Nashville's Friendship Commanders return with a new two-song release, written and recorded during the pandemic, mixed by Kurt Ballou and mastered by Brad Boatright. Altar / Land of Men centers on self respect outside critique, and addresses male dominance in the music industry and beyond.
Friendship Commanders guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Buick Audra comments on Altar: "It takes a toll on my mental health, the amount of comparison and competitiveness that now exists because of social media and streaming platform numbers, and that’s all on top of what has always existed: the idea that none of us are enough, that we constantly have to be in a state of impressing someone. And who is that someone? Some dude in an office who rates you on size, shape, and age, and calls it a day? Hard pass. That life almost stripped me of myself years ago; I’m deeply protective of who I am and what I make now, and I think we all should be. Let’s stop offering ourselves up to be rated."
Altar comes with a fine video directed, shot and edited by the band's Jerry Roe, once again displaying the Friendship Commanders' attachment to nineties alternative heavy rock.
On Land Of Men Buick Audra adds: "I was at a virtual conference this summer and an older white man was congratulating himself on his success in his career, and I just hit a wall with it. I considered the idea that the men who are always so impressed with themselves likely spend little-to-no time considering that it’s not as easy for everyone else. They don’t have to! They accept their privilege as fact and expect the rest of us to do the same. No. As a woman making work in Nashville, a town with an industry that is completely overrun by this make and model of person: NO. Enough. The idea that all these dudes earned what they have is laughable. And frankly, I’m over trying to work with them. When someone like me does advocate for change, they put it back in my lap as an attitude problem. It’s tiresome."
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