For Kyle Fasel, bassist of Chicago band Real Friends, being in a band is more than just playing music; it’s about connecting with fans and helping people’s lives through music.

“When we play shows and our singer Dan is singing or we’re getting in close with the crowd and screaming the lyrics back with them there is a connection you can’t even explain you can’t get it from a paycheck or anything, it is so rewarding,” Fasel said. “There’s kids out there that have told us our music and other bands are all that they have. That’s the only thing that gets them through their day and it’s really a great thing to be a part of and we are really grateful for that.”

Real Friends is a five-piece aggressive pop punk band who combine influences from Brand New, Saves The Day and the Starting Line to produce their high energy upbeat sound. The band started in 2010 and consists of Kyle Fasel- bass, Dave Knox- guitar, Dan Lambton- vocals, Brian Blake- drums and Eric Haines- guitar.

“We all listen to a lot of different stuff but those are kind off the three middle ground bands we can all get influence from,” Fasel said.

This past June the band released their third Ep ‘Put Yourself Back Together’ and after taking a short break from touring all summer they are back on tour across the nation with band Pentimento from Buffalo, NY, Forever Came Calling from Twentynine Palms, Calif. and Mix Tapes from Cincinnati, Ohio.

On Oct. 10 the band rock the stage at the Jackpot Saloon located at 943 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS where they received an ecstatic response from the audience with crowd surfing and circle pits.

“The response has been great we’ve played pretty much all over the U.S. and we were in Canada not too long ago and we’re going to the UK soon and every time we play kids are singing along and jumping around so it’s really rewarding,” Fasel said.

For more information find Real Friends on their website at: www.realfriendsband.com which has links to all of their various social networking accounts.