Biography
Just Friends originated in 2013 in Dublin, California, when singer and guitarist Sam Kless assembled a lineup that incorporated horn players drawn from former high school jazz and marching bands to expand the emo and punk material. The completed roster—Chris Palowitch on trombone and keys, Brandon Downum on guitar and vocals, Matt Yankovich on guitar, Kevin Prochnow on bass, Avi Dey on trumpet, Ben Donlon on drums, and Eric Butler on trombone—issued the debut album Rock 2 the Rhythm in 2015 via the Los Angeles indie Open Door Records. This sizable Bay Area ensemble launched with a brass-heavy fusion of hardcore punk and emo that gradually moved into pop-rap and later funk rock across subsequent releases. Early tours highlighted the group’s communal D.I.Y. drive, which also produced a 2016 split with New York combo Prince Daddy & the Hyena. Co-vocalist Brianda "Brond" Goyos Leon joined in 2017, steering the sound toward additional pop-rap and hard funky rock influences. The rangy second album Nothing But Love appeared on Massachusetts-based Counter Intuitive Records in 2018, after which touring intensified on both U.S. coasts and abroad, where audiences grew in the U.K. and Europe. The band then moved to Pure Noise Records for the 2022 release Hella, their most eclectic set yet, which blended R&B, funk, and rock under a distinctive West Coast atmosphere.