Family Force 5

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Family Force 5's Bio: Solomon “Soul Glow Activatur” Olds and his fellow Atlanta, Georgia, groove-masters Family Force 5 were sated by the response to their last couple of albums, Dance Or Die and The Christmas Pageant, both released on their independent Transparent Media Group label last year. Dance or Die embodied everything the band is about; techno-pop dance-floor fillers, unrepentant emo anthems and rocky grooves that wouldn’t be out of place at an aerobics class for pole-dancers. And their Pageant plan: Make Christmas funky.

Soli and his band—brothers Jacob (aka “Crouton,” drums) and Joshua (aka “Phatty,” bass), guitarist Derek “Chap Stique” Mount and keytar/Family Force 5000 player Nathen “Nadaddy” Currin—are getting the party started all over the globe these days. Releasing their first batch of material in the UK, the band is bringing its inspiring live show to the main stage of Sonisphere festival at Knebworth as well as their own headline tour dates across England and Ireland which follow a sold out stint with Cobra Starship earlier in the year. This onslaught has brought critical acclaim from the likes of Kerrang! and significant airtime on Radio 1 which has only served to strengthen the band’s rapidly growing UK fanbase.

The Brothers Olds have been doing things their way since the band’s inception. Originally they had formed Ground Noise, a unit that aligned itself with the twin legacies of Southern rock and insurgent “y’all-ternative” country, despite their personal tastes being immersed in hip-hop, electronics-based dance music and the funkier end of alternative rock, a la Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against The Machine. Later, they re-christened themselves the Phamily, discovered the ground-quaking grooves they had inside them and began the arduous crusade of ruling the Atlanta club scene. Thanks to the enormous hip shaking buzz they had created with their big beats, guitar firepower and Soli’s impressive MC-ing, word about the band was spreading. It wasn’t long until attorneys for Prince issued a cease-and-desist order about their 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 Maverick Records, 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 band and they inevitably, parted ways in 2007. They celebrated the occasion by going out on that year’s Vans Warped Tour, rejuvenating both the crowds and themselves. Coming off the high they got from the Warped dates, the band decided to create their own label (Transparent Media Group), and release their next album, Dance Or Die, themselves. Infectious in its enthusiasm, Dance was a near-perfect amalgam of dense grooves (“Radiator”), synthesizer-driven funk (the title track), techno-pop nostalgia (“How In The World”) and inspired emo (“The First Time”) that seemingly erased the lines of demarcation between dirty rock clubs and cosmopolitan dance floors.

The band’s knowledge of their fanbase and close connection to the kids that bought over 350,000 digital singles and over 150,000 copies of their debut album created a strong brand that didn’t need a major label behind it to succeed. After a busy 2009—which included compiling a remix album (Dance Or Die With A Vengeance), teaming up with Target for an exclusive EP, touring extensively and unveiling Christmas Pageant—the band was asked to record a track for Hot Topic’s ALMOST ALICE ALICE IN WONDERLAND soundtrack. “Topsy Turvy” was released March 5, 2010. The band is currently writing new material for their third album, tentatively slated for release in early 2011 and planning an international full length debut in late 2010. … Read more