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Home: F : Five
Iron Frenzy : Biography
Biography (courtesy
of Five Minute Walk Records)
Five Iron Frenzy, the octet from Denver,
Colorado, has been attracting passionate and eclectic fans
since their inception in 1995. Formed out of the unlikely
ashes of an industrial/thrash band called Exhumator, Five
Iron Frenzy quickly made a name for themselves in the Denver
club scene. After playing 60 shows in their first few months
of existence, they began receiving attention from several
established labels and ultimately signed with 5 Minute
Walk Records in Concord, CA, which released their debut
album in late 1996 entitled "Upbeats and
Beatdowns".
According to a writer at The Boston
Globe, Five Iron Frenzy creates music which "captures the tangy, horn-soaked
spirit of ska, while spotlighting a terrific singer and a
positive religious message". Evidence of this can be
found on their 4 full-length albums ("Upbeats and Beatdowns," "Our
Newest Album Ever," "Proof That The Youth Are Revolting," "All
the Hype That Money Can Buy") and their E.P. ("Quantity
is Job One"). In addition to this they have been featured
on numerous compilations, and have released 3 seven inches,
one independently, one on 5 Minute Walk, and one on Asian
Man Records.
These releases have helped Five Iron
to gain the respect of music lovers everywhere, and have
helped the band to enjoy both critical and commercial successes.
Phantom Tollbooth magazine said FIF's last album, "All the Hype … ",
was "Unbelievable … and could well go down in
history as one of the greatest Christian albums of all time." Real
Magazine, speaking of the same album commented that FIF had "[proved]
their staying power as an innovative and prophetic band." And
their forthcoming album "Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric
Boogaloo," promises to be their best. The band is more
focused, energetic, and aggressive than ever before. Musically
landing somewhere in between the rawness of Rocket from the
Crypt and the melodiousness of Chicago, "Electric Boogaloo," which
comes out Nov 20 on 5 Minute Walk Records, will certainly
earn them more critical accolades.
And FIF's success is not limited only
to the realm of the critics. With the release of "Electric Boogaloo" FIF
will have sold over 500,000 copies of their 6 CD's. This
has helped most of the band's releases to appear on Billboard
Magazine's "Heatseeker" chart, with their last
album debuting at #6. In addition, they have broken into
Billboard's Top 200 in the past, and hope to again with the
release of "Electric Boogaloo," which will please
long time fans of the band as well as help them gain new
ones.
In addition to recording, Five Iron
is also renowned for their incessant touring. Besides having
appeared in 46 of the 50 states, they have also crossed
international boundaries to bring their music to fans in
Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. They
participated in the "Ska Against
Racism" tour with the likes of Less Than Jake, The Toasters,
The Blue Meanies, Mustard Plug and MU330, and have also toured
with bands such as The Supertones, The W's, The Mad Caddies,
and Switchfoot. In addition, the band has also performed
spot dates with an diverse variety of bands including Face
To Face, The Hippos, MxPx, The Pilfers, Buck-o-nine, Sixpence
None the Richer, POD, Tilt, The Pietasters, Save Ferris,
and many others. The energy of their live show was certainly
one of the factors in helping them to win the readers choice
award for "Best local ska band" from their home
town arts and entertainment weekly, Westword, for 2 years
running.
The bands fans can catch one of Five
Iron's energetic live performances this Fall as they will
be headlining the 2 month long, nationwide, "Electric Youth Tour." Also
featuring Relient K, Ace Troubleshooter, John Rueben, and
Issac, this tour promises to be one of FIF's best live
performances. The band is excited to be on the road again
showcasing their new material and, with top notch production,
FIF should please both old and new fans alike with their
live show.
With the release of Five Iron Frenzy2: Electric Boogaloo,
Five Iron will continue to earn the respect of their fans
and peers, to create crowd rousing, lyrically thoughtful
songs, and to remain honest examples of ordinary people wrestling
with life and faith.
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