There are three bands named Friend

1. Band history

The band Friend hails from the Soer-Troendelag region of Norway, and was formed around lead singer, guitarist and songwriter Tore André Helgemo, initially going by the name of Freeland. By January 2005, Freeland had evolved into Friend, drummer Per Ole Iversen and bassist Baard Dahle having joined along the way. With the arrival of lead guitarist William Ernstsen in March 2005, the present day line-up was complete.

Gigging frequently alongside writing, rehearsing and recording their own material, the band self-financed its debut EP, “Window to the World”, which saw the light of day in the early summer of 2006, to favourable reviews in the Norwegian press and on various websites. The recording of a video for the EP’s lead track, “Push Me”, would incidentally lead to an unexpected blast of publicity in Trondheim’s leading newspaper, Adresseavisa, as bloggers debated furiously back and forth whether recording your music video in a memorial ground for war veterans actually makes the band in question sacrilegious, satanic and whatnot. One listen to the band’s music and lyrics should certainly settle the issue with any intelligent rock fan out there.

Further developing their writing and live act following this, the band entered Nidaros recording studios in early 2007 to record a new single, with experienced engineer and co-producer Rune Nordal at the controls. “So Now You’re Leaving”, released February 2007 as a single, has generated extensive airplay for Friend, as has an interview and live appearance on Norwegian nationwide radio.

Inspiration and future aspirations

Altogether, the musicians in Friend have an accumulated experience of nearly 100 years in rock and roll. The likes of Led Zeppelin, Rainbow and Van Halen laid down the foundation for the classic rock music that Friend proves is as relevant and powerful as ever. The band is currently recording its first full album at Nidaros studios in Trondheim, with a tentative release set for spring 2008. In the meantime, the band continues to play live, as well as promoting itself towards websites and online music communities, the rock press and potential record labels and distribution partners.

2. An electronic artist and remixer from Sweden, real name Magnus Åström.

3. A young male model born in 1987 half Japanese half Canadian working as a graphic artist in London started Friend in January of 2008. He started the project as a mash-up, electro, indie Dj and moved onto personally composed songs. Jesse Kanda aka Leo Lightbeam is Friend. The music style is post funk, disco house, tango, and surf.

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