by Kriss Stress

Five Iron Frenzy has released several albums over the years since their first 7" release back in 1995. Through relentless touring with bands both in the Christian and General market, they showed relevance to an increasingly apathetic world. Not only was their music fun but their ministry was vital. I caught up with Keith and Dennis at the press tent a couple months back at the Cornerstone Festival to ask them a few questions on the band's past, their final tour and the future of the members individually.

Kriss: Starting off, what’s it been like for you guys musically to go from albums like Upbeats and Beatdowns to Quantity to this (The End Is Near). What’s been your evolution over the past few years? How have you matured as musicians?

Dennis: I think the beginning album was very much punk rock and ya know, like third wave ska. And then our sound kinda became more pop. Definite Weezer influences were there along with a definite NOFX punk rock influence. Quantity Is Job 1 was really a kind of experimental album and so was All The Hype. Like, we really messed around with a lot of different styles and I feel like Electric Boogaloo was the resolve of that where we settled on a sound we were content with. We became a rock band with pop influences and a punk rock and ska flavor. And this last record, I think we actually moved forward with that sound. Right now, I really like the sound a lot and I’m glad that that’s where we ended up. I don’t know, it was really intimidating and challenging to try to resolve and top off everything and kind of grow up. And I feel like we’ve created a good album. It clearly has influences from the other albums and I’m happy about that too.

Keith: I agree with all that.

Kriss: Actually, a Brave Saint question, will the SS Gloria ever get back home?

Dennis: That’s really Reese’s story. I mean; I hope so. As one of the crewmembers; we all wanna go home. And we just saw the Sun in the last installment, so I think we’re on our way. It was beautiful.

Keith: That’s the point of the third record, the crew of the Gloria gets home safely.

Dennis: So we finally get home and our wives get mad at us cos we’ve been gone for months (laugher) and that’s the end.

Kriss: I’ve heard speculation over the past couple of years of a joke album. Was Cheeses of Nazareth that album?

Dennis: That’s the joke album. We actually did this thing where we had people leave messages with joke ideas and one of them was “I’m so hot I’m gonna have a heat stroke”. The other ones were kinda ideas that we came up with. It’s kinda fancy, but it’s fun because some of those tracks are demo work that we had done in 1995. And it really showed the evolution of the band.

Keith: It’s definitely a record for hardcore Five Iron fans for those who wanted to hear everything from the first demoes that we ever made to us just fooling around in the studio.

Dennis: It’s really for serious fans only. But we thought it’d be cool cos our fans did want to hear it. People on our message boards would talk about it all the time like “Oh, I found this song and I downloaded it but it’s not on any of their records, it’s really good”. So we thought it would be good for them. And it’s kind of like spring-cleaning; especially after we knew we were gonna break up. It’s like, go through and just find everything that we already have and just put it out there.

Kriss: Well, your last show’s in Denver. What’s it gonna be like knowing that fans are gonna be flying from across the country and across the world to see it? What’s the emotional feel of the whole band right now? Of knowing that Five Iron’s about to be over and that you’re going to all be opening up a new chapter in just a couple of months?

Dennis: I think everyone’s excited and we all think it’s an honor to be able to do it for the next few months. And I think we’re going to do it the best we can; after that, I think we’re all looking forward and excited about doing other things with our lives. But I think the idea that people would travel far and pay money to see us is extremely humbling and I’m greatful for that, but I think that’s something we’ve been greatful for the past eight years. And the fact that it’s the last live show, I mean, of course there’s obviously going to be more emotion there because it’s our last live show, but I’m just very greatful for everyone that’s supported us over the last eight years.

Kriss: You said during the press conference, that next year you wanna come back and just kind of lay low and be “normal”, are you going to try to pull a Prayer Chain in the next ten years and maybe do a reunion?

Dennis: We actually made a rule because it’s kinda weird when a band breaks up and then has a reunion. I mean, if we tell people we’re gonna break up, we better mean it cos we’re making a big deal out of it. And we really, prayerfully are trying to do this for the right reasons and I think it would be hypocrisy if we got together soon after. I think we actually agreed on atleast 10 years or more and we’d consider it. At that time, we don’t know where people will be.

Keith: It’s funny, because people have been asking us about reunions and we haven’t even broken up yet. I guess something important to know, this isn’t a publicity stunt. This is for real. No one will be seeing us for a very long time if at all.

Kriss: Well, spiritually, how have you guys grown? Through your own personal lives? Through Five Iron?

Dennis: I think it’s almost been a weening process to some degree. As a fan, you come to the shows and feel the spirit and you get caught up in it and it’s a wonderful experience. But to be on the other side of it, it’s kind of, I don’t know, you see beyond that. It becomes a more blessed experience and more of a walk of faith. And for me, that’s really what it’s become because; I guess that's the routine of it. And also, being used night after night, it’s…I don’t know. It’s really just a walk of faith. Realizing that you may or may not feel God’s presence, but your faith is the same. And faith is real faith when you can’t feel it at all. And for me, I guess that’s just the growth. My faith has become more of a discipline and less of just following what I feel.

Keith: Right now, I think, just a big thing for me is just having faith in God. I mean, for all of us in Five Iron, we’re talking about quitting something we’ve done for 9 years and um…and it's been basically our job as far as our finances and what we do for ministry. I think God is trying to just teach me right now to not be worried about it; that He’ll take care of me financially and give me something else to do ministry wise. So I think that’s where I’m at. That’s what God’s teaching me right now - that He’ll take care of me, that He’ll take care of us all.

Dennis: Yeah, and beyond that, just the idea of quitting our jobs and dropping out of society and trusting in God completely and how amazing He’s been in taking care of every need. It’s been a great experience and we don’t wanna take that for granted.

Kriss: You guys have kind of made a point to stress to the audience that you're humans like anybody else and that there doesn’t need to be ‘idol worship’ there. Have a lot of the kids accepted that? Or do you still have the kids coming up going ‘sign my shirt!"? Are they getting the message?

Dennis: Yeah, because Cornerstone fosters an environment of bands just being normal people. Like, I know in the last 6 years; they’ve gotten new showers, the common areas are nicer. Everything’s for the campers. As far as the performers go, there’s very little. There’s a few places that are air-conditioned and maybe some candy and I think that’s very cool. Because it hasn’t been about isolation between bands and fans and you know, signing autographs and all that stuff. I mean, I think other festivals do that and it’s for the comfort of the band but it creates something that’s kind of weird really.

Keith: I think that what Dennis just said is totally true. There are certain festivals and promoters and whatever that actually foster division between bands and their audiences and I think that Cornerstone, Tomfest and Purple Door are places that don’t do that. And I think those festivals make it so that the bands really are normal people, not because they’re trying to pretend like the bands are normal people; but because that’s what they really are as opposed to what a lot of festivals do, which is pretend like the bands aren’t normal people which isn’t true.

Dennis: I’m really impressed with the fans. Like, last night, they weren’t asking for an encore or anything, all they wanted to do was say thank you at the end of the set and I was like ‘these people get it’, ya know? They weren’t here for superstars, they were just here to participate with us and that really meant a lot. That’s really really cool. I can’t say enough. I’ll never forget that.

Kriss: There have been a lot of people impacted from your ministry over the past 8 years. Like, my friend Drew, you’re his favorite band. And it’s not a fanatic thing, it’s the fact that he feels that you guys have, through your music, taught him a lot about humility and he’s applied that to his own spiritual and everyday life. How does it feel knowing you’ve actually been a positive role model where fans don’t put you on a pedestal, but instead go ‘hey, they’re struggling through life and making it so I can make it too.”

Dennis: All glory to God. I mean, that’s way too cool to take credit for. I think it’s cool that one of the reasons that Five Iron managed to do what it did, not just because of God’s Grace, but the fact that we felt so compelled to be a democracy. And no one person in the band was able to run with their fancies, like, God bless Reese for always wanting to keep merchandise cheap. We’ve all humbled each other a lot and I think that God’s used that. I would encourage every band to be a democracy and hold each other accountable because that’s really helped us in our own time.

Kriss: You guys are known for your stage antics. Of course last night, taking cue from Mike Knott with the pork and beans, what’s probably been the craziest thing you guys have done on stage?

Keith: (laughs) There was a show, I think it was in Ohio and we were playing in a skating rink and in the basement of the rink, which we were using as a dressing room; they had all these big costumes…that were complete with…like, Sesame Street costumes. Not just masks that cover your face, but, I can’t describe it but they were like full suits of fur, almost like Cookie Monsters suits. There were enough where all eight of us dressed up in these things and we played a show in them. The first song anyway, we took them off because they were too hot to wear.

Dennis: We have that on video. We might put that on the DVD.

Kriss: Are you guys gonna put film of the ‘Five Iron Heavy Metal’ from back when you were doing the Live Album?

Dennis: If we had video footage of that, it would probably make it onto the DVD.

Keith: I thought that was pretty cool. I gotta say I liked the Star Trek thing too. I like the fact that we were going out with two suit and tie bands and coming out as freakin’ Star Trek and I loved that because we were such oddballs on that tour. I was a Klingon. (laughs) We actually had choreography that worked, it was pretty funny.

Dennis: I’ll agree, the Star Trek stuff was pretty amazing. If anyone saw us on that tour, they’d agree that that was pretty fun (laughs).

Kriss: In closing, this is the stereotypical “Any Final Words?” question basically.

Keith: I just want to say Thank You to anyone whose supported us over the last eight years in any way whether they bought an album or came to a show; wrote a review or interviewed us or put us on their radio station or whatever; gave us a ride, fed us, gave us a place to sleep, thank you very much. I appreciate it, we all appreciate it.

Dennis: On top of that, something on our hearts is that I hope there are people that read this article or watch us that have a burning in their heart to carry the torch and form new bands that are relevant and just continue doing this and maintaining this ministry. Five Iron’s just a small part of the scene.