Flobots
Flobots |
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The Flobots are an indie-hip hop group from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2005.
History
Flobots formed as a side project for the two lead emcees, Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit. They teamed up with violist Mackenzie Roberts, bassist Jessie Walker, guitarist Andy Guerrero (from funk band Bop Skizzum), trumpet player Joe Ferrone (also from Bop Skizzum), and drummer Kenny Ortiz. By the year's end, their unique instrumentation and politically and socially charged music became popular in their hometown of Denver, and the Flobots became a full time project.[1]
In October 2005, the band released Flobots Present...Platypus, which went on to sell over 3000 copies over the next two years. In August 2007, the Flobots opened for Colorado locals The Fray at Red Rocks[2], one of their largest performances to date.
In October 2007, after a year of writing and producing, they released Fight With Tools and sold out their CD release show at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood.
The Flobots entered a contest held by Denver radio station 93.3 (KTCL), called Hometown for the Holidays, which allowed fans to vote for their favorite songs from 35 local bands. The Flobots subsequently won both the radio portion of the contest as well as the live performance award. As a result, the station put "Handlebars" into full rotation at the end of January due to the immense popularity of the song during the contest.[3]
In February 2008, the Flobots held a show at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood called "The Heart Attack" featuring local bands The Hot IQs and Born in the Flood. It was after this show that the group was approached by and subsequently signed to Universal Republic on a two CD major label deal. [4] On March 31st the band announced that they would be playing Tucson, Arizona's major alternative rock festival, KFMA Day, with Metallica, Apocalyptica, and Scars on Broadway on May 16th.[5]
The single "Handlebars" became popular on alternative rock radio in April, 2008 and peaked at #5 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Social and Political Activism
In February 2008, Flobots launched a project entitled "Street Team" which will allow them to put their socially and politically ripe lyrics into action. Brer Rabbit has said, "There are lots of things we can say theoretically about wanting to activate a population, but we are actually trying to create a real plan to allow people to be a positive force in the community." Street Team allows volunteers to sign up to work on various projects throughout their community. Currently, Flobots have partnerships with Colorado Progressive Coalition, Student Peace Alliance, and Denver Children's Home.
Discography
- Platypus (2005)
- Fight With Tools (2007)
Singles
- "Handlebars" (2008) #5 US Mod Rock[6], #67 US 100[7], #70 US Pop 100
References
- ^ "flobots.com, Band Bio".
- ^ "flobots.com, Show Archive, August 6th, 2007".
- ^ "Denverpost.com, Flobots hammer home message".
- ^ "Denverpost.com, Flobots take giant step with label deal".
- ^ "KFMA.com, Concerts".
- ^ "R&R Alternative National Airplay".
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