Five Iron Frenzy
Learn more about Five Iron Frenzy
| Five Iron Frenzy
<tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:FiF Logo.png Five Iron Frenzy's logo </td></tr>
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| Background information
<tr><td>Also known as</td><td colspan="2">Five Iron, FIF</td></tr><tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">Image:Flag of USA.svg Denver, Colorado, USA</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Christian ska, third-wave ska</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1995-2003</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">Five Minute Walk, Asian Man Records</td></tr><tr><td textalign="top" style="padding-right: 1em;">Associated |
Five Iron Frenzy (also known as Five Iron or FIF) was a Christian ska band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1996 and disbanded in 2003.
The band's music was most heavily influenced by ska and punk rock, but influences also include third-wave ska and heavy metal. The band was signed to 5 Minute Walk in 1996, and stayed with the label for all eight of its albums.
The band never received any significant music industry awards, and received relatively little attention in mainstream media. Their biggest national exposure came when a song by the band appeared on the TV series Boston Legal in October 2005.<ref>http://www.boston-legal.org/3-nimmo/ep3-nimmo.shtml</ref>
They often performed their concerts while wearing full costumes. On one tour, they told fans to bring sock puppets on stage and help sing along. The socks were then donated to a local homeless shelter. Their fanbase was diverse, ranging from the socially and religiously outcast to the parents of teenage fans.
Recurring lyrical themes included the continuing injustices done to Native Americans, the evils of consumerism, Christian hypocrisy and homophobia, the shortcomings of the band, and the joy of finding renewal in their religious faith.
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[edit] History
Five Iron Frenzy started as a side-project of Roper, Hoerig, Ortega, and Kerr's band Exhumator. Never taking themselves too seriously, the band's name began as an inside joke. Although the original intent was for the band to stay local, Five Iron Frenzy signed to Frank Tate's 5 Minute Walk records in 1996 and was touring nationally within a year.
In 1998, songwriter and lead guitarist Scott Kerr left the band on friendly terms and started his own project, Yellow Second. Kerr had written or co-written most songs on the first three full-length releases. After he left, the band began to explore a wider variety of musical influences, incorporating diverse influences such as Latin and swing music.
Kerr's final appearance and the introduction of replacement Sonnie Johnston (of Jeffries Fan Club) occurred at the album release party for the band's first EP, Quantity is Job 1, on November 3, 1998 at the Aztlan Theater in Denver, Colorado.
Culp's musical direction became prominent, although the composition duties were spread somewhat amongst band members. Production and engineering for every album was led by Masaki "Saki" Liu at his One Way Studio. After the release of Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo, FIF's sound leaned more towards horn-tinged hard rock than ska, although all of the original horns were still intact.
They reached the peak of their popularity around 2000, with the release of All The Hype That Money Can Buy. They played their final show on November 22, 2003 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado, which was recorded. This show had an attendance of over 4,000 people.[citation needed]
On their final tour, Roper continued his habit of forgetting entire verses to many concert standards. After clarifying that instead of "breaking up" they were "quitting," Five Iron's final 60 concerts were named the Winners Never Quit Tour.
[edit] Origin of the band's name
An excerpt from an interview between Jesusfreakhideout.com and Keith Hoerig appear below:
Jesus freak Hideout: What's the story behind the name "Five Iron Frenzy"?
Keith Hoerig: We got the name Five Iron Frenzy from a roommate of most of ours. He was kind of paranoid, and afraid that if he went outside on this particular night he was going to get jumped by some people. He had a golf club to defend himself and he said something to the effect of it being like "putter mayhem". Scott looked at the golf club he was holding, and noting that it was a five iron said, "No, more like a Five Iron Frenzy." The name stuck.<ref> http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/interviews/FiveIron.asp An interview with Keith Hoerig on April 15, 2000.</ref>
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
 (July 1996) 7" vinyl |
 (November 1996) |
 (1998) 7" vinyl |
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 (1998) 7" vinyl |
 (November 3, 1998) Extended Play |
 (November 1999) - live album |
(2000) 7" vinyl, Philmore(Our Finest Hour) split |
 (April 22, 2003) anthology of unreleased and joke songs |
 (June 18, 2003) |
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 (April 2004) live album (final show) |
[edit] Charts
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Album | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Our Newest Album Ever! | The Billboard 200 | 176 |
| 1999 | Proof That The Youth Are Revolting | The Billboard 200 | 190 |
| 2000 | All The Hype That Money Can Buy | The Billboard 200 | 146 |
| 2004 | The End Is Near | Top Heatseekers | 13 |
[edit] Lineup
- Reese Roper - Lead Vocals
- Micah Ortega - Lead Guitar, Vocals
- Sonnie Johnston - Guitar
- Keith Hoerig - Bass
- Andy Verdecchio - Drums, Vocals
- Nathanael "Brad" Dunham - Trumpet
- Dennis Culp - Trombone, Vocals
- Leanor "Jeff the Girl" Ortega - Saxophone, Vocals
[edit] Former member
- Scott Kerr - Guitar, Vocals
[edit] Related projects
- Exhumator - a garage-metal band made up of Reese Roper, Keith Hoerig, Micah Ortega, and Scott Kerr. Five Iron Frenzy originally started as a side project of Exhumator. They released the song "Spam Jam" on the compilation Green Manna (Fifty280 Records).
- Brave Saint Saturn - a studio side-project which has released two parts of a trilogy of albums telling the story of stranded astronauts.
- Guerilla Rodeo - a short-lived pop punk band consisting of members of Five Iron Frenzy (Reese Roper and Sonnie Johnston), Ace Troubleshooter (John Warne and Josh Abbot) and the OC Supertones (Ethan Luck). The band recorded a three-song EP before the members moved on to other projects.
- Roper - released the album Brace Yourself for the Mediocre on 5 Minute Walk Records. Have since disbanded.
- Yellow Second - included Scott Kerr and Andrew Verdecchio; broke up in late 2005.
- Dennis Culp - trombone player Dennis Bayne Culp released one album, Ascents, under this name. The album contains an acoustic guitar and vocal interpretation of certain Psalms.
- Dance Mexican Dance - saxophonist Leanor Jeff the Girl Ortega-Till was briefly involved in an electronica project alongside husband Stephen Till, who was the rhythm guitarist for Roper. Dance Mexican Dance has since been renamed His Love Fellowship.
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
[edit] Related projects
| Five Iron Frenzy |
| Reese Roper - Keith Hoerig - Micah Ortega - Dennis Culp - Andrew Verdecchio - Leanor "Jeff" Ortega - Nathanael "Brad" Dunham - Sonnie Johnson - Scott Kerr |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums and EPs: All the Hype That Money Can Buy - Brad Is Dead - Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo - It's Funny, but Not Very Creative - Miniature Golf Courses of America - Our Newest Album Ever! - Quantity Is Job 1 - The End Is Near - Upbeats and Beatdowns |
| Live albums: Proof That the Youth Are Revolting - The End Is Here |
| B-Sides: Cheeses...(of Nazareth) |
