Family Force 5

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Family Force 5
The band standing in the Field House at Spring Arbor University on the Heart Support Tour.
The band standing in the Field House at Spring Arbor University on the Heart Support Tour.
Background information
Origin Georgia, United States
Genre(s) Christian rock[1]

Alternative Rock[2]
Crunk Rock[3][4]
Label(s) Gotee
Website http://www.familyforce5.com
Members
Solomon Olds
Jacob Olds
Joshua Olds
Nathan Currin
Derek Mount

Family Force 5 (often abbreviated FF5, formerly known as The Phamily and The Brothers) is a Christian crossover crunk rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. [5] According to an interview, Derek Mount stated "There is a major revolution taking place in this thing that we call 'Christian music,' and Family Force 5 is honored to be a part of it."[6]

Family Force 5 has played at Alive Festival, which was their very first festival, as well as Warped Tour, Creation Festival, Lifest, Rock the Light, Joshua Fest, Ichthus Music Festival, Cornerstone Florida, Portable Sounds, Purple Door, NewDay 2006, Nazarene Youth Conference 2007, Elevation 2008 and performed on the Underground stage of Cornerstone Festival in July 2006 and the main stage in 2007.[7] They also played at Rock the Universe in Universal Studios Florida in September 2007. Family Force 5 has appeared on mtvU's "The Freshman Class", DirecTV's CD USA twice (First performing Love Addict, and the second time, Kountry Gentleman), G4's Attack of the Show!, and CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 14 July 2006.[8] They have also played a concert on the one hour show "Front Row Live" on Gospel Music Channel.

A 2006 review by Andree Farias in ChristianityToday.com reported that Family Force 5 has "accomplished plenty in short time, amassing a massive army of fans through MySpace and generating buzz among critics and industry professionals ".[9]

Contents

[edit] Musical career

The three leading members of the band, Solomon, Jacob and Joshua, are all three sons of Jerome Olds, a Christian artist from the late 1980s. Growing up around music, the Olds brothers have been involved in it since a very young age. Prior to the formation of Family Force 5, the brothers were members of a "boy band" known as The Brothers, releasing Fact and Reality (1994), and RPM (1995). Both albums were released on Star Song Records, and produced by the brothers' father, Jerome Olds.[10][9]

Between the Brothers and Family Force 5 the Olds brothers had a band called Ground Noise, which they classified as "a really bad version of Third Day" Before the band chose the name Family Force 5, they had taken on the name "The Phamily". They had to change it later due to copyright issues with Prince's band, The Family.

A decade later, the brothers had teamed up with two friends, Nathan Currin and Derek Mount and taken the aliases Soul Glow Activatur, Crouton, Phatty, Nadaddy, and Chap Stique. The band signed with Maverick Records for distribution to the mainstream market before signing to Gotee Records for the Christian market. The band sought out a dual recording deal in order to better distribute their music to both the mainstream market and the Christian market.[9] According to Solomon Olds, "To me, and pretty much anybody that's under my age, most Christian music is a turnoff. I don't want to be affiliated with that. I want to be affiliated with something that is great music. I feel that Maverick and Gotee together can pull that off."[10]

Family Force along with Xanadu, their stage dancer, Tofu Puff, their merch girl, Ziploc, their manager, and Tub-O, their camera guy and editor have a series of videos called the Really Real Show. They are made for their fan base to keep them updated and give them a laugh or two. You can find these videos on their myspace or on Youtube.

Their debut album has been both disparaged and praised by Christian and non-Christian critics respectively for not containing overtly Christian content in any of its tracks (with the exception of "Peachy", which was apparently written to convert a friend to Christianity and calls God by name). Although "Love Addict," "Supersonic" and "Replace Me" are not necessarily obvious faith-based songs, they are simultaneously praised and criticized by Christian critics for their subtly Christian themes.[10][9] However, the band often does talk about singing for Jesus during their shows and occasionally one of the members (usually Phatty) leads a prayer at the end of the set.

Family Force 5 has also contributed the song "Mind's Eye" for the compilation album Freaked! A Gotee Tribute to dc Talk's "Jesus Freak". For Christmas, Family Force 5 released a few Christmas-themed audio blogs, two of which ("Christmas Carol Blog" and "Christmas Memories Blog") are available to listen to on the Unofficial PureVolume (as of 18 January 2007). They've also recorded "Grandma", a cover of Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. In March 2007, their debut album was re-released as Business Up Front, Party In The Back: Diamond Edition, which contains three previously unreleased songs.[8] Two of the three songs ("I Love You to Death" and "Never Let Me Go") are available to listen to on their PureVolume. A new unreleased song entitled "Whatcha G'on Do Wit It" has been made available for download via exclusively at the Wal-Mart music download store as an EP titled Business Up Front/Party In The Back (Diamond Edition) (Exclusive EP).[1][2] This song will also be made available on a new compilation produced by Gotee Records labeled Hip Hope 2008.[11]

They were the May/June Winner of Yahoo! Music's Who's Next?.[12]

The music video for "Never Let Me Go" was leaked on YouTube on December 9th, 2007.[citation needed] It made its world premiere at a Wesleyan convention in Orlando, FL on December 30, 2007.

Family Force 5 debuted a new song titled Fever [13] on the Heart Support Tour at Spring Arbor University. During a pre-concert, informal interview with Soul Glow, he stated that a new album will be released sometime in Fall of 2008.

The music video for "Never Let Me Go" was aired on MySpace.com March 24, 2008.[14] The video was reportedly delayed due to legal issues.[15]

Their New Album, an EP entitled Dance or Die, was released on iTunes on June 3, 2008, and previews of their new songs can be heard in concert.There are three songs on the EP; "Dance or Die", "Fever", and "Wake the Dead". "Fever" is featured in their most recent concert appearances starting in February where they ended the Heart Support Tour. The Band is currently getting ready for the 2008 Warped Tour.

[edit] Musical style

Family Force 5 uses elements of Rap, Post-hardcore, Alternative rock, Punk Rock, and club oriented Crunk.[2][16][17][18][19].

The band often cites their own style as Crunk rock.[20] Most songs contain heavy use of synthesizers and simple power chord riffs. Some songs make references to break dancing, use Crunk style loops, or a club atmosphere. The song Supersonic spells out the word Crunk in the lyrics. Many lyrics also make reference to the fact that the band is from Atlanta.

When asked about their "Love Addict" video and its relation to their Christian image, Solomon Olds states "They want Sandi Patty all over again. They want Amy Grant. And most times, it's people that don't understand new art, new videos... We want to make music that is for God, but at the same time, we want to make music that people enjoy and that they're not turned off by."[21]

[edit] Band members

[edit] Current members

  • Solomon Olds (Soul Glow Activatur) (2004-Present) - lead vocals, guitar, married to Lollipop, has a child named Cash, and is the older brother of Crouton and Fatty
  • Jacob Olds (Crouton) (2004-Present) - drums, vocals Younger brother of Soul Glow and Fatty's twin brother
  • Joshua Olds (Fatty) (2004-Present) - bass, vocals Younger brother of Soul Glow and Crouton's twin brother
  • Nathan Currin (Nadaddy) (2004-Present) - keytar, turntables, vocals, hardcore tambourine, percussion
  • Derek Mount (Chap Stique) (2005-Present) - guitar
  • Xanadu (2004-present) Stage dancer and helping hand

[edit] Former Members

Brad Allen (20 Cent)(2004-2005) - guitar

Steve Heimler (hahaha-2004?)[citation needed]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Solomon Olds is featured as a guest vocalist in the song "The Journey" of one of Showbread's new albums, Anorexia.[22]
  • Brad Allen was later replaced by Derek Mount as the group's guitarist and can be seen in their 'Kountry Gentleman' video where he signals the start of the race. He left the band to join Everyday Sunday and is currently a member of City Sleeps.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums/EPs

Album Title Date
The Phamily EP 2004
Family Force 5 EP 2005
Business Up Front/Party In the Back 2006
Business Up Front/Party In the Back: Diamond Edition 2007
"Dance or Die" EP 2008

[edit] Singles

Album Title Date
Kountry Gentleman 2005
Replace Me 2006
Luv Addict 2006
Whatcha Gonna' Do With It 2007
Face Down 2008
Fever 2008

[edit] Music videos

Year Song Album
2005 "Kountry Gentleman" Business Up Front/Party in the Back
2006 "Grandma" MySpace Exclusive (Seasonal/Christmas)
2006 "Love Addict" Business Up Front/Party in the Back
2008[23] "Never Let Me Go" Business Up Front/Party in the Back: Diamond Edition

[edit] Compilation appearances

  • 2005: Purple Door Festival 2005 Sampler, "Kountry Gentlemen"
  • 2006: Freaked! A Gotee Tribute to dcTalk's "Jesus Freak", "Mind's Eye"
  • 2007: Hip Hope 2008, "Whatcha Gonna Do With It"
  • 2007: X2008, "I Love You to Death"

[edit] References

  1. ^ Yonke, David (2008). Faith notes: Christian rockers Family Force 5 like to have fun The Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  2. ^ a b http://music.yahoo.com/ar-29222384-bio--Family-Force-5
  3. ^ Family Force 5 Artist Profile | Biography And Discography | NewReleaseTuesday.com
  4. ^ Morrison, Kaiya (2008). Family Force 5 bring ‘Skeletour’ to New Orleans. TigerWeekly.com. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  5. ^ Family Force 5 Artist Profile | Biography And Discography | NewReleaseTuesday.com
  6. ^ The Christian Pulse - Family Force 5
  7. ^ FAMILY FORCE 5 HITS THE FALL TOUR CIRCUIT WITH “BUSINESS UP FRONT, PARTY IN THE BACK” WeSpreadTheWord.net. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  8. ^ a b Tobymac Rolls Out New Project with "Portable Sounds" Tour. BreatheCast.com. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  9. ^ a b c d Farias, Andre (2006-03).Business Up Front/Party in the Back. ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
  10. ^ a b c Farias, Andree (2006-05-15). Break Dancing … With Jesus? Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-02-05
  11. ^ Rapzilla.com Hip Hope 2008 Announced
  12. ^ FAMILY FORCE 5 winner of Yahoo! Music’s “Who’s Next”
  13. ^ YouTube - Fever by Family Force 5
  14. ^ Vidéos MySpaceTV : Never Let Me Go - Family Force 5 par Family Force 5
  15. ^ Family Force 5 - Never Let Me Go Music Video????
  16. ^ Family Force 5 Biography - AOL Music
  17. ^ Family Force 5 | View the Music Artists Biography Online | VH1.com
  18. ^ Business Up Front/Party In The Back - Wal-Mart
  19. ^ family force 5 : Alternative Rock : Music : Target Search Results
  20. ^ Family Force 5 Bringing Crunk Rock From The Dirty South. Retrieved on 2-20, 2008.
  21. ^ Family Force 5, 05/15 - Interviews - Christian Music Today
  22. ^ Jesusfreakhideout.com: Showbread, "Nervosa" Review
  23. ^ Vidéos MySpaceTV : Never Let Me Go - Family Force 5 par Family Force 5