Family Force 5 Album Review: 'III'

Original article on the Christian Post

"Family Force 5 is a party that makes you shake your donk," said FF5 lead singer Soul Glow Activatur, and now that the album has been reviewed, his statement is absolutely correct.

FF5's new album III is a fantastic journey through the innovative musical minds of crunk rock pioneers that paved the way for artists like LMFAO and 3OH!3. 

The music is a fusion of the beats and sounds of southern rock mixed with almost hip-hop sang/rapped vocals over trippy 808s and heavy guitar riffs. 

There is literally no genre of music the band does not dip into, even having a bluesy and reggae type mash-up.

Family Force 5 is one part Kid Rock and Lil Jon mixed with Kanye West's '808s and Heartbreaks' and Gym Class Heroes, or as the band refers to themselves, "Ghetto redneck music."

The album opens up with strong with "Can You Feel It." This song is very aggressive and sort of proves to be the anthem of the album. It's kind of like TobyMac circa Momentum days but still has its own flare.

The next song, "Paycheck," has a "swaggerful" like flow to it as part of the chorus says, "Shoulda been a baller, shot caller," then brings it back to a funny perspective saying, "Now I thank God for the hand out..." This song is extremely catchy. 

Singer, Soul Glow, says this is his favorite song. He explains, "People think it's political, but everyone seems to be having financial hardships. We wanted to write something people can relate to and have something to say, you know, dig deep and make it sound real." 

Track three, "Wobble," is already a fan favorite at live shows according to Soul Glow. It's an infectious dance tune meant to get crowds moving. The song is a half reggae/dance and half dance party moves song. 

The next song, "You Got It," is reminiscent of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" with its funky bluesy groove and even tone as the singer expresses his love for a girl. This is a slow relaxing track.

Where "You Got It," leaves off, "Mamacita" picks up. The song is essentially the Latin sounding continuation of the previous song. It carries on from the spark found in "You Got It." Naturally it's more danceable and has a brilliant chorus with the best part repeating saying, "You got me loco saying Ay Yi Yi."

"Tank Top" brings in the pulsing 808 beats and deep synths as they bring in a fun strictly club like song. Definitely a song that would be played on a pop/rap station.

The next song, "Not Alone," is by far the most serious and deep song on the album. It really shows off the bands song writing ability and proves that sometimes life isn't always a party. The singer calls out to God for His touch singing, "I need you now, I want you now/To tell me that you're not alone."

Returning to true crunk rock form, "Dang Girl," brings their signature feel back. The vocals are over the top and contain a southern gritty rap flare to them. It's the club "banger" of the album with an amazing synth breakdown transition at the end.

Perhaps the best radio single on the CD is, "Love Gone Wrong." It's a super catchy song with an even stronger sing-along hook. This song is about the perfect girl from the singer's point of view.

The last song on the record is appropriately titled "Get On Outta Here." This song features the most rap on the album, and it proves to be an angry but fun send off dismissing all the haters.

Soul Glow said the song was the "anti-hater anthem of the batch" and they "wrote it with that in mind to be more personal."

The vocalist describes the bands unique sound as, "Fun party inspired rock. Some think it has to do with synthesizers. I guess so...we have plenty of 808 beats too." He goes on to explain crunk rock as being "very southern."

"It's what we are. We kind of just fell into it. We are from Atlanta, it's very southern. We have that rock vibe, and that super ghetto vibe. It's a blend of everything."

FF5 released III on Oct. 18 and in promotion have embarked on their It's All Gold Tour followed by a short Christmas tour. In January and February they will be heading back to the studio to record a few more tracks for their deluxe edition of the new album, calling the addition, 3.5.

Family Force 5 Interview with Soul Glow Activatur

Interview with Soul Glow Activatur

Originally posted by the Christian Post

Family Force 5, is changing everything the music world may think about music and are infusing it with something different and creative. 

Hailing from Atlanta, GA, these crunk-rock stars are all about having a good time and letting the listener have a great time with each listening experience. 

First off, what is "Crunk-Rock?" 

According to Soul Glow, crunk rock is, "Fun party inspired rock. Some think it has to do with synthesizers. I guess so...we have plenty of 808 beats too." He goes on to explain crunk rock as being "very southern."

When asked if that's what they set out to sound like, Soul Glow answered, "It's what we are. We kind of just fell into it. We are from Atlanta, it's very southern. We have that rock vibe, and that super ghetto vibe. It's a blend of everything."

He feels that FF5 are the pioneers of their style of music. Soul Glow and his brothers Jacob "Crouton" and Joshua "Fatty" Olds have been making music this way since the mid 90s and now there are a few other groups with the same style. "We definitely helped usher in groups like LMFAO and 3OH!3,"  he says.

FF5 loves to be unique and different. One way they do this is by assigning themselves stage names almost like they are rappers. So lets introduce the band:

Soul Glow is the vocalist and rhythm guitar player. 

Crouton plays drums and does vocals. 

Fatty plays bass and also does vocals.

Derek "Chap Stique" Mount is the lead guitar player.

Nathan "Nadaddy" Currin plays the synth, percussion, and also does vocals.

Soul Glow talks about the names being something fun they did because they are from Atlanta where a lot of hip-hop legends are from, especially Outkast with Big Boi and Andre 3000. 

The names were originally a joke, but when they started seeing kids wearing homemade T-shirts, they knew they were on to something.

Soul Glow says, "Everyone had names, so could white suburban kids. It's part of the culture." In a disapproving and sorrowful tone he jokes, "Except for the name Crouton. I don't know what happened there," referring to his brother.

Another important aspect of Family Force 5 is there faith. Although not explicitly a Christian band, they are definitely Christians in a band who happen to have strong faith. "We have strong faith, but don't beat people over the head with it. We just want to make fun positive music that humans can listen to, ya know?"

Soul Glow goes on to talk about their new album titled III. It's FF5's third album, and was released Oct. 18 followed by the It's All Gold Tour.

In the band's press release it says III is a throwback to their first album. When asked about this, Soul Glow agreed saying, "The first album was very aggressive while our second album was more dance like. We wanted to give the fans what they wanted and not run away from being red neck ghetto kids."

In fact, the singer says he came to the realization he was a red neck while visiting L.A. He recalls being in a meeting talking about their music when someone brought it up. He denied it at first but then said to himself, "I'm southern, I do enjoy watching Nascar once in awhile, and love fried chicken...Yup, I guess I'm a red neck," he described.

Soul Glow said the highlight of the album for him is the song "Paycheck." He explains, "People think it's political, but everyone seems to be having financial hardships. We wanted to write something people can relate to and have something to say, you know, dig deep and make it sound real." 

He says that track is doing well so far, and the song "Wabble" is getting a lot of positive feedback. "The overall response has been great – people are liking them," the frontman says. "There's something for everyone of this record. It's aggressive and 'dancey' with some serious stuff, more personal."

When asked what his biggest rock star moment was, Soul Glow immediately thought back to a tour they had completed, "We did a festival in the U.K. where we played with metal band Rammstein and the next night we played with MIA, who is more pop hip-hop. Both of those shows were drastically different yet had the same great vibe."

He admits that although they've played in front of 20 or 30,000 people before, it's the small things that feel the best. "One time I was driving through a Starbucks and I got a free coffee because the kid told me he loved my band. It was so cool."

Soul Glow says one of his biggest failures since being in the band is a tour they went on in 2008. "I didn't like the tour and I wasn't feeling the crowd."

Switching topics, he was asked, "What's one thing the world should know about you guys?"

"We pretty much do everything on our own. We do the art work, videos, directing, and photo shoots. It's fun to say that – [we are] excited about creativity," he replied. "We are creative idiots."

On possible dream collaborations, the singer said he'd love to work with Justin Timberlake. "Justin stop making movies and come back to music! I wasn't a fan of N*SYNC, but I love his solo music," he said. 

The It's All Gold Tour will be followed by a short Christmas tour. In January and February they will be heading back to the studio to record a few more tracks for their deluxe edition of the new album, calling the addition, 3.5.

In five years time Soul Glow hopes to be on an island having "massive dance parties." "Justin Timberlake can come too!" he said.

Interview with Jamie Scott of Graffiti6

Lead singer Jamie Scott of Graffiti6.
Photo Credit: Myspace.com/graffiti6

UK pop/indie band Graffiti6 took a trip overseas to promote their new single "Stare into the Sun" off of their upcoming album COLOURS, set to hit shelves in America the latter half of 2011.

Already featured in Grey's Anatomy's season premiere on September 23rd, "Stare into the Sun" is promising to be a smash single. Another track from COLOURS, "Annie You Save Me" was played on the show Covert Affairs September 14th. "Stare into the Sun" has also been featured in ad campaigns for Heineken Beer and UK newspaper, the Sun.

"Stare into the Sun" single, album cover.
Photo Credit: Myspace.com/graffiti6

Gaining critical acclaim by England's famed newspaper, the Guardian, calling them "New band of the day," the band looks to spread that acclaim to the States and wherever else their music can be heard.

Graffiti6 consists of: Jamie Scott, a singer/songwriter/actor who has opened up with Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys, and TommyD, a producer and DJ who has worked with countless acts in the industry like Kanye West and Jay-Z.




TommyD and Jamie Scott.
Photo Credit: Myspace.com/graffiti6

The two of them initially paired together for collaborative purposes after a recommendation. After a period of fun experimentation they realized there was something more. Having a love for more folksy music, classic pop, and funk; the two combined their talents for a hybrid of sound not reached by many. Scott described the music as "Psychadelical northern folk with rock influence." So save your comparisons because the album ranges from the soft tones of Maroon 5 to a hip-hop techno infused beats with more aggressive vocals over it.

Scott tells about getting the name Graffiti6 by simply opening a book and picking the first two words his fingers touched. "It worked out great because now we have all of this artwork to go with the name."

When asked about G6's reception differences between America and the UK Scott says, "The U.S. surprisingly embraced it, and in Europe everywhere we went was packed." Scott says Graffiti6 will do well in America because of the success of older folk artists like James Taylor and Neil Young. He also goes on to say that the difference between the music scenes in the two countries is "the UK is very clique." He says, "The United States is more free for a small channel of music. There is so much diversity, I love being out here."

First American show for Graffiti6.

Scott responds to accolades like the Guardian and Grey's Anatomy with "It's really wicked. We have a good synch team. We put our heart into this record, and people loved it. It shows that we were right about our music."

So what lies next in the immediate future for Graffiti6? We are going to be starting our European tour, and then we are coming back in January to conquer America!" he exclaimed. "But seriously, we have a passion to come to America and play," he said. Another goal of theirs is to headline a tour in America. Out here they have only been an opening act, while in Europe and Asia, they are selling out on a headlining tour.

So be on the lookout for Graffiti6, as they try to "conquer" America and become the next big thing.

Video for "Stare into the Sun"

Check them out at

www.graffiti6.com

www.myspace.com/graffiti6

www.twitter.com/graffiti6

KT Tunstall Rocks Out with the P.S. 22 Chorus

(Story as it appeared in the Staten Island Advance on October 11th. All photos by Scott Vollweiler of Broken Records Magazine)

KT Tunstall

Through the aging corridors of P.S. 22 lies one of Staten Island's best kept secrets, the Chorus of P.S. 22.

At 4 P.M. on Friday October 8, singer/songwriter KT Tunstall arrived at P.S. 22, Graniteville. Walking into the auditorium there was a loud roar from the students leading Tunstall to raise her guitar in celebration.

Led by music teacher Gregg Breinberg, the choir of fifth graders are one of the most talented spectacles one can find on the Island. Their dedication and hard work create an aura of excitement as their angelic voices reverberate across the room.

Breinberg, or Mr. B, as they call him, sits behind a piano and pans out the tunes as he passionately conducts and sings along. After every song, he stops to tell the children what they need to work on, and who is doing outstanding. As a teacher he is sure to constantly encourage the kids and treat them as equals to one another.

Greg Breinberg, music teacher.

The 5th graders of 22 have gotten to work with some of music's top acts such as: Common, Tori Amos, Queen Latifah, Celtic Women, Matisyahu, and countless others. Today was KT Tunstall's turn to witness the sensation.

In seemingly flawless pitch and harmony the students dug into "Imagine" by John Lennon, with as much gusto and joy as Lennon had intended it to have. The children then joined together in unison dancing on rhythm, and doing hand motions.

Tunstall, looking quite impressed, was now ready to play two of her songs off her new album Tiger Suit. The kids had rehearsed the two tracks ahead of time, and were now playing them along side of Tunstall.

The singer moved into the aisle so she can have the children surround her. Then rather beautifully she started to belt out in a booming, yet delicate voice, the beginning of her song "Still a Weirdo".

On certain phrases of the verse and on the chorus the choir chimed in and added a layer of harmony taking the song to the next level. Tunstall and the children went through the song about five times with each time getting better. Mr. B kept pointing out weak spots in the song after each take until it was perfect. All the while he remained smiling and the kids remained eager to excel.

After seeing how the kids operated as a group, Tunstall knew how to work with them. For the next song, she improvised a little, added suggestion, and helped the students get it right. This song was her new single "Fade like a Shadow".

Mr. B was a little unsure of how the song would come about because they hadn't practiced it too much. Never-the-less, they nailed it after much trial and error. During some of the more frustrating parts of going over the song, Tunstall made sure to joke and laugh with the kids. She genuinely looked like she was having fun, and seemed to bond with the kids.

At around 5:30 p.m. it was time for the parents to pick up their kids. But before each student left, Tunstall made sure to give every student a signed CD and poster, as well as meet and take pictures with the kids. Tunstall answered all of the fifth graders' questions, and was sure to have a smile on her face.

Overall the experience of this day was only open to that class. There wasn't a flood of paparazzi and press there to distract form the mission. She was able to be a regular person doing a good deed. The practice performance was very intimate and sure to leave an impression on those youngsters’ lives.

Tunstall walked in humble and left even more humble.

"The kids sounded amazing, not one out of tune, this was an awesome experience."