Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends

Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends
Origin Oakland, California, United States
Genres
Years active 2014–present
Labels
  • Seismic Wave Entertainment
Associated acts
Website neutronfriends.net
Members
Current members
Live members
  • Jordan Sobolew - Drums
  • Nick Erickson - Drums
  • Chris Bolig - Drums
  • Erica Strout - Guitar
  • Ryan Werner - Guitar
  • Michael Marchant - Guitar
  • Dylan Trost - Guitar
  • Evan Rowe - Guitar
  • Chris Williams - Guitar
  • Kevin Seal - Keyboards
  • Lindsey Charles - Vocals
  • Steph Donoma - Vocals

Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a rock band formed in Oakland, California in 2015 by Vocalist/Guitarist/Songwriter Conan Neutron and intended as a vehicle for his songwriting. Featuring Melvins drummer Dale Crover on drums and Tony Ash on bass. Their style is influenced by classic rock, noise rock and post-punk.

Band name

Although the first record was produced in secret, the band's name is in fact a reference to the comic series The Maxx by Sam Keith and the concept of a "Secret Friend".

A 'secret friend' is somebody in high school, an artist, or free spirit or deviant that the jock or popular kid recognizes is somebody special but will not publicly acknowledge being friends with due to social pressure.

The same person that will likely go on to do great things in the future, but in the cloistered lair of high school popularity is a "freak, nerd or weirdo." who associating with lowers one social capital.[1]

History

The band revealed itself to the world in January 2015,[2] releasing a full-length record entitled The Enemy of Everyone, a 9-song full length that featured guest vocals by Eugene Robinson of Oxbow On the song "Fight Math". the record was dedicated to Neutron's friend Clay Wofford. R.I.P. (1977-2014)

"The Butch Cassidy to my Sundance Kid, a best friend, a wild heart, an untamed beast and a cautionary tale. You truly were the enemy of everyone, and this record ... my friend, is for you." [3]

2016 brought the release of the second record Art of Murder. A record "... directly inspired by the Hannibal Lecter series of books by Thomas Harris. Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal and the fascinating interpersonal dynamics between the characters within. As well as some of the other associated material around the characters of said stories. Certain phrases are cited in the lyrical content and are done so with the utmost respect and admiration." [4]

The song "Avid Fan" was premiered on the website I Heart Noise on February 23, 2016,[5] featuring backup vocals by Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, the critical reception was positive.

Sporadic live appearances of the band began in 2016 in cities such as Chicago, Louisville, Oakland, San Francisco and elsewhere in a "UFO like appearance schedule" On September 17, 2016 Neutron gave an interview with [6] Shiny Grey Monotone

Sure, this is like my weirdo rock version of the Avengers, or something. Every player is a superstar totally capable of badass acts of heroism and power on their own, but coming together for a greater purpose. I suppose that would make me Captain America. I guess Tony Ash is Iron Man and Dale Crover is the Hulk? Wait, no Thor. Toshi Kasai is ... uh ... Nick Fury? Wait ... this is dumb.

Fall of 2016 also brought a US Tour with shows throughout the west coast and Pacific Northwest [7]

On May 15, 2017 the song "Enough Talk" was released on the digital compilation UNPRESIDENTED: DIY vs. Donald Trump.[8]

On August 6, 2017 the band released a digital single entitled "Conversion"[9] in conjunction with Bandcamp's day of action for Trans Rights,[10] the song sung by Transgendered singer Ashley Altadonna of the Glacial Speed consists of lyrical matter directly related to the controversial Conversion Therapy, a pseudo-scientific practice that tries to change an individual's sexual orientation using psychological or spiritual interventions.

Theses song was later issued on bandcamp as part of a digital ep entitled B-Sides digital compilation "Perfectly Reasonable Deviations From the Beaten Track" [11] along with a Death cover.

2018 brought the next set of Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends releases, a series of split singles entitled "Protons and Electrons"[12] [13] "The "Protons and Electrons" series is a series of twelve split singles, digital and on seven-inch, where the b-side is a band that's important to the story of Secret Friends. The reason for the name is protons and electrons and neutrons make the atom. We recorded all of our sides all at once, literally the day after our current President was elected, which was a pretty surreal time to be ... well, to be doing much of anything, like drawing breath, but especially to be making music.

For people who are into the Pokémon aspect of collecting them all, you can buy a subscription to "Protons and Electrons." When they're gone they're gong. Some of them are going to sell faster than others. And for people who don't care about any of that you can listen to it all on Bandcamp or Spotify or whatever the hell people listen to these days. And for people who like albums, but they're not single people, at the end of all of it, it's going to be compiled into two records, "Protons" on one side, "Electrons" on the other. It'll be a Secret Friends record on one side, and then a really cool comp of the other bands on the other."

Spring of 2018 brought the first "Protons and Electrons" tour covering the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest to excellent positive press with a series of announcement videos on Instagram and Facebook whose style was reminiscent of David Lynch[14] and classic infomercials.[15][16]

Music style

Conan Neutron & the Secret Friend's music style has been compared to the likes of Cheap Trick, Queens of the Stone Age, Afghan Whigs and The Minutemen among others.

"A seamless collection of the most tasty hooks, and the best delivery possible. The best in rock, and I mean that. Think about it- from Alice Cooper, to UFO, to KISS, to the Misfits, to The Melvins, to Tilts- there is a type of rock music where everything just fits, perfectly- where the production, the songwriting, the performance, heck even the tuning all just come together perfectly- that sense that everything is exactly what it's supposed to be- this record has it. There's nothing extraneous – no 3 bar solos that have to be in another key, because they won't fit, otherwise, nor jazz fakeout drum bits, nor yodelling, nor throat singing, nor funk odyssey- it's all mighty, mighty solid rock. It's beyond genre- again, like the sadly departed Tilts, this isn't cheap nostalgia for the dearly departed music from when I was 15- instead, it's trying to take the materials at hand, now- indie rock, stoner rock, sludge, noise, punk- and infusing it with a healthy dose of what made that "classic" rock classic to us, when we were 15." [17]

Live performance

Live performances by Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends feature a number of different lineups, in an interview with the Milwaukee Record, Neutron explained: [18] "Live, Dale's job is being in the Melvins. He's a pretty goddamn busy dude. They're one of the few bands in the game that tour for a living, and they put out a new record every year. That's their living. He's a father, etc. So he's not always going to be available. From a live perspective, the songs come from me, and Tony is part of the core of the band, so the thinking was, "Why don't we just grow and expand the lineup as needed and get whoever's available?" We'll get people who we know are total badasses who will treat the material with respect and put their own take on it. I've seriously lost count of how many lineups there have been. [laughs] Don't get me wrong: Nobody gets invited in that doesn't fit the oeuvre, or schtick"

Live reviews often reference that there is rock and roll music being played and that the show is both entertaining and worthwhile. "There never seemed to be a moment when Neutron was off — a perpetual showman in the best way. Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends proved that not all class clowns and creative thinkers were silenced by the Ritalin-dispensing '90s. Some of them still hit the stage and play rock music." [19]

"A human wrecking ball comprised of sequined jackets, sweat, and song, Neutron has an enthusiasm on stage that is more than infectious, it's downright plague-inducing — incurable, unstoppable. He's the Mad Cow of frontmen. You can't be satisfied with lukewarm rock after seeing Neutron play. He gets right in your head. Partly it's his showmanship. He has a great presence on stage, but mostly it's just he writes some damn good songs. "Eat the Rude" and "Quid Pro Quo" were stuck in my head long after my car ride home. In fact, they're running through my head as I write this. Catchy without being cliche and fun without being dumb, Neutron is a national treasure. He's holding on to the soul of rock n' roll with one hand and reaching out to the rest of us with the other." [20]

Discography

Year Title Label
2015 The Enemy of Everyone Seismic Wave Entertainment
2016 The Art of Murder Seismic Wave Entertainment
2017 Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track Seismic Wave Entertainment

References

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