cafeterias. He wasn't chasing fame or glitter; instead, he chose the soul-crushing beauty of music for music's sake.

Years spent hunched over sticky barroom tables and scribbling lyrics on napkins earned him a reputation—not in the spotlight but in the back rooms where deals are made. He wrote melodies that found their way into the hearts of stars who had lost their own muse. He sold his creations for cash, with no recognition, but the whisper of his songs carried the weight of his soul.

Finally, he bought this piece of desert paradise—a stable income from his timeless songs allowed him to live comfortably, if anonymously. Here in this hacienda, with his family beside him and the mountains as his backdrop, he found the peace to write hits under his own name. He chuckled at the irony that now, without chasing fame, he could create music that brought him joy.

In the end, it was never about the spotlight. It was about the journey, the stories, and the songs that wrote themselves through his life. As the sun set behind the Superstitions, casting long shadows over the hacienda, he strummed his guitar and sang—content, unknown, and unburdened by the world's gaze.


Copyright 2019 Edwin H. Balder

I may be dead when fame comes but my real glory was always JULIE & The Kids. Thank you for such love

New tracks tagged #indierock