Dear friends, we are gathered today to say goodbye and pay tribute to one of the best-loved and clever bands of Christian music. At the end of 2003, to the chagrin of tens of thousands of teenagers and college students, Five Iron Frenzy will be taking a final bow. What began life in 1994 as a side project for punk rockers Reese Roper (lead vocals) and Keith Hoerig (bass), soon became a full-time gig and a major draw at summer Christian music festivals. Fusing ska and punk sounds with pop melodies and rock guitars, they tackled difficult subjects with passionate faith and insane humor, and they did it while wearing goofy costumes (the Star Trek motif will always be my favorite) and encouraging sing-along choruses of sock puppets from the audiences.
All eight members now have their own paths: new careers, new bands, new families. Yes, for Five Iron Frenzy,
Since it is apparently their final album, Five Iron takes the opportunity to air thoughts most artists are afraid to share. "So Far, So Bad" laments the music industry, and offers a partial glimpse of why the band is calling it quits: "We were going to make a point to the whole world, but no one wants to hear it anymore/Don't worry what this song would say, you'll never hear it anyway." The band tackles greed in "American Kryptonite," with Reese screaming like a nü-metal rocker.
On the very catchy "Anchors Away," the band attacks corrupted media with sarcasm reminiscent of Steve Taylor's classic, "Meat the Press." Such a subject is like shooting fish in a barrel, but Five Iron somehow makes it fresh, just like the overused metaphor of spiritual renewal used in "New Year's Eve." A similar theme of renewal is found in "Something Like Laughter," one of the album's most heart-breaking songs, written by saxophonist Leanor Ortega. With the thunderous "Farewell to Arms," Reese and the band take on those who would condemn all of Christianity because of one bad experience with the church: "Lay down your hate, the burden and the weight will disappear/If you could separate your anger from that still small voice you hear."
A number of songs on
"See the Flames Begin to Crawl" uses the band's classic ska rock sound to sadly suggest that audiences won't remember Five Iron in ten years, despite forever touching the lives of young people everywhere. The album's last two tracks serve as an appropriate finale. "That's How the Story Ends" makes references to the band's most beloved silly songs and wraps up their artistic legacy. Then with "On Distant Shores," Five Iron offers poignant praise to God and eagerly looks ahead to eternal life with him.
The band is survived by their darkly hued spin-off, Brave Saint Saturn. What a relief, since the songwriting talents of Dennis Culp and Reese Roper are too good to waste. They've got the sort of mad genius that causes other artists to write insightful poetry while smashing watermelons and (God forbid) cutting off their own ears. Behind the over-the-top stage antics lies humble hearts on fire to serve God and bring audiences closer to him. The oft-misunderstood Five Iron Frenzy may not have impacted the Christian music industry as much as they had initially hoped, but there is no question they have left their mark on fans as well as the bands whose careers they helped launch via their tours. They will be missed.