Family Force 5

Family Force 5 is one of the most popular bands in current music. With their signature blend of rock, dance, and comedy, the group has made an impact on the youth culture of today. On the release day of their sophomore album, Dance or Die, Soul-Audio’s John Wofford sat down to talk with lead guitarist Chap Stique—known by his family as Derek Mount—on time travel, comic books, and a very confused chicken.

Soul-Audio: So the new album came out today, correct?

Chap Stique: Yeah and I’m so giddy right now. We worked really hard on it!

SA: Leading up to the album’s release, what have the “very mysterious” Family Force 5 been up to?

Chap: Ha! Ha! We have been sweating—a lot…just got off the Warped Tour, and I flew home not too long ago. We played the entire tour, danced like buffoons on our other friend’s sets, dressed in these hilarious track suits and ran around the entire festival. We had a blast, man, but we’re definitely glad to be home.

SA: Well, now that the album is out—what next?

Chap: Today we’re being total nerds and sitting on iTunes and seeing if people like [the new album] and what they’re saying about it. Other than that, we have a fall tour called Dance RAWR Dance 2. [Makes actual roaring noise].

SA: I like the sound effect there, man. That was menacing.

Chap: Well, you know, I wasn’t trying to be menacing, but I have to say it that way…otherwise, it’s just too much of a tongue twister.

[Laughter]

Chap: The tour’s gonna be us, Danger Radio, Play Radio Play, and Ultraviolet Sound. It’s gonna be a very dance-y tour. We’re asking all the people who are gonna come out to please dress in as much silver as possible—any metallic, futuristic-looking outfits you have. We want the whole thing to look just like we’re on another planet.

SA: Is there a concept behind the new album, and is that what you’re going for with the new tour setup?

Chap: We’re leaving the lyrics up to the listener’s interpretation at this point…you’re right, there’s a very big concept on a portion of this record. We will be releasing that story at some point in the near future, but we have to figure out whether that’s going to be in the form of, you know, a film or cartoon or comic book. I will say, “Yes—robots, aliens, bombs, explosions, the future, time travel…all those things are involved.”

SA: Family Force 5 reaches out to their fans unlike many other bands in Christian music. Where did the decision to be so vocal to and with the fans come from?

Chap: We’re just ourselves, man. We are just weird, crazy, cartoon-loving people. I think a big part of our ministry is to shed that whole “rock star” vibe. There are so many bands that I grew up loving and also realizing that “I’ll never get to meet that person.” We think that’s so silly. If people like the art we’re making, then we really want them to know that we appreciate that. We care. That’s where the connection comes from. We tell jokes, stories, and pranks from the road.

Being tangible is part of today’s relevance. We don’t want to treat people like fans—we want to treat them like friends. We want people to come to the shows and feel like they’re at something totally different, something where their problems go away. It’s a fun experience rather than just going to watch a couple dudes play guitar.

SA: What’s your favorite prank on the road?

Chap: Oooh…well, we did this tour with Spoken, This Beautiful Republic, and Falling Up recently. The last night of the tour, we were in the middle of our set and they came out and just doused us in cheese spray and pelted us with cream pies in the face. It was disgusting and it smelled horrible. So we got ‘em back. We got a chicken and put it in Spoken’s bus. When they came back, they were freaked out. They opened the door and the chicken was just chilling out inside. I’m not going to lie, it had “doo-dooed” and so it was pretty awesome. We’ve done pranks that were probably more illustrious, but I think “chicken in the bus” is pretty rocking.

[Laughter]

SA: Okay…wow. Other than putting chickens in buses, what do you guys do for fun outside of the band?

Chap: We don’t have a lot of downtime, but when we get it we’re either practicing or writing songs or recording The Really Real Show. Right now we’re writing a treatment for our new music video, which we’re very excited about. Nadaddy is totally into racing. He rides his motorcycle all the time. I’m a reader. Soul Glow makes beats for everybody; he’s done stuff for TobyMac and trying to get Justin Timberlake to use some of his material, so that’s his thing. Crouton likes to shop. Phatty likes to whittle; he’s really into wood whittling.

SA: You guys are one of the most unique bands in the music scene—from the costumes to the music. Tell us about the Family Force 5000.

Chap: Yeah, well…it’s a six-and-a-half foot tall NASA computer—a drum machine that lights up when you punch it. Nadaddy plays it by head-butting it and kneeing it and kicking it. It creates these incredible sounds. We’re trying to turn it into a time machine for our next tour. It’s just a huge wall of electricity, kind of a big Speak ‘N’ Spell that takes up an incredible amount of space.

SA: If you had one chance to say something to either your fans or perhaps people who know nothing about Family Force 5, what would you say?

Chap: I would probably say… [makes intelligible beeping noises].

[Laughter]

SA: What was that?

Chap: Beep boop beep.

SA: Man, come on!

Chap: Oh man I’m sorry; I forgot that I was back in 2008. We have actually been travelling through time. That was futuristic talk for “We love all of you and we hope you choose to dance. Dance or Die is really about the message…it has got alliteration, consonants, and uh…it rules. It’s also something about life. You have a choice whether you want to live it abundantly and liberated, free of oppression. It’s inspired by that song ‘I hoooope you daaaance.’”

[Laughter]

SA: I just got a little bit weirded out; just a bit, though, man. Not much.

Chap: Sorry about the “clicking” talk, man. I just forgot what year I was in.

SA: It’s happened to me a couple times too, dude. Don’t sweat it.

• www.familyforce5.com
• www.myspace.com/familyforce5

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