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Draft:The Funeral Portrait

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The Funeral Portrait
Lee Jennings and Homer Umbanhower, live in concert, September 2023
Background information
OriginAtlanta, Georgia
Genresemo • hardcore • punk rock
LabelsBetter Noise Music • Revival Recordings
MembersLee Jennings • Cody Weissinger • Caleb Freihaut • Robert Weston • Homer Umbanhower

The Funeral Portrait is an American emotional hardcore band hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. The group formed in 2014 and currently consists of Lee Jennings (vocals), Cody Weissinger (guitar), Caleb Freihaut (guitar/auxillary), Robert Weston (bass) and Homer Umbanhower (drums).[1] Their musical style has been described as a blend of emotional hardcore, punk rock, and musical theater, with lead singer and frontman Lee Jennings sometimes defining their sound on social media as a blend of bands such as My Chemical Romance, Ghost, and Motionless In White.[2]

The Funeral Portrait's lyrics are emotional, touching on topics such as mental health, depression, love, and anger.[3] In an interview with Technique magazine, frontman Lee Jennings elaborated on his lyrical approach, saying: “I think it’s important to have music that actually represents true feeling. True emotions and true self [...] There [are] a lot of people out there that I think it makes them feel better about themselves to know that they’re not the only ones struggling with something.”[4]

Formerly known by the moniker “Cosmoscope” before becoming The Funeral Portrait, they released a cover of NSYNC’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.”[5] After changing to their current name, the band released their first EP For the Dearly Departed in late 2014 and their subsequent LP A Moment of Silence in 2016, both under Revival Recordings: exploring, respectively, the stages of grief on the EP and what happens after you die on the LP.[6] They have since been signed to Better Noise Music, releasing their EP Sounds from Beyond the Abyss, Vol. 1 in 2023 that includes a cover of "Mad World" by Gary Jules and also their rendition of "Creep" by Radiohead, which was released as a single prior to the EP in partnership with the Hot Topic Foundation.[7]

Several of their most recent singles have debuted with music videos revealing “icon” characters that have become representative of the band. "The Icons" include The Alien in the song “Alien,” The Angel pierced with arrows in the song “Voodoo Doll,” The Guide in the song “Dark Thoughts,” and The Night Terror in the song “Generation Psycho.”[8]

The group has played live shows alongside many notable artists, including Underoath, Starset, Escape the Fate and August Burns Red, as well as being the opening act for such bands as Shinedown, Skillet, Ice Nine Kills, PVRIS, and Issues.[9] Currently, they are set to be an opening act for Five Finger Death Punch and Marilyn Manson on their upcoming 2024 North American summer tour.[10] Their own live shows, nicknamed by the band and their fanbase as "Devotion Ceremonies," utilize intricately designed sets, stages, and characters ("The Icons"), with the band showcasing vibrant energy in their sound and enticing their audience visually with darkly theatrical aesthetics.

Community[edit]

The band's members have stated that they aim to make their community a safe space for all marginalized groups, including the LGBTQ+ community; as frontman Lee Jennings details on The Jesea Lee Show podcast: unlike The Funeral Portrait, many bands in their genre are afraid to speak out on behalf of the Queer community.[11] Jennings and his bandmates actively interact with their fans, dubbed the "Coffin Crew",[12] by using social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and their X account (formerly Twitter) to share snippets of their life on tour: including stage photos, concert video, behind-the-scenes stories, and travel adventures. In one tweet, Jennings mentions that The Funeral Portrait is currently in its second phase, named TFP 2.0, revealing that up until 2019 the band as a whole served as a test run, since he was unsure if the project was his true calling in life. However, after seeing a rise in popularity and a cult following emerge, TFP 2.0 stands as "turning it up to 11."[13]

Controversy[edit]

During live shows, band members Freihaut and Weston will regularly share a kiss on stage as part of their performance, a gesture aptly named "the kiss." Jennings took to X after a show to explain a confrontation he had with someone who shared their disdain for "the kiss," stating "people like this do not belong here and [...] it just makes us want to kiss even harder," thereby showing the band's unwavering commitment to being a safe space for all.[14] In one particularly high profile incident, the band was removed as an opening act from a larger artist's tour because said artist (unnamed by the band) would not endorse "the kiss" portion of The Funeral Portrait's performance. [15] However, in a show of further solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, the band doubled down after the cancellation by releasing a t-shirt design that says "I Love When Emo Boys Kiss."[16]

Discography[edit]

2014-2019 (TFP 1.0)[edit]

2020-Present (TFP 2.0)[edit]

Charting Singles[edit]

Title Year Peak chart positions
US
Main.
[17]
"Suffocate City" (feat. Spencer Charnas) 2024 37

References[edit]

  1. ^ Salinas, Sloan (2024-02-09). "True emotions: Meet the Funeral Portrait". Technique. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  2. ^ Listen to this… #mychemicalromance #motionlessinwhite #ghost #newmusic #thefuneralportrait. Retrieved 2024-07-14 – via www.youtube.com.
  3. ^ "The Artist Spotlight: The Funeral Portrait". 97.7 QLZ. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  4. ^ Salinas, Sloan (2024-02-09). "True emotions: Meet the Funeral Portrait". Technique. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  5. ^ "It's Gonna Be Me (Nsync cover), by Cosmoscope". Cosmoscope. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  6. ^ "Search: the funeral portrait | Bandcamp". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  7. ^ "The Funeral Portrait release their cover of "Creep" by Radiohead in partnership with the Hot Topic Foundation". 16 June 2023.
  8. ^ https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+funeral+portrait
  9. ^ "THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT". SRO PR. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  10. ^ Walsh, Kelly (2024-05-01). "Emo Rockers THE FUNERAL PORTRAIT To Join Five Finger Death Punch, Marilyn Manson, & Slaughter To Prevail on Summer N. American Tour". SRO PR. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  11. ^ Lee, Jesea (2023-12-01). The Jesea Lee Show: The Funeral Portrait loves when emo boys kiss, Hot Topic, rebranding active rock, LiveNation, TikTok (23:16-25:22 timestamp) (Podcast). Retrieved 2024-07-15 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Salinas, Sloan (2024-02-09). "True emotions: Meet the Funeral Portrait". Technique. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
  13. ^ "Lee Jennings mentions TFP 1.0 and TFP 2.0 in X post".
  14. ^ "Lee Jennings on the band's X account denouncing a homophobic encounter at a live show".
  15. ^ https://x.com/TFP_devotion/status/1670194500973608961
  16. ^ "The Funeral Portrait Emo Boys Kiss T-Shirt". Hot Topic. Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  17. ^ "Mainstream Rock Airplay: Week of July 13, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
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