Family Force 5
(often abbreviated FF5
, formerly known as The Family
and The Brothers
) is a Christian band from Atlanta, Georgia. [1]
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FAMILY FORCE 5 TICKETS
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Early History and The Family (1993-2003)
Family Force 5 is from and was formed in Atlanta, Gerogia. The three leading members of the band, Soul Glow Activatur, Phatty and Crouton, are sons of
Jerome Olds, a Christian artist from the late 1980s. 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 their father.
[2] [3]
Between the Brothers and Family Force 5 the brothers had a band called Ground Noise, which they classified as "a really bad version of
Third Day."
[4] 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 band signed with
Maverick Records for distribution to the mainstream market before signing to
Gotee Records for the Christian market. Under the name "The Phamily" the band sought out a dual recording deal in order to better distribute their music to both the mainstream market and the Christian market.
According to Soul Glow Activatur, "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."
Family Force 5 (2004-2006)
On March 21, 2006 the band released their first full length Album
Business Up Front/Party in the Back which was an instant hit in both the Christian and Mainstream markets. Spawning several hit singles such as "Love Addict" and Earthquake.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). 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.
[5]
Mainstream Success (2006-2007)
During this time Family Force 5 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. They also recorded "Grandma", a cover of
Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. Also a new unreleased song entitled "Whatcha Gonna Do With It" was made available for download exclusively at the Wal-Mart music download store.
[6] Recently another unreleased song "Master of Disguise" has been posted on Youtube however due to mixed fan reaction to the song it was never slated for release.
The band also toured extensively around this time building up their fan base and building a reputation of wild energetic live act that helped thrust them into headlining shows throughout the US.
Dance or Die (2008)
In June 2008 the band released an EP entitled
The Dance or Die - EP
to debut three songs from their upcoming album
Dance or Die the songs were; "Dance or Die", "Fever", and "Wake the Dead". On August 19, 2008 the full length album was released taking on a more club orientated mix than
Business Up Front/Party in the Back and less Guitars. The full-length album,
Dance or Die,
received a favorable review in
World Magazine
.
[7]
Blake Soloman of AbsolutePunk.net had the following to say about the album;
"Even though Family Force 5 may be the musical equivalent of mixing Mentos and Coke – lots of build up for something that only ever happens one way – I find myself oddly pleased with Dance or Die."
Dance Or Die sold 17,000 copies in its first week and came in at 30 on the
Billboard 200. By the end of January the album had sold over 50,000 units and during early 2009 the band embarked on the AP tour from march to May promoting the album and headling concerts throughout the US.
[8]
Dance Or Die with a Vengance (2009)
In May 2009 The band debuted their remix album of
Dance or Die (Family Force 5 album);
Dance or Die With A Vengeance. It featured remixes by
The Secret Handshake, Sean Foreman of
3OH!3,
Danger Radio, Jasen Rauch of
Red, Matt Thiessen of
Relient K, David Crowder of
David Crowder Band and Alex Suarez of
Cobra Starship.
[8] The first single, "The First Time" (Matt Theissen from Relient K Remix), was released on the band's MySpace page on April 13, 2009. The second single, Get Your Back Off the Wall (Sean from 3oh!3 remix), was released on Altpress.
Around this time Soul Glow Activatur also created a remix of the song "Best Night of Our Lives" by Everyday Sunday.
Musical style
Family Force 5 uses elements of
rap,
post-hardcore,
alternative rock,
punk rock, and club oriented
crunk,
electropunk,
electronica and
nu metal with positive, party lyrics in their music.
[10] [11] [12] [13] [14].
When asked about their "Love Addict" video and its relation to their Christian image, Soul Glow Activatur stated "They want
Sandi Patty all over again. They want
Amy Grant. And most times, its 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."
[15]
Band members
Current members
- Solomon Olds a.k.a Soul Glow Activatur (2001-present) - Vocals/Rhythm Guitar
- Jacob Olds a.k.a Crouton (2001-present) - Drums/Vocals
- Joshua Olds a.k.a Phatty/Fatty (2001-present) - Bass/Vocals
- Nathan Currin a.k.a Nadaddy (2001-present) - Keytar/Vocals/Family Force 5000/Percussion
- Derek Mount a.k.a. Chap Stique (2005-present) - Lead guitar
Former members
- Brad Allen a.k.a. 20 Cent (2004-2005) - Guitar
- Steve Heimler (2001-2003) - Guitar
Discography
Albums
- Business Up Front, Party In The Back, (2006)
- Business Up Front, Party In The Back: Diamond Edition, (2007)
- Dance or Die, (2008)
- Dance or Die With A Vengeance, (2009)
- Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant, (2009)
EP's
- The Phamily EP, (2004)
- Family Force 5 EP, (2005)
- Dance or Die EP, (2008)
Other Releases
- Blingin' Blogs, Vol. 1
(2008)
- "The Really Real Show: Season 1"
Non-Album Tracks
- Mind's Eye
- Master Of Disguise
- Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer
- Love Addict (RAC Mix)
Compilations
- Songs From The Penalty Box Vol. Six, 2009 .... "Radiator" (from Dance Or Die) [Tooth & Nail]
- ConGRADulations! Class of 2009, 2009 .... "Get Your Back Off The Wall" (from Dance Or Die) [Interlinc]
- ConGRADulations Class of 2008, 2008 .... "Supersonic" (from Business Up Front...) [Interlinc]
- X2008, 2007 .... "I Love You To Death" (from Business Up Front, Party In The Back: Diamond Edition) [BEC]
- Gotee Hits, 2007 .... "Replace Me" (from Business Up Front...) [Gotee]
- Hip Hope 2008, 2007 .... "Whatcha Gonna Do With It" [Gotee]
- Freaked! A Gotee Tribute to dcTalk's "Jesus Freak", 2006 .... "Mind's Eye" [Gotee]
- Purple Door Festival 2005 Sampler, 2005 .... "Kountry Gentlemen"
Notes
- Family Force 5 Artist Profile | Biography And Discography | NewReleaseTuesday.com
- Farias, Andree (2006-05-15).''Break Dancing … With Jesus?'' Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-02-05
- Farias, Andre (2006-03).''Business Up Front/Party in the Back.'' ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ''JfH Interview 2006''
- ''Tobymac Rolls Out New Project with "Portable Sounds" Tour''. BreatheCast.com. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/servlet/AlbumServlet?id=230576
- "Dance force" World Magazine, David Sessions July 12, 2008
- http://jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2009/01/28.FAMILY%20FORCE%205%20HAS%20SIGHTS%20ON%20ROCK%20AND%20R
- http://jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2009/01/28.FAMILY%20FORCE%205%20HAS%20SIGHTS%20ON%20ROCK%20AND%20R
- Family Force 5 Biography on Yahoo! Music
- Family Force 5 Biography - AOL Music
- Family Force 5 | View the Music Artists Biography Online | VH1.com
- Business Up Front/Party In The Back - Wal-Mart
- family force 5 : Alternative Rock : Music : Target Search Results
- Family Force 5, 05/15 - Interviews - Christian Music Today