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More addictive than a bag of Hershey Kisses and more explosive than Three Mile Island, Friction Broadcast is the biggest thing to come out of central Pennsylvania since Bret Michael's hair. Band members Anthony Lovari (vocals), Rick Johns (guitar), Fran Johns (bass) and Casey Kraynak (drums) have brought their diverse musical influences together to create a sound both completely unique and broadly accessible. Inspired by such artists as MUSE, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots and Radiohead, Friction Broadcast's live performances are known for their original songs and for covering some of the group's favorite artists.
Friction Broadcast formed nearly three years ago as Collateral after brothers Rick and Fran Johns placed an ad in the local paper looking for a drummer. Casey Kraynak answered the ad and was invited to join the group after playing only one song with the brothers. When talk of finding a vocalist began Casey recommended Anthony Lovari, a friend for 14 years he had performed with previously throughout high school. Anthony showed up at the audition and the band had found their voice.
As the group's sound and performing style began to evolve the members felt that a name change was also in order, and more than a year ago they officially re-named themselves Friction Broadcast .
"When we originally formed Collateral we had a very hard-driving sound," said Rick Johns, the older of the group's founding brothers. "As our compositions became more melodic and layered we decided on a name that better reflected that."
RICK JOHNS – Guitar
Rick Johns has been playing guitar for 21 years. Growing up on classic rock, Johns taught himself to sound like all of his guitar god heroes. He still counts his biggest influences as Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix as well as more contemporary performers such as Joe Satriani, Matt Bellamy of MUSE and John Petrucci from Dream Theater.
FRAN JOHNS – Bass
Fran Johns taught himself to play the bass guitar 14 years ago. Johns' influences range widely from jazz artist Christian McBride, to jazz/funk bassist Victor Wooten from Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, to Dave Matthew's Band bassist Stefan Lessard.
CASEY KRAYNAK – Drums
Casey Kraynak began his drum training more than 15 years ago and while he has played everything from classical to jazz to rock his favorite artists feature hard-driving beats such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, TOOL and Rage Against the Machine.
ANTHONY LOVARI – Vocals
Anthony Lovari has been singing professionally with various groups and productions for the past 15 years. His favorite vocalists include John Lennon, Bono and Matt Bellamy from MUSE, while his biggest songwriting influences are classic rock and contemporary British rock sounds.
View Friction Broadcast's EPK
CURRENTLY, FRICTION BROADCAST IS BEING PLAYED ON 97.3 WRVV'S HOMEGROWN SHOW SUNDAY NIGHTS!
FRICTION BROADCAST IS ALSO BEING PLAYED ON 105.7 THE X'S UNDER THE RADAR WHICH CAN ALSO BE HEARD ON SUNDAY EVENING'S!
PLEASE CALL IN TO REQUEST FRICTION BROADCAST!
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Press:
Published: May 2008
Story: Jeff Royer
Photo: Press photo
The members of Friction Broadcast are a lot of things to a lot of people. They’re the closest thing Central PA has to its own Muse. They’re ex-members of a cover band. They’re brothers, sons, old high school buddies.
But most importantly, says singer Anthony Lovari, “we are hitmen fighting off ninjas.” Or at least that’s the role the band plays in the independent film “Fight The Panda Syndicate,” out later this year.
For a bunch of assassins, these guys know their way around a rock song. Inspired equally by modern-day prog-rockers (The Mars Volta, Radiohead) and mid-’90s rock staples (Stone Temple Pilots, Sevendust), Friction Broadcast churns out grinding, gray-toned American rock anthems served up with a big, British pinky in the air. The end result is a mish-mash of high art and middle-ground radio rock that, depending on which kind of music you prefer, can make your snob-o-meter go completely haywire. Some songs sound alarmingly like Muse, from the chord progression to the vocal cadence, while others could be lost tracks from a Default album. And, just to show that nothing’s impossible, some songs actually manage to sound like both.
“We honestly feel that everything has been done before,” Lovari explains. “We’re tired of the same old shit, and these bands that have influenced us as a group have really helped to give us an outlet to be creative and original with our sound and writing.”
Formerly known as Collateral, Friction Broadcast formed about three years ago when brothers Rick and Fran Johns – both of whom were moonlighting on the cover band circuit as part of the amyKband – began recruiting members for an original project. After answering the call, drummer Casey Kraynak recommended Lovari as a vocalist, and a band was born.
Since re-christening itself as Friction Broadcast last year, the band has experienced relatively quick success. “It’s exciting, at times chaotic, most of the time enjoyable,” Lovari quips. “The fans have been digging the music and the word has been getting out there. As an original band in the area, you always find yourself on the outside looking in, but the more we meet people, the more we find out that people [already] know who we are.”
The band’s profile will be raised further in the coming months thanks to an industry showcase at New York’s Bitter End and the release of “Fight the Panda Syndicate,” for which Friction Broadcast also provides the title track. The band also has 12-15 tracks written for a full-length album; however, as Lovari explains, “due to an unsuccessful run with Pennsylvania State Lottery Association, our budget has pushed back the recording of a full-length album until the summer.”
“We are as serious as a heart attack,” he says of the band’s ambitions. “We have some great opportunities that lie ahead. With the help of [managers] Rogue Stork Entertainment, we are positive that Friction Broadcast is a name that people will hear a lot more of.”
Friction broadcast: On set with Fight the Panda Syndicate
