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Five Iron Frenzy
Biography
Five Iron Frenzy
Five Iron Frenzy, the eight-piece ska-core band 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 rose like a phoenix into the Denver club scene. After booking 60 shows for themselves in their first months of existence, they began receiving attention from several established labels and ultimately signed with 5 Minute Walk Records in Concord, CA. 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 3 full-length albums ("Upbeats and Beatdowns," "Our Newest Album Ever," "Proof That The Youth Are Revolting,") and their E.P. ("Quantity is Job One"). In addition to this they have been featured on numerous compilations, and have released 2 seven inches, one independently, 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. Three of the band's releases have been on Billboard's "Heatseaker" charts, with their most recent album debuting at #6. In addition to recording, Five Iron is also renowned for their incessant touring. Having appeared in 45 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 bands like 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. Aside from their unique style of poppy ska-core and their legendary stage costumes (Star Trek, truckdriver, metalhead, and 80's jazzercise come to mind), what really sets Five Iron apart is their fans. Though it is always hard to quantify devotion, the Internet helps allude to it. The Official Five Iron Frenzy Website has received countless hits since it came on line last year, and the message board is active with over 100 daily postings, and approximately 60 separate fan pages dedicated to Five Iron. Their concerts testify to this as well: at any show it is not unusual to find several fans clad in curiously extravagant costumes or bearing handmade gifts for the band. Recently, Five Iron Frenzy released their 5th record on 5 Minute Walk, "All the Hype That Money Can Buy." Once again recording with Masaki, who has produced the bands previous releases, this album spotlights some of the best songs Five Iron has ever recorded. Also, 2 songs feature the percussion playing of Karl Perazzo, currently with Santana. Other guests on the album include; Randy Stonehill, members of The W's, and Jeff Campitelli, who plays with Joe Satriani. Five Iron Frenzy 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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