For as much as the world has changed since Real Friends first emerged in 2010, the band’s mission hasn’t. The Illinois quintet continue to bleed without apology and write songs that make it okay to feel everything: the ups, the downs, and anything else in between. Rather than shy away from emotion, the group run right towards it with distortion cranked and hearts opened, tightening their careful distillation of pop and punk on each subsequent release. When the band—Dave Knox (lead guitar), Kyle Fasel(bass), Eric Haines (rhythm guitar), and Brian Blake (drums) —welcomed vocalist Cody Muraro in 2020, the goal stayed the same as they crafted new music for Pure Noise Records.
Over the years, Real Friends have forged and strengthened a deep connection with fans. The group’s 2014 full-length debut, Maybe This Place Is the Same and We’re Just Changing, marked a turning point. Rock Sound named it one of the “Top 50 Albums of the Year.” 2016’s The Home Inside My Head maintained this momentum with further acclaim and sold out shows. In 2018, Composure incited applause from Music Connection, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, New Noise, and Billboard who described it as “raw.” To date, they’ve also amassed over 100 million streams and counting. In 2021, they turned the page on a new chapter with the singles “Nervous Wreck” and “Storyteller.”
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In the fall of 2010 bassist Kyle Fasel "wasn't happy" with the music he was working on and wished to start over. Fasel called lead guitarist Dave Knox and the pair soon started talking about the goals they wished to achieve. Fasel didn't expect it to lead anywhere. Vocalist Dan Lambton, who was friends with Knox, received a call from Fasel, asking if he would like to join him and Knox. They were soon joined by drummer Aaron Schuck. The band recorded its debut EP, This Is Honesty, in the spring of 2011. Following the release of the EP, the band began playing shows around the Midwest. The group soon realized that it "didn't feel right, playing the songs they currently had. Almost forcing ourselves into sound." They had a meeting and came to the conclusion to start over. During this period of change, Fasel and Knox were playing in The Fastest Kid Alive. Shortly afterwards, Schuck was replaced by Brian Blake. Blake had emailed the band after he found out they needed a drummer.
Real Friends didn't have a permanent second guitarist, often having their friends to substitute. Eric Haines soon joined as a rhythm guitarist. Until Haines joined Fasel and Knox would typically write the songs and they didn't have "another guitarist's opinion", according to Fasel. Shortly after the release of the Everyone That Dragged You Here EP, the band's popularity increased and the audience at their shows also increased. The band later released the Put Yourself Back Together EP. Reviewing the EP for Rock Sound, Andy Biddulph said noted that he would not be "surprised" if the band was "mixing it with the big boys in a year's time". In November, the group supported The Wonder Years on their UK shows, included UK Warped Tour.
Fearless signed the band in December 2013. The band were initially hesitant to sign to a label but called Fearless "different. They made it feel more like a family." The group "still wanted full control of our band" while Fearless would help with marketing and distribution, according to Fasel. The band recorded their debut studio album in February with producer Seth Henderson. The band released its debut studio album, Maybe This Place Is the Same and We're Just Changing on July 22, 2014. The album sold over 10,300 copies, charting at number 24 on the Billboard 200. The band played on the 2014 Vans Warped Tour supporting the album's release, appearing on the Journey's Stage. More Acoustic Song EP was released for Record Store Day in April 2015. One of the tracks, an acoustic version of "Late Nights in My Car", features Kevin Jordan from This Wild Life.
Fearless Records announced that a new Real Friends record would be released on their label in 2016, through a post on their official Twitter account, which was made on December 22, 2015. Prior to the Fearless announcement, the band had made several references to the recording of a new album throughout 2015 on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Real Friends finished recording their second full-length album on the road, in February 2016. Prior to the album's announcement, the band began to play a new song entitled "Colder Quicker" during their live sets. On April 1, 2016, the band announced the title of their new album as being The Home Inside My Head, along with the album's release date, cover art and track listing. Additionally, on the same day the band released a music video for "Colder Quicker". The album was released on May 27, 2016.
On November 16, 2017 the band released a single entitled "Get By". On June 18, 2018 the band announced the new album 'Composure' set for release on July 13, 2018 to their home town fans during an RSVP Acoustic session. It was preceded two weeks prior by a single entitled "From the Outside", which was accompanied by a music video.
Style and influences
Real Friends has been described as pop punk and emo, as well as emo pop punk. Punknews reviewer said "If American Football went totally pop-punk, Real Friends would be the result." Vocalist Dan Lambton has been described as a cross between The Starting Line's Kenny Vasoli, The Wonder Years' Dan Campbell and The Dangerous Summer's AJ Perdomo. Bassist Kyle Fasel has cited American Football, Dashboard Confessional, The Early November, Jimmy Eat World, The Promise Ring, Saves the Day, The Starting Line, Spitalfield, Taking Back Sunday and Thursday as influences.
Bassist Kyle on the often used phrase "sleepy eyes and bony knees":
I think there’s something that needs to be explained on our end here. We released a new EP on June 4th titled “Put Yourself Back Together.” There are some references in the songs that mention sleepy eyes and bony knees. There have been some negative comments regarding the amount of times we mention those two things. I want to make this post to explain the detailed meanings of both of those subjects. I assure all of you out there that we would never put something in multiple songs that doesn’t have a great amount of meaning. These songs are my life summed up into some verses and choruses. These songs are my therapy, and that goes for the four other dudes in my band too. So here we go….
Sleepy eyes refers to a time in my life in 2011. I was going through a very messy break up which then lead to a love triangle and that lead me to be depressed. The girl that I was in love with since I was eighteen had found someone else that she grew to love. She told me that she still loved me as well though. This lead to lots of sleepless nights and some weight loss as well. Thirty pounds of weight loss to be exact. Listen to our song “Floorboards” for more details on that whole situation. Well anyway, this situation and some other ones over the past few years have led me to not being able to sleep at night. I had resorted to sleeping pills in 2011 when I was depressed. I also consider myself a night owl in general. I haven’t gone to bed before 2 am in years. But mainly sleepy eyes is something that I think we have all been through in life. It’s about those nights when you’re so overworked and have so much going on that you can’t fall asleep, even if you are physically tired. Not only do I write these songs for my own therapy, but I would hope that some of you could find some peace in them. So of course I’m going to reference this subject multiple times. And that is sleepy eyes.
Bony knees is a subject that pops up in a lot of our songs as well. I will keep it general at first here. I in fact do physically have bony knees. But I will surely say that there is a way deeper meaning behind these bony knees. It kind of all dates back to my depression in 2011. Like I stated before there was some weight loss, which made these knees a little more bony than before. I also found myself physically and mentally down on my knees while going through depression. Even after 2011, after I started feeling better, I would still find myself down and out on my bony knees physically and mentally. We all go through dirt in life and lot of times it makes us fall on our knees for awhile. I can easily say that dirt has put me on my knees more than I want to say. But the beautiful part about falling on your knees is getting back up. And that’s the main point of the bony knees reference. You have to get up in life and move on. We have all been there and we will all be there again. When I write bony knees in a song it reminds me of how I put all of the bullshit behind me and moved on. And that is bony knees.
I just wanted to clear this all up. I don’t want anyone to ever think that we are using this as some sort of gimmick or something. We keep things real and it will always be that way. I hope you can all now find deeper meaning and connection with sleepy eyes and bony knees.
Late Nights in My Car
Real Friends Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Listening to all these sad songs
I know it sounds weird
But they're helping me move past all these things running through my head
I'll blame the mid-west and sleepy eyes
I'm not where I should be
I'm not what I could be
But I'm not who I was
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
Don't want it to be like my teenage years
I was naive and weak back then
Without much trouble on my shoulders
If I don't break
I won't know how to put myself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break
You'll never know how
(If you never break you'll never know)
If you never break you'll never know how to put yourself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
Real Friends's song Late Nights In My Car is a powerful track that speaks to the struggles of negative thoughts and how music can be a helpful tool in coping with them. The opening lines describe the singer's state of mind, as they stay up late into the night listening to sad songs in their car. The singer admits that this may sound peculiar, but they believe that this method of listening to music is helping them move beyond the negative thoughts that are running through their head. The singer then attributes their current situation to their mid-western upbringing and tired eyes.
The main theme of the song is nostalgia, as the singer reflects on their past and who they used to be. The singer is caught up in the memories of their youth, and how they miss who they were when they were younger. The singer is frustrated with their current state, and how they are not where they feel they should be. These thoughts mess with the singer's head and make them long for their past. The singer realizes that they were more innocent and naïve when they were younger, and that they have more weight on their shoulders now.
The song ends on a hopeful note, as the repeated lyrics "If you never break, you'll never know how to put yourself back together" suggest that the struggles the singer is facing now will help them grow and become stronger. By acknowledging the challenges they face and being open to learning from them, the singer can start to put themselves back together and move forward with their life.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been up spending every late night in my car
I've been spending my late nights in my car, listening to sad songs to help me move past the thoughts running through my head.
Listening to all these sad songs
I listen to these sad songs every night to help me feel better.
I know it sounds weird
I'm aware that my coping mechanism may seem weird to others.
But they're helping me move past all these things running through my head
These sad songs are actually helping me cope with the things that are bothering me.
I'll blame the mid-west and sleepy eyes
I'll blame my location and my tiredness for my current state of mind.
I'm not where I should be
I feel like I'm not living up to my potential.
I'm not what I could be
I know I could be doing better than I am now.
But I'm not who I was
Even though I'm not living up to my potential, I'm not the same person I used to be.
Nostalgia gets the best of me
I often get caught up in my memories of the past.
When I wake up it's the same day
I feel like I'm stuck in a rut and every day is the same.
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
Thinking about the past can be painful, as I miss who I used to be.
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
My memories of myself at eighteen are all I have left of that time.
And my bony knees
A small detail that reminds me of my youth.
Don't want it to be like my teenage years
I don't want to repeat the mistakes and weaknesses of my teenage years.
I was naive and weak back then
I admit that I wasn't as strong or wise when I was a teenager.
Without much trouble on my shoulders
I didn't have the same responsibilities and worries back then.
If I don't break
If I don't struggle or fail,
I won't know how to put myself back together
I won't learn from my mistakes or know how to recover from failures.
(If you never break you'll never know)
(You need to struggle or fail to learn.)
If you never break you'll never know how to put yourself back together
You won't learn how to recover from failures if you never encounter them.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Brian Blake, Kyle Fasel, Dave Knox, Dan Lambton, Eric Haines
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Adam Barba
I've been up spending every late night in my car
Listening to all these sad songs
I know it sounds weird
But they're helping me move past all these things running through my head
I'll blame the mid-west and sleepy eyes
I'm not where I should be
I'm not what I could be
But I'm not who I was
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
Don't want it to be like my teenage years
I was naive and weak back then
Without much trouble on my shoulders
If I don't break
I won't know how to put myself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break
You'll never know how
If you never break you'll never know how to put yourself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen
And my bony knees
sagacious rage of 1993 babies
#danthemanplaylists
LYRICS:
I've been up spending every late night in my car listening to all these sad songs
I know it sounds weird but they're helping me move past all these things running through my head
I'll blame the Midwest and sleepy eyes
I'm not where I should be
I'm not what I could be
But I'm not who I was
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen and my bony knees
Don't want it to be like my teenage years
I was naive and weak back then without much trouble on my shoulders
If I don't break, I won't know how to put myself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen and my bony knees
If you never break, you'll never know how [x3]
If you never break, you'll never know [x3]
If you never break, you'll never know how to put yourself back together
Nostalgia gets the best of me
When I wake up it's the same day
It fucks me up and makes me miss who I used to be
All I have are thoughts of me from back when I was eighteen and my bony knee
Dipper Pinesmabel
Things real friends talks about:
1: boney knees
2: sleepy eyes
3: things running through dans mind
4: the Midwest
Leprechaun
Also the front porch
Will M
It really do be like dat
Springfield Territory
Damn the Midwest
Daniel Lindegaard .Hansen
Daniel McKnight no they are not, they are reffering to Kyle, their bass player, who writes most of their songs
Sophia Caruso
Dipper Pinesmabel to be honest
brett norris
This song hits a lil different at 21 than it did when I was 16
AndrewKidd14145
Haha yup
Steven Hawkins
@Shadowthunder Jacobs I feel you dude.
Shadowthunder Jacobs
Barely making it at 27.