Brian Krumm & His Barfly Friends

Brian Krumm and His Barfly Friends is a project led by Brian Krumm, front man for Chicago’s Americana-noir group The Great Crusades. The band’s debut album, Just Fade Away, was recorded with members of his regular band as well as a who’s who of Chicago music scene notables, with Crusader Christian Moder producing. Just Fade Away was released by Chicago’s Pravda Records in June 2023. Influences like Robyn Hitchcock, the Jayhawks, Warren Zevon, and Dylan shine through all the material on Just Fade Away with Krumm’s storytelling at the forefront. The single “City That Care Forgot,” an ode to New Orleans, debuted on Pravda Records in May 2025.The lineup of the Barfly Friends includes Jessie Hotaling (vocals), Brian Hunt (bass), Brian Leach (guitars, keyboards, vocals), Krumm, and Christian Moder (drums, vocals), with a rotating cast of special guests from the Chicago music scene sitting in frequently.What the Critics Had to Say about Just Fade Away by Brian Krumm and His Barfly FriendsThis is a gorgeous record, where the songs that hit hardest, that insinuate themselves as open questions, change by the day, but each one seems to send down deeper roots, and come up with more history—personal, social, mythical—every time you play it.—Greil Marcus (Rolling Stone, Creem, Village Voice)The 11-song collection produced by Christian Moder and Brian Krumm is a delight with tunes like “Never Do as I’m Told,” excellently performed. —John Apice (Americana Highways)Krumm, who cites influences ranging from the Jayhawks and Warren Zevon to Bob Dylan, has a gravelly voice that at times recalls artists like David Johansen, Tom Waits and Garland Jeffreys. Among the well-hooked numbers are “Barfly Friends,” a ballad that looks back affectionately on a past relationship and the rocking, organ-spiced “Back in My Old Neighborhood,” in which Krumm revisits assorted haunts and concludes “nothing much has changed, except for me.” —Jeff Burger (theaquarian.com)

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