Reese Roper - Five Iron Frenzy

Labeled: The Stories, Rumors & Legends of Tooth & Nail Records

Tooth and Nail Records

Music

4.9 • 630 Ratings

🗓️ 31 July 2023

⏱️ 112 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Reese Roper is simply a legend. Five Iron Frenzy (FIF) was one of the first Christian bands truly existing in both the Christian and mainstream space. In the late 90s during the ska explosion, they achieved real commercial success, made a bold choice to stay on a small independent label, and were delivering absolutely scorching lyrics that were full of questions and critique - lyrics that challenged the existing cultural structures. Packaging those lyrics in the ska-punk package was a perfect move that paid off deeply to their fan base. FIF is also one of those bands that pioneered and cultivated their followers into super fans by delivering on multiple layers of depth across time and staying true to their principles. They are heroes of the scene and certainly paved the way for the next generation.

They are now releasing an incredibly cool vinyl box set of all their music. You gotta check it out and the promotional video for it. I’ll link it in the notes because it delivers the perfect amount of silliness and humor that you’d expect from FIF. I thought this would be a great chance to talk to Reese and get his reflections on some of the special things they have accomplished plus some of the challenges.

Link to the FIF boxset promotional video

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	it started as like a rebellious thing.
0:03.8	That Jamaicans were speaking back to the authorities when they started it in the 50s and 60s,
0:10.5	like trying to get the boot off their neck.
0:14.1	And then when Jamaican immigrants went to the UK for the second wave,
0:19.1	it was a lot of just factory workers and just a system that kind of oppressed black people
0:25.9	and pushed them into poverty.
0:28.0	And the white kids who were rebelling against their parents supporting this.
0:33.9	And then, you know, it comes to the U.S.
0:35.9	And there's still that element in it.
0:38.6	You know, you've got bands like Rancid and Op.
0:41.7	Ivy that are pretty political and like, hey, this is still punk rock.
0:47.1	But then you have like this huge underlying current of this is also kind of circus music.
0:53.3	Music. current of this is also kind of circus music. I have an evil plan to save the world for every man, and I think it's better than the way it's being wrong. Oh, the ground works laid.
1:13.6	No, don't be afraid.
1:15.6	I'm sure that I can fix it when I figure out the physics.
1:19.6	Bible plan to save the world.
1:22.6	Just you wait till it's unbelled.
1:24.6	It'll go down in history. Welcome back to Labelled. It'll go down in history.
1:29.8	Welcome back to Labeled.
1:31.3	I'm your host, Matt Carter, and I'm glad today to share with you my conversation with Reese Roper, because he's a legend.
1:38.1	Five Rine Frenzy was one of the first Christian bands that was truly existing in both the Christian and mainstream space at the same time and really contributing in both.
1:47.0	In the late 90s during the sky explosion, they achieved real commercial success.
	...

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