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BIO

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Public Universal Friend (PUF) is an Portland, Oregon-based rock band led by trans frontman Jody Galadriel Friend, combining the sounds of Appalachian folk and post-punk, with threads of 90’s indie rock and stoner doom, and have become a central fixture in the Portland queer music scene since transplanting from Indianapolis, IN in 2025.

PUF’s 2026 record Take a Witches Pleasure is a supernatural foray into an aggrieved ire-laden tumult of shimmery post-hardcore sludge metal, leaning hard into the shadow work of being a working class trans American from the South transplanted across the country, grappling with themes of betrayal, the bleak disposition of the choice-lessness of surviving through loss of environmental security, and the reclamation of inner power hard fought and wholly self-given. Through the helplessness comes a self-possession all its own in its initial singles, “Crush,” “Trauma Del Rey,” and “Hermaphrodyke Hex,” hinged upon the narrative of “Smoky Mountain Witchcraft” being an analog for the plight and might of the southern trans woman, hated, but desired; mythologized, yet feared.

Friend’s 2023 record Chrysalis is a vindictive queering of Friend’s native Appalachian sound, pairing the bold romance and profound grief of southern gothic deconstruction. Since its live debut, the lead single, “Jesus, Pt. 1‘” became a queer ex-vangelical anthem, spoken to those ostracized by the southern culture of bigotry, having dogmatically cast trans folks as “an abomination” to which Friend leans in and nearly whispers, “then I guess I’ll see you all in hell.” Chrysalis gives credence to a range of emotionalism found in the pursuit of love, authenticity, and integration that only Public Universal Friend can deliver. The release includes singles such as hymn-like a cappella opening track ‘Mama, In Your Arms,’ the low fidelity bedroom rock classic “Horrorscope”, in collaboration with Madeleine Jurkiewicz of Joyful Noise’s Lily + Madeleine, and the oldest song on the record ‘War,’ written when Friend was only 19.

Preceding this trio of mutlidisciplinary sonic endeavors, Friend led a decade-plus solo career, culminating in her 2021 release Perennials, the earthy art rock opus, serving as a coming out record, serving as a touchstone coming out record for Friend, who disclosed her gay trans womanhood in tandem with its release.

Since the release, Friend galvanized her place as a beloved mother figure in the Portland, Oregon and Indianapolis queer music scene with her live band including up to eight members, whose queer representing, woman-empowering, fashion forward, socially angsty dynamism, having earned them attention from NPR, Americana Music Association via Amythyst Kiah, Secretly Canadian, Indy Pride, Pattern (fashion magazine), and Music in Transit, even becoming the first trans-led act to be featured on the London-based Mahogany Sessions global video campaign with OnePlus.

Since their debut, the extensive community of the music, art, and fashion scenes have led to the inception of a solid, supportive, and spirited audience spreading throughout the Midwest and South, with new endeavors across the West Coast.

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“…an incredible coming out album.” – NPR

“… a maternal goth folk icon” – NUVO

“Understanding that feeling of what it’s like to come out and live your truth openly, after you felt like you had to hide it for a long time… it’s liberating and wonderful to see and hear (PUF) be able to do that. Her new record sounds like something I would’ve bought and obsessed over in high school, but it still has a modern and forward thinking feel. It’s nostalgic, without feeling dated.” – Amythyst Kiah for Americana Music Association

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