INTERVIEW :: FAMILY FORCE 5, the crunk rock band from the year 3000

First, thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to talk to us.  It’s been awesome having you over here in Australia and NZ for the Parachute Festival and Parachute Concerts.

1. What have you guys loved most about Australia and New Zealand?

We got to eat emu, crocodile, and kangaroo.  Eating them ruled, but catching them was even more fun.

2. You guys are definitely the fun-loving type. What sort of funny stunts or tricks have you pulled on each other or some poor helpless soul in your time on the road? 

Once, we put a chicken in Spoken’s tour bus during their show.  When they came back after their gig, they didn’t notice it until they turned on the lights and the bird started freaking out and flapping it’s wings uncontrollably.  That same night, we brought Soul Glow’s baby, Cash, on stage with us and ate chocolate pudding out of diapers during Spoken’s set.  We held the diapers in their faces, and smeared it on ourselves, and they totally thought it was doo doo!

However, they got us back by filling the showerheads with grape kool-aid, so when we tried to rinse off, purplish-black liquid spewed out of the spicket.  It was well done.

3. Lol….We don’t normally see people, let alone band members, with nicknames as colourful as yours; “Soul Glow Activatur”, “Crouton” and “Chapstique” are really quite out there.  How did you come about these names? 

Family Force 5 started in Atlanta amidst a huge hip-hop scene, and we realized that all the other artists in town were named Big Boi, Young Jeezy, and Rocko.  We were named Jacob, Joshua, and Nathan, so we thought it would be impossible to compete with their thug-life names.

The band decided to try out some gangsta names as a joke, and each alias has a story (for instance, Fatty was a portly kid, and his brothers called him Fatty).  We never thought it would stick, but when we’d see fans at Guitar Center, they’d say, “Hey, there’s Fatty!  Where’s Xanadu?” So we decided to stick with it.

4. You’ve been described from rock to pop to crunk to punk to rap to soul to grunge… what exactly are you?

Family Force 5

5. I know that the three brothers used to be in a “boy band” in the mid-90s; what made you guys forego the Phamily in favour of Family Force 5? 

Actually, the Phamily was just the first name of the Family Force 5.  Sadly, our lawyer informed us that Prince had a band called the Family back in the ‘80’s, and the purple one (one of our biggest heroes) threatened with a lawsuit if the name wasn’t changed.  We thought the Family Force 5 sounded like a giant Voltron robot, so we changed the name.

The boy band you are referencing is “The Brothers,” and it was basically what Kris Kross would have been if they hadn’t missed the bus.  That was a childhood thing we did as kids, and Family Force 5 is a childhood thing we do as grown-ups. 

6. In a phrase, describe Family Force 5.

Rock and roll champions of the universe. 

7. The latest album released by the band is titled Dance or Die (congratulations, by the way, on its commercial success), and some critics have argued that this album, despite mixing many styles, is actually more mature than Business Up Front Party in the Back.  Can you tell us what you hoped to achieve with this album?  How does it compare to, say, your earlier releases? 

We often refer to Dance or Die as our space record.  We listened to a lot of dance music and watched plenty of Japanese cartoons while we wrote that album, and I think it really showed.  The five of us never intentionally decided to write something epic or mysterious, but it just kind of happened that way.  We’d seen the world, and we’d also grown up a lot since Business Up Front (which we wrote 3-5 years prior to writing Dance or Die).  For us, the second album doesn’t seem like a major departure from the first.  However, judging from everybody’s reaction, I guess it was.

Dance or Die has certainly changed things for us.  Plenty of critics who previously hated us said DOD was their favorite album of the year.  Conversely, many of our fans who previously loved us said they wanted more humor and more guitar, like the stuff from Business.  Older crowds and hipsters started to like us, but some of the younger kids missed the old sound.  The most common thing we heard (and still hear) from our fans is that the second record is a “grower,” or one that they like the more they listen to it.  We’re in Europe now, and most of the crowds out here (and anywhere else overseas) seem to think DOD is our finest work by far.  So we’re in a bit of a strange situation for the next release.

We’re currently writing album number three (if you don’t count EP’s, remix albums, Christmas albums, etc.), and we’re combining the best elements of everything we’ve previously done and even adding some new stuff.  It’ll be fun, catchy, and full of booty, and it’ll be sonically aggressive.  Hopefully, it’ll be just what everybody wants…even the black-t-shirt-wearing, cynical record store employees in Nebraska.

8. People always argue about whether Family Force 5 is a “Christian” band; something interesting I read on the Internet came from Apprising Ministries in Connecticut.  It criticises your music for promoting excess (i.e. dancing & partying) while masquerading under a “Christian” label.  How much does Christianity factor in to your music, and what do you say to those who don’t listen to you purely because you’re too Christian (in the secular market) or not Christian enough (in the religious market)?

Thus far, the mainstream market has never rejected us for being too Christian.  Most people likes good beats, fun shows, and catchy melodies, and they don’t seem to care who’s providing it to them.  All of the flack we get comes from extremely conservative Christians.

Our faith is a massively important part of our lives; so consequently, it plays a big role in our music.  Plenty of our lyrics refer to spiritual experiences, and ultimately, we hope to connect with our audiences in a way that spreads faith, hope, and love. 

Many Christians have a pre-conceived, narrow view of how a “Christian band” should look, sound, dress, write, and sing.  We don’t fit any of those stereotypes, so we’re not surprised by the fact that plenty of old-school Christians (who often host websites that trash DC Talk, POD, Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, etc.) aren’t supportive of what we do.

What matters to us is that people are experiencing the joy of Christ through our art, and sometimes, through our interactions together. 

9. I have to say I am very impressed by the live shows you guys do.  That guy Xanadu is certainly pretty cool, although it is slightly weird to have a guy dancing around without playing an instrument.   Is there anything in particular you guys try to achieve with each live show?  Or is it just about rocking out and having a good time with the crowd? 

Haha. Xanadu’s a legend. 

We like to party, and we want our show to be an environment where everybody feels welcome to forget about problems and to have a good time.  Because our music is hard to categorize, we’ve played in front of every crowd imaginable: rockers, scene-kids, metal-heads, hipsters, teens, tweens, etc., and we’ve gotten to watch people enjoy the shows through a billion different forms of expression.  Some mosh, some dance, some dress up like tigers, and some two-step.  We basically play music and have fun, and somehow a lot of people experience different things through the same medium.  That’s beautiful to us.

10. There are so many bands nowadays trying to get noticed in the industry; what kind of practical advice on getting attention can you guys give to these bands, as established members in the music circle?

First and foremost-be yourselves!  There’s nothing more saddening than watching a band force itself to fit into a mold just to try to be relevant.  It’s obvious when somebody’s faking it, too.

I’d also add these things:

-Treat everybody with respect and love
-Rewrite your songs.  Too many rough-drafts get recorded
-Play your hardest every single night
-Treat your fans like gold
-If you’re in it for money or fame, quit
-Have fun
-Don’t downplay the significance of your music and your band.  It might mean the world to somebody else, so take it seriously. 

11. You’ve pretty much signalled that you guys love each other’s company and the fact that there are three brothers in the band is evidence of that.  What sort of future do you see for Family Force 5, in terms of time and success? Are there any long term plans for after Family Force 5? 

We just want to keep connecting.  That’s the main thing.  The most exciting thing for me to hear is when somebody says that an FF5 concert was the best night of his/her life.  Or that one of our songs played at a wedding reception.  Or that somebody chose for our CD to play while she gave birth (interesting selection for a child’s first song on earth). 

As far as post-FF5 goes…that’s an extremely difficult question.  We all hope there’s never an “after,” and I think we all have different ideas about what we’d do if that situation arose.  We’ve spent our whole lives dreaming of making music and sharing it with others, so if this thing ended, I think we’d all need plenty of time off just to dry our eyes and to wipe away the tears before we had enough confidence to look anybody in the eye.  Eventually, we’d be ok…but I don’t think we could sit at desks for more than 3 minutes.

FAST QUESTIONS >>>

Movie..? The Secret of Nimh
Food spot in the US? El Compadre on W Sunset in Hollywood
Song..? Wanna Be Starting Something by Michael Jackson
Ninja or Pirates..? Sasquatch

12. Sorry one more last thing = )….It was the 20th Birthday Celebration of Parachute Festival NZ in Jan this year, which has become the largest Christian music festival outside of the US, do you any special words for the organisers and all the volunteers that have made Parachute Festival what it is?

Thank you for creating something that is much bigger than you will ever realize.  You have changed our lives by giving us the opportunity to experience two of the most exhilarating, beautiful shows we’ve ever played.  Your country is beautiful, and your people are even more so.  Thanks for teaching us to play cricket, and for introducing us to pavlova. 

Well it’s been a pleasure chatting with you guys.  Thank you so much for giving up your time to talk to me.  We at thirdmile.com wish you all the best for the tour and hopefully we’ll be seeing you again soon.  Take care.

Thank you!  You take care, too.

INTERVIEW BY Josh Y