Squad Five-O
Encyclopedia
Before being signed, there was a demo released, titled: "Cop Rock Demo". This is a highly sought after recording, which included a track titled "Pair of Dice City".
During the bands initial period, their sound was basic punk music with heavy ska influences, despite the fact that the group was hornless. One Christian music magazine described their sound as a collision between Ninety Pound Wuss
and The OC Supertones. From the outset the group ran into controversy. Their initial release, What I Believe, contained a song entitled "Our State Flag Sucks". The lyrical content of the song, which called the Georgia state flag (The 1956-2001 version was flying at the time) a banner of hate for its likeness to flags of the Confederate States of America
, ironically caused the album to be banned from many Christian bookstores. (Flags shown at right.)
What I Believe and the band's second release, Fight the System, were released by Bulletproof Music. Fight the System was unique in that, although it had 18 listed tracks plus a hidden bonus track, it had 31 tracks of silence before the bonus track, "Rock and Roll Anthem". This gave the album 50 tracks overall, a nod to the "Five-O" in the band's name. Drummer Jason Anderson left after Fight the System and was replaced by Justin Garbinski of Speedy Delivery; Justin's brother, Adam, who also played in The Huntingtons
as A.J. Huntington, joined on guitar.
The band got into a dispute over publishing rights with their label and were helped by Brandon Ebel, president of the major Christian label Tooth & Nail Records
, with whom they later signed. The sound on their first two releases was characterized as ska punk
, but that changed with their label. Their 2000 album Bombs Over Broadway was produced by Duane Baron. The band credits Baron with helping them to refine their rock sound. As Jeff Fortson reported to HM "... he helped us slow things down and find the right groove... he really helped us realize what we were trying to do." CCM magazine characterized the move as completing their transformation into glam rockers.
The original cover art of "Bombs Over Broadway" showed warplanes flying through downtown New York. The album's title track described an attack on New York City and warned that other cities would also be attacked. Bombs Over Broadway also contained a card explaining the lyrics to the songs; Tooth & Nail did the same with The Deadlines
' first album, The Death & Life Of..., which used death-related metaphors in most of its songs. After the attacks of September 11 occurred the following year, Tooth & Nail decided to change the album's cover to show a picture of the band members. The new release of the album still had the same songs as the original album had. Just as well, the band refrained from playing the song "Bombs over Broadway" at live performances in the initial tour after 9/11. But slowly over time, the band would incorporate the track as part of their encore performance.
For Squad 5-O, the move to Tooth and Nail was more than just a change of approach in musical style. The band also began to move away from explicit references to Jesus, and to use metaphore more extensively. They also began to tour in more mainstream venues than churches, as explained by Jeff Fortson: "Jesus said to be fishers of men; we have realized that you can't do that unless you're where the people who need him are." Generally, the band was discontented with the state of the Christian music industry and Christian subculture, which they saw as exploitive and misleading. Jeff Fortson contrasted for HM magazine their experiences playing at a "large Christian event" and a secular one a few days later. At the Christian event (which was headlined by Steven Curtis Chapman
) "... the kids were coming out of the seats and standing in the aisles to come up and rock out with us... They just shut us down... The park security and promoters evidently thought we were just evil and inciting riots." At the secular show they reported that they could "...connect with the kids, you know, just be real... same exact response from the crowd, and that's why I feel that's where we belong."
Common themes in their music are the power of the youth, the effects of social ills, and Christian unity, though with Squad Five-O, their final Tooth & Nail release, the group had largely moved away from spiritual themes. Their 2002 eponymous release was produced by Barry Pointer, and featured a sound which the band characterized as more in tune with their live shows. After their contract was sold to the general market label Capitol Records
their lyrics appeared to leave their Christian roots, but the band still professed to be Christians.
Their final album, Late News Breaking, was released in 2004.
Their web site went dead in early 2006 and have had small amounts of activity from their Myspace page including posting a B-side track titled "Easy to Shoot" but it has been assumed the band has broken up to move on to other projects.
Bassist John Fortson & guitarist Adam Garbinski formed the rock band Gasoline Heart with Louis DeFabrizio, formerly of the Kick.
Concert Reviews:
During the bands initial period, their sound was basic punk music with heavy ska influences, despite the fact that the group was hornless. One Christian music magazine described their sound as a collision between Ninety Pound Wuss
Ninety Pound Wuss
Ninety Pound Wuss was an experimental punk rock band from Port Angeles, Washington, USA that released three studio albums on Tooth & Nail Records...
and The OC Supertones. From the outset the group ran into controversy. Their initial release, What I Believe, contained a song entitled "Our State Flag Sucks". The lyrical content of the song, which called the Georgia state flag (The 1956-2001 version was flying at the time) a banner of hate for its likeness to flags of the Confederate States of America
Flags of the Confederate States of America
There were only three flag designs adopted, with later, minor variants made to those designs, that served as the official national flags of the Confederate States of America and used during its existence from 1861 to 1865...
, ironically caused the album to be banned from many Christian bookstores. (Flags shown at right.)
What I Believe and the band's second release, Fight the System, were released by Bulletproof Music. Fight the System was unique in that, although it had 18 listed tracks plus a hidden bonus track, it had 31 tracks of silence before the bonus track, "Rock and Roll Anthem". This gave the album 50 tracks overall, a nod to the "Five-O" in the band's name. Drummer Jason Anderson left after Fight the System and was replaced by Justin Garbinski of Speedy Delivery; Justin's brother, Adam, who also played in The Huntingtons
The Huntingtons
The Huntingtons are a punk band from Baltimore, Maryland which formed in 1993-1994 in the Maryland/Delaware area by Cliff Powell , Mike Holt and Mike Pierce . The band is heavily influenced by The Ramones.-1993-2005:The Huntingtons debut album Sweet Sixteen was released in 1996 by Flying Tart...
as A.J. Huntington, joined on guitar.
The band got into a dispute over publishing rights with their label and were helped by Brandon Ebel, president of the major Christian label Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records
Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in the U.S. state of California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington, where it is situated today...
, with whom they later signed. The sound on their first two releases was characterized as ska punk
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
, but that changed with their label. Their 2000 album Bombs Over Broadway was produced by Duane Baron. The band credits Baron with helping them to refine their rock sound. As Jeff Fortson reported to HM "... he helped us slow things down and find the right groove... he really helped us realize what we were trying to do." CCM magazine characterized the move as completing their transformation into glam rockers.
The original cover art of "Bombs Over Broadway" showed warplanes flying through downtown New York. The album's title track described an attack on New York City and warned that other cities would also be attacked. Bombs Over Broadway also contained a card explaining the lyrics to the songs; Tooth & Nail did the same with The Deadlines
The Deadlines
The Deadlines were a rock band that formed in 1998 and disbanded in 2002. Their musical style started as horror punk and later evolved toward glam rock...
' first album, The Death & Life Of..., which used death-related metaphors in most of its songs. After the attacks of September 11 occurred the following year, Tooth & Nail decided to change the album's cover to show a picture of the band members. The new release of the album still had the same songs as the original album had. Just as well, the band refrained from playing the song "Bombs over Broadway" at live performances in the initial tour after 9/11. But slowly over time, the band would incorporate the track as part of their encore performance.
For Squad 5-O, the move to Tooth and Nail was more than just a change of approach in musical style. The band also began to move away from explicit references to Jesus, and to use metaphore more extensively. They also began to tour in more mainstream venues than churches, as explained by Jeff Fortson: "Jesus said to be fishers of men; we have realized that you can't do that unless you're where the people who need him are." Generally, the band was discontented with the state of the Christian music industry and Christian subculture, which they saw as exploitive and misleading. Jeff Fortson contrasted for HM magazine their experiences playing at a "large Christian event" and a secular one a few days later. At the Christian event (which was headlined by Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.After starting his career in the late 1980s as a singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Chapman has since been recognized as one of the most prolific singers in the genre,...
) "... the kids were coming out of the seats and standing in the aisles to come up and rock out with us... They just shut us down... The park security and promoters evidently thought we were just evil and inciting riots." At the secular show they reported that they could "...connect with the kids, you know, just be real... same exact response from the crowd, and that's why I feel that's where we belong."
Common themes in their music are the power of the youth, the effects of social ills, and Christian unity, though with Squad Five-O, their final Tooth & Nail release, the group had largely moved away from spiritual themes. Their 2002 eponymous release was produced by Barry Pointer, and featured a sound which the band characterized as more in tune with their live shows. After their contract was sold to the general market label Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
their lyrics appeared to leave their Christian roots, but the band still professed to be Christians.
Their final album, Late News Breaking, was released in 2004.
Their web site went dead in early 2006 and have had small amounts of activity from their Myspace page including posting a B-side track titled "Easy to Shoot" but it has been assumed the band has broken up to move on to other projects.
Bassist John Fortson & guitarist Adam Garbinski formed the rock band Gasoline Heart with Louis DeFabrizio, formerly of the Kick.
Members
- Jeff Fortson - Vocals, guitar (1997–2006)
- John Fortson - Bass (1997–2006)
- Adam Garbinski - Guitar (1999–2006)
- Kris Klein - Guitar (2000–2006)
- Dave Petersen - Drums (2001–2006)
- Justin Kohut - Drums (1995–1997)
- Jason Anderson - Drums (1997–2000)
- Justin Garbinski - Drums (2000–2002)
Discography
- 1997: What I Believe (BulletProof Records, Reviews: In Music We Trust, YouthWorker, 7ball7ball7ball was a Christian music magazine, first published in 1995, founded and created by Frank Chimento. They focused on rock, hip-hop, and other "alternative" forms of Christian music. The magazine was initially published by the Royal Magazine Group alongside Release magazine and others...
) - 1998: Fight the System (BulletProof Records, Reviews: HM Magazine, YouthWorker)
- 2000: Bombs Over Broadway (Tooth & Nail Records, Reviews: Teen Ink, Real Magazine, The Phantom Tollbooth, Pop Matters, HM MagazineHM MagazineHM: The Hard Music Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. Articles include news, album and festival reviews, posters, artists to watch, indie artist reviews, devotionals and interviews with Christian artists...
, CCM MagazineCCM MagazineCCM Magazine was a monthly magazine published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications. It was first published in July 1978, and it has always been a Christian music magazine. On January 16, 2008, Salem announced that the April 2008 issue would be the final printed issue of the...
) - 2002: Squad Five-O (Tooth & Nail Records, Review:HM Magazine, CCM Magazine)
- 2004: Late News Breaking (Capitol Records, Reviews: Decapolis, The Phantom Tollbooth, Stylus Magazine, PastePunk.com, PunkNews.org, Smother.net)
External links
- Squad Five-O's Myspace
- [ AMG Profile]
Concert Reviews:
- 2004: Virgin Magazine
- 2004: PunkNews.org