Barstool Backstage Episode 8 - Two Friends
By now everybody's probably heard of Two Friends.
If you haven't, or don't think you have, I'm willing to wager that you've actually heard them playing somewhere recently.
Their mixtapes, "The Big Bootie Mixes" have taken the world by storm and are the soundtrack to 9 out of 10 house parties, BBQs, boat parties, etc. Anywhere looking to have a good time and not have to worry about shuffling a playlist or switching the music up throws one of those babies on and they're good to go.
The actual two friends, are made up of Matt and Eli, a couple of California kids who've known each other since middle school, played in emo-bands together through high school, then formed a production team while away at different colleges.
I won't ruin their whole story for you, (WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW), but these two went from being dorm room DJ's to one of the most in demand acts in the country right now. (That's not hyperbole. I've been trying to book them for this summer for months now and I can't get a date to save my life. And I'm friends with them!)
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They played my club, FWD, last summer and brought the house down.
Dave was there and took one of the less handsome pictures of his life with 1,200 people behind him.
The Paul family was there, Bri Chickenfry, Tevo, Devlin, and over 1,000 crazed fans of theirs and it was an all-time night and party.
We had planned to do our interview post-show but between private jet departure, and logistics (and Don Julio Tequila) it didn't work out. We had to punt it to fall but then Covid happened again and it got delayed even further.
Then two weeks ago the boys were coming through Chicago and their manager Bradan (another big stoolie) reached out and asked if me and the Chicago office wanted to come to the show.
The show was at The Aragon Ballroom.
The Aragon is my personal favorite live music venue in Chicago. Making it also one of my favorite in the country.
From an acoustic standpoint, it's unmatched. Not just because of how great it sounds, but because of how unique it is.
It's a hundred-year-old building that Al Capone and friends used to throw gala's in, built out of fancy stone and woodwork decorated lavishly, with rounded cap ceilings in the main room. Picture several domed ceilings placed next to each other.
You would think it would be a nightmare for live sound but somehow it works.
And the main floor fits 5,000 people in one giant GA crowd, evenly balanced front to back and side to side in a perfect rectangle, with a mezzanine running along the entire perimeter upstairs for PERFECT sight and soundlines allowing you to get out of the crush if you prefer a more intimate experience.
As you can tell, I can't say enough good things about The Aragon.
(There's also allegedly an underground tunnel running under Aragon all the way down the block to Green Mill Tavern, Capone's old bar)
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A few of us guys in the office took them up on the offer and I floated the idea of wrapping our interview so we could put this video out.
Due to Covid restrictions in Chicago green room access is a disaster. But Bradan, their TM Ben (legend), and the rest of their team made it happen and got Harry, Tom, and I back there.
The result is the video above which I think came out great.
Matt and Eli are still the same guys they were before the sold-out tours.
Watching them go from playing college bars to sold-out, 5,000 person shows at The Aragon, with a full slate of festival dates on their calendar this summer has been awesome.
They deserve every bit of the success and with their talents, attitudes, and work ethics, this is just the beginning.
Enjoy the episode and stay tuned for more interviews coming from Barstool Backstage this spring and summer. We are lining up a bunch of shows and some festival spots.
If you're interested in having us come out to shoot, hit me up at Dante@BarstoolSports.com
Shout out to our amazing videographers and producers Tevo and Harry for all their help with this!
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Checkout Two Friends on social -
Follow them on Soundcloud and be on the lookout for "Big Bootie Mix 21" coming this summer…
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