Flobots

Flobots

Flobots at KFMA Day in Tucson, Arizona on May 16, 2008.
Background information
Origin Denver, Colorado, USA
Genres Alternative rock, alternative hip hop
Years active 2000-present
Labels Universal Republic, Island Def Jam
Website www.flobots.com
Members James "Jonny 5" Laurie
Stephen "Brer Rabbit" Brackett
Mackenzie Gault
Jesse Walker
Kenny "KennyO" Ortiz
Past members Andy "Rok" Guerrero
Joe Ferrone

The Flobots are a rock and hip hop musical band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2000 by Jamie Laurie. Flobots found mainstream success with their major label debut Fight with Tools (2007), featuring the single "Handlebars", which became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio in April 2008.

Fight with Tools (2007–2008)

In October 2007, after a year of writing and producing, the Flobots released their proper debut album 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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] 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 Amphitheater 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 No. 3 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4]

They made their television debut on Last Call with Carson Daly on May 20, 2008.[5] Also on May 20, Flobots spent two hours with Dr. Drew and Stryker answering sex questions on Loveline [6] and re-released their album Fight With Tools to a wider audience after their newfound success. Flobots also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 5, 2008 with their song "Handlebars".[7] They performed their second single "Rise" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on October 13, 2008.

The Flobots perform to an energized crowd at Fly me to the Moon Saloon in Telluride, CO

Survival Story (2009–2010)

On February 17, 2009, the Flobots announced in a MySpace blog entry that they were "working really hard on their next album and plan to have it completed soon."[8]

In September 2009, the band finished recording their second album. The band announced on YouTube that the album was to be titled Survival Story. The album was released on March 16, 2010.[9] The key single from that album is the song "White Flag Warrior."

The Circle in the Square (2011–2014)

In the summer of 2011, lead guitarist Andy "Rok" Guerrero left the group due to "creative differences" and to focus on his previous project, Bop Skizzum. On September 17, 2011 while performing at the Gallogly Events Center, UCCS, Colorado Springs, the Flobots announced that "they will be releasing an album in 2012 so they might as well name it Stop The Apocalypse." They also performed a brand new song off the album titled The Circle in the Square. It was revealed via their official website on June 15, 2012, that the album would not be titled Stop the Apocalypse, but will be called The Circle in the Square and will be released on August 28, 2012.[10] On June 20, the band posted a video for the title song The Circle in the Square on their YouTube channel. On August 28, 2012, their album The Circle in the Square was released.[11]

On May 7, 2013, the band released video for a previously unreleased song called "Rockmine."[12]

An audience member raises a fist in the air in solidarity at a show in Telluride, CO at Fly Me to the Moon Saloon

No Enemies (2015-present)

In 2015 it was announced that they were working on a new music project called No Enemies, which will focus on issues such as climate change and immigration reform.

Band members

Current members
Former members
Session members

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays

Singles

Year Title Peak positions Album
US
[15]		 US
Pop
[15]		 US
Mod
[15]		 US
DS
[15]		 CAN
[16]		 UK
[17]		 NZ
[18]
2008 "Handlebars" 37 34 3 20 63 14 26 Fight with Tools
"Rise" — — 33 — — — —
2010 "White Flag Warrior"
(ft. Tim McIlrath from Rise Against)[19]		 — — 22 — — — — Survival Story
2012 "The Circle in the Square" — — — — — — — The Circle in the Square
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or have yet to chart.

Appearances in compilations

Webcomics

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.

Other Work

In 2013 and 2014, The Flobots performed a free concert for high school students in Jefferson County, Colorado for the annual A Day Without Hate rally. [20] In an interview with Standley Lake High School's news magazine The Lake, Jamie Laurie mentioned how he believed A Day Without Hate was "really inspiring." [21]

References

  1. ↑ "Denverpost.com, Flobots hammer home message". Denver Post. February 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Denverpost.com, Flobots take giant step with label deal". Denver Post. March 27, 2008.
  3. ↑ "The History of KFMADAY". KFMA, Tucson, AZ, USA. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Artist Chart History - The Flobots". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Flobots Indeed Kill It on Carson Daly".
  6. ↑ "Loveline Show, 2008-05-20 (Flobots)".
  7. ↑ "IMDB site with info on June 5 episode of Jay Leno". IMDB. IMDB. 6/5. Retrieved August 24, 2008. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ↑ "Note from the 303". MySpace.com Blogs. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  9. ↑ "FLOB BLOG No. 3 12.2.09 album update". Flobots. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Flobots.com, Upcoming Album".
  11. ↑ "Album Launch Day". Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "Album Info - Fight with Tools - Flobots". Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Official Album Chart for the week ending September 13, 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (368): 5–8.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Flobots Artist Chart History: Singles". Billboard charts. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Flobots Canadian Hot 100". Billboard charts. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2008.
  17. ↑ "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending August 16, 2008". ChartsPlus (Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd) (364): 1–4.
  18. ↑ "New Zealand Singles Chart". charts.org.nz. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  19. ↑ FMQB.com
  20. ↑ http://daywithouthate.org/rally.html
  21. ↑ http://issuu.com/standleylakenewspaper/docs/issue_5

External links

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