Flobots

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Flobots
Flobots at KFMA Day in Tucson, Arizona on May 16th, 2008
Background information
Also known as	Jonny 5 + Yak
Origin	Denver, Colorado, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Hip hop
Years active	2000 — present
Label(s)	Universal Republic
Website	www.flobots.com
Members
Jonny 5 (05) Brer Rabbit (0) Mackenzie Roberts (33) Andy Guerrero (17) Jesse Walker (101) Joe Ferrone (79) Kenny Ortiz (69)

Flobots are an American alternative rock / hip hop group from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2000 by Jamie Laurie, who has been the only constant member. To date, they have released two albums (counting Onomatopoeia) and one EP. Flobots found mainstream success with its major label debut Fight with Tools (2007), featuring the single "Handlebars", which became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio in April 2008.

Though the official name of the band is Flobots, they are often referred to as The Flobots, sometimes even by the band members themselves.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early career and Onomatopoeia (2000-2004) 1.2 Flobots Present...Platypus (2005-2006) 1.3 Fight with Tools (2007-2008) 1.4 Next album (2009-present) 1.5 United Kingdom Tour 1.6 Appearance at Buntport Theater 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 EPs 2.3 Singles 3 Appearances in compilations 4 Webcomics 4.1 Rise of the Flobots 5 TV & Radio Appearances 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early career and Onomatopoeia (2000-2004)

The Flobots formed in 2000 when lead MC James Laurie, a.k.a. Jonny 5 (not to be confused with former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5, Californian rapper Johnny Five, or the robot from Short Circuit) teamed up with producer Farhad Ebrahimi a.k.a. Yahktoe. Together they released the album Onomatopoeia in 2001, and the title track ended up in a compilation by the MIT Songwriting Club (Yahktoe's alma mater). The title track featured guitar player David Gralow, cello player T'Errance Favors, and bass player Jaymz Haynes. The band maintains a heavy influence of the American alternative rock band Cake.

[edit] Flobots Present...Platypus (2005-2006)

Jonny 5 kept the Flobots name when forming a side project with another lead MC, Brer Rabbit. They teamed up with violist Mackenzie Roberts, bassist Jesse 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 Flobots became a full time project.^[1] The group members also identify themselves by numbers; Jonny 5 is 05, Brer Rabbit is 0, Mackenzie is 33, Andy is 17, Jesse is 101, Joe is 79 and Kenny is 69.

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, Flobots opened for Colorado locals The Fray at Red Rocks,^[2] one of their largest performances to date.

[edit] Fight with Tools (2007-2008)

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, Colorado.

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. 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, Flobots held a show at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood called "The Heart Attack" featuring local bands The Hot IQs and Paper Bird. 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 31, the band announced that they would be playing Tucson, Arizona's major alternative rock festival, KFMA Day, with Metallica, Apocalyptica, Chiodos, and Scars on Broadway on May 16.^[5] Flobots were also part of the sixteenth annual KROQ Weenie Roast on May 17, along with Atreyu, Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Metallica, The Offspring, Pennywise, The Raconteurs, Rise Against, Scars on Broadway and Seether. On July 20, 2008, Flobots played at the Mile High Music Festival in Commerce City, Colorado with headliners Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer. On July 26, 2008, Flobots played 93.3's Big Gig at Coors Amitheater in Greenwood Village, Colorado with Offspring. On September 1, 2008 they performed at Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in Seattle, Washington.

The single "Handlebars" became popular on alternative rock radio in April 2008 and peaked at #3 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[6]

They made their television debut on Carson Daly's talk show on May 20, 2008.^[7] Also on May 20th, Flobots spent two hours with Dr. Drew and Stryker answering sex questions on Loveline ^[8] and re-released their album Fight With Tools to a wider audience after their new found success. Flobots also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 5, 2008 with their song "Handlebars". ^[9]They performed their second single "Rise" on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on October 13, 2008.

On January 9th, 2009, the band played every song on their album during a free concert at Mount Snow as part of the Mountain Dew Tour.

[edit] Next album (2009-present)

On February 17, 2009, the Flobots announced in a MySpace blog entry that they are "working really hard on their next album and plan to have it completed soon."^[10]

[edit] United Kingdom Tour

Flobots played concerts throughout England and Scotland from February 20, 2009 for two and one half weeks. They opened for Rise Against and Anti-Flag.

[edit] Appearance at Buntport Theater

On March 17, 2009, Flobots co-starred with the Buntport Theater troupe's first "Buntport vs" event. The Flobots played "Stand Up", "Rise" and covered "Happy Together" by The Turtles. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper attended the performance.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Onomatopoeia (2001)
  • Note: Although released under the moniker Jonny 5 + Yak, the album itself displays the URL www.flobots.com, so this could arguably be classed as the first Flobots album
• Fight with Tools (2007; re-released in 2008) - US #15^[11] 266,867 copies sold in the US, UK #52^[12]

[edit] EPs

• Flobots Present...Platypus (2005)

[edit] Singles

Year	Title	Peak positions							Album
		US [13]	US Pop [13]	US Mod [13]	US DS [13]	CAN [14]	UK [15]	NZ [16]
2008	"Handlebars"	37	34	3	20	63	14	26	Fight with Tools
	"Rise"	—	—	33	—	—	—	—
	"—" denotes releases that did not chart or have yet to chart.

[edit] Appearances in compilations

• MIT Songwriting Club - Songs From the Institute, Vol. 1 (2001) [Track 16: Onomatopoeia, credited to Flobots]
• Handlebars- Now That's What I Call Music! 71 (UK series)(2008) Disc 2 Track 13
• They appeared as part of the Audition computer video game soundtrack compilation as a playable song with Handlebars

[edit] Webcomics

[edit] Rise of the Flobots

The new webcomic series created by D.J. Coffman (13) Rise of the Flobots: Architects of Change launched June 9, 2008 at "flobots.net", and features stories inspired by fans and the music of the Flobots along with a science fiction twist.

[edit] TV & Radio Appearances

• Last Call with Carson Daly (May 20, 2008) - national television debut
• Loveline with Dr. Drew and Stryker (May 19, 2008)
• The Alex Jones Show (May 28, 2008)
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (June 5, 2008)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (October 13, 2008)
• Last Call with Carson Daly (January 14, 2009)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Flobots Official Website
• Flobots on Purevolume
• Fight With Tools Website
• Flobots at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Flobots Jonny 5 · Brer Rabbit · Mackenzie Roberts · Andy Guerrero · Jesse Walker · Joe Ferrone · Kenny Ortiz Studio albums Onomatopoeia (2001) · Fight with Tools (2007) EPs Flobots Present...Platypus (2005) Singles "Handlebars" · "Rise"