FAMILY FORCE 5
Best Band, Best Album (Dance or Die)
, Most Underrated Artist
Best Band Runners-up:
2. Skillet3.Casting Crowns
Best Album Runners-up:
2. Skillet (Comatose Comes Alive)
3. Jeremy Camp (Speaking Louder Than Before)
Profile By Andy Argyrakis
Always the life of the party, Family Force 5 racked up in three categories during this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, including “Best Band,” “Best Album (Dance or Die)” and “Most Underrated Artist.” Though the dance rockers have always had a huge arsenal of faithful fans, its reach has no doubt been expanded this past year via the “Vans Warped Tour” and the “AP Tour.” Add in some hysterical video blogs, a major MySpace presence and the incorporation of the Family Force 5000 (basically a massive drum machine that looks like a six-foot Speak & Spell) into its repertoire, and the guys’ popularity is sure to swell all the more. Both longtime listeners and newly attracted ears will also be happy to know a remix record is right around the corner (Dance or Die With a Vengeance) followed by the group’s first-ever Christmas collection. In the meantime, guitarist Derek Mount (aka Chap Stique) reacts to the awards and shares a ton of fun, behind-the-scenes facts about the band.
AWARD HONORS
Dude, we’re pumped! Man, we’re gonna buy this mantle, and we’re gonna make some trophies and make one per award that we’ve had. We’re trying to figure it out. It’s between badminton or bowling to put on the top because we didn’t know what other awards to put on it. But badminton for the “Underrated” at least.
SPORTS CENTERED
I love sports. Nadaddy and I are really into it. The three brothers in the band are all pretty athletic dudes, but they grew up touring; and they were in Europe playing with Carman and dcTalk when the rest of us were at T-ball practice. They’re not really into it, and in fact, there is some hatred. Xanadu, our dancer, gets furious whenever I watch or listen to football. It angers him. It’s kind of strange, man—it’s like this strife toward something that’s very American.
NEUTRAL FUN
We’re all really into music as you can imagine. We do these dance parties almost every night on the “AP Tour” where somebody makes up a big playlist, and we get together and throw on some tunes on the bus. We’ve almost tipped it over a couple times because everybody’s dancing so hard. I’d say that’s where Crouton and Xanadu are in hog heaven… And Xanadu is also into video games—that’s what makes him happy on tour.
