Photo credit: Brendan Henault
In This Band, You've Got a Friend (and a Stranger)
Friend and Stranger of Blood Daubers may be Kansas City's most dangerous duo. The mysterious bandana-masked bandits have been hitting heavy with their singular brand of blues-infused riff rock since 2018. Each short song packs a wallop that will have you banging your head and stomping your feet at the same time. With each release -- from their debut album, 2021's 'Renegades and Delusions,' to their newest single, 'Blood Wolf' -- Blood Daubers manage to give their fans the signature sound that they've come to love while still defying expectations (and having a lot of fun in the process).
When they're not playing festivals such as Greaserama (Tracy, MO) or Rock on Prairie Fest (Dwight, KS), you can frequently find them at their favorite venues, Sk8bar of Saint Joe, and Gaslight and Kaw Valley Public House of Lawrence.
Follow Blood Daubers on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
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Describe the Blood Daubers sound is six words or fewer.
Apocalyptic Bar Rock
Give me a brief summary of the Blood Daubers origin story. How did you meet and begin creating music together? How has your approach to your music evolved since then?
We met as humans destined for failure and learned how to help each other. We became a Friend and a Stranger to ourselves. Our approach to music has always been to have fun and challenge each other and ourselves.
What does a typical songwriting session look like?
One of us brings a terrible idea and the other fixes it, or magic hour jam that spawns something in the moment. And a fair bit of yelling. Art is a passion.
What other artists or styles inspire and influence you as an artist? How do you find that these show up in your work?
The body of work from Tom Waits surpasses accolades. It’s his world, we’re just living in it.
The Stooges, Grandfunk Railroad, MC5 and the raw energy they exude will always fuel us.
Coleman, Mingus, Davis, Jimmy Rodgers, Son House, Beatles, Dylan, and many more artists influence us to some degree. Little tidbits here and there. One of us might come to the other and say “I’ve got this kinda Dylan meets Mingus thing going.” And by the time that song is either finished or thrown away, it will sound nothing like Dylan or Mingus.
You released your latest single, "Blood Wolf," in June. Does this mean we’ll be getting a second album soon?
The goal is to have fun and create something you love. If anyone else enjoys our next album, single, EP, movie, 3 part mini-series, radio play, coffee table book, that’s just icing on the cake.
What can a concertgoer expect from a live Blood Daubers performance?
You will have an irresistible urge to stomp your feet and bob your head while two guys in masks play everything from cocktail hour piano ballads to heavy downtuned riff rock.
Blood Daubers’ recommendations from the Johnson County Library catalog:
Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles
Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
Iron Heel by Jack London
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
For more, check out this Bibliocommons list.