Artists Five Iron Frenzy
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 Members
Five Iron Frenzy's music was influenced most heavily by ska, punk, metal and hip-hop. The band's performance style grew from the subcultures of third-wave ska, punk rock and heavy metal music, but had a somewhat tamer attitude than many similar bands; however, their music was unique. Scott Kerr wrote or co-wrote 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 into their musical palette. Dennis Culp's musical direction became more prominent, although the composition duties were spread more evenly amongst band members. Song lyrics and vocals were handled by Roper. Both Culp and Leanor Ortega penned lyrics to several of the band's songs. Production and engineering for every album was led by Masaki "Saki" Liu, a good friend of the band, 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. Five Iron Frenzy never received any significant music industry awards, and received relatively little attention in mainstream media. They stayed with the small 5 Minute Walk label for all eight of their albums. On their final tour, Reese Roper continued his habit of forgetting entire verses to many concert standards. After clarifying that instead of "breaking up" they were more aptly "quitting," Five Iron's final sixty shows were named the "Winners Never Quit Tour". This self-deprecating humor is evident in much of their work. While the band's evolving musical style and skill showed dedication to their artistry, their fanbase remained strongest among those who enjoyed the quirkiness displayed at every show and on every album. 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. Their fanbase was diverse, ranging from the socially and religiously outcast to the parents of teenage fans. As a result, people from a variety of social and religious backgrounds considered their views genuine and thoughtful.
The manner in which the band displayed their Christianity guaranteed them neither a place on Christian bookstore shelves nor automatic distribution in general-market outlets. But they found financial stability in a place that allowed them to critique both Christian and non-Christian culture. Recurring themes were the continuing injustices done to the Native American people ("Banner Year", "The Day We Killed", "Old West"), the evils of consumerism ("Fistful of Sand", "Vultures", "American Kryptonite", "Giants"), Christian hypocrisy and homophobia ("Fahrenheit," "Four Fifty One"), the shortcomings of the band ("So Far So Bad", "Eulogy", "The Untimely Death of Brad", "That's How the Story Ends", "Where Is Micah?") and from time to time joyous songs about finding renewal in their faith ("Second Season", "Every New Day", "On Distant Shores"). Official Artist Site: http://www.fiveironfrenzy.com/ Discography
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