Jacob Olds

Family Force 5

Hailing from the depths of the durrty south, the mighty Family Force 5 has spent the last six years on a bombastic, arduous crusade, conquering clubs and arenas worldwide with an unrepentant swagger that has made the band the poster child for DIY business models in the music industry. Boasting a gritty concoction of mammoth beats, mouth-watering melodies, and explosive guitars, the dance-derived, fashion-forward five-some from Atlanta has crafted an impressive resume built on sweat and elbow grease.

The group assembled in 2001 under the title The Phamily (largely influenced by the fact that there are three brothers in the band), and immediately created a contagious buzz around town, freely distributing burned copies of their homemade demos throughout Atlanta. The five emerged from their rat-infested practice space as often as possible, jumping at any chance to ignite a club with an electric performance, and word about the band’s break-dancing, wall-climbing shows started to spread. It wasn’t long until attorneys for Prince issued a cease-and-desist order about the name. (The Family was the ad hoc outfit the Purple One put together to record “Nothing Compares 2 U.”) Undaunted, the quintet carried on under the banner of Family Force 5, tearing up crowds that grew numb to nü-metal’s Cookie Monster-sounding excess. It wasn’t long before the band signed with the Maverick label, issuing their debut album, Business Up Front, Party In The Back in 2006.

At their best, FF5’s dealings with the major-label machine were tenuous. Crowds culled from assorted music subcultures (rock, punk, metal, alt-rock, hip hop) were taken by the band’s show, but the label didn’t know what to do with the unique group. Inevitably, they split ways in 2007: the band members celebrated the occasion by going out on several weeks of that year’s Vans Warped Tour, rejuvenating both the crowds and themselves.

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www.familyforce5.com