5 Minute Walk was an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

founded by Frank Tate in April 1995. Operations were based in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

in the back offices of The Screem, a music club operated by Tate. They only carried Christian bands and considered themselves to be a

Christian ministry Christian ministry is the vocational work of living and teaching about faith, in the hopes of increasing the population of God's people done by the church, church officials, congregational members, and Jesus followers. The '' Cyclopedia of Bib ...

. Most records were produced by Masaki Liu at Masaki's One Way Studio and executive produced by Frank Tate.

Operations

Records released under 5 Minute Walk were distributed by Diamante Music Group until September 1998. They then struck a deal with Forefront Records to distribute through EMI-owned Chordant Distribution in Christian markets and directly by EMI Distribution in mainstream markets. They also had a sublabel, SaraBellum Records, founded in 1997. Records released on the SaraBellum imprint were targeted at the general market, and distributed by the

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

. Albums were often released on both labels simultaneously. Sarabellum was folded back into 5 Minute Walk in 2001 as the label changed distribution to EMI. Their first release was ''Deeper Than Skies'' by My Brother's Mother in 1995. In approximately 2001 the label dropped all artists from its roster except

Five Iron Frenzy Five Iron Frenzy is an American band which formed in Denver, Colorado, in 1995. Best known for playing ska punk music characterized by an offbeat sense of humor and prominent Christian themes, Five Iron Frenzy was one of the pioneering figure ...

. When Five Iron disbanded at the end of 2003, lead singer Reese Roper signed under the name "Roper." The group released one album, '' Brace Yourself for the Mediocre'', in late 2004 and toured nationally before disbanding.

Ministry

Many of their records and tours raised money for charity causes. Artists involved in these tours sometimes played without payment, and included off-label bands such as Sixpence None the Richer, the Lost Dogs, and Poor Old Lu. These operations were at the direction of Frank Tate who, previous to the label's founding and as manager for The Prayer Chain and The 77s, raised money to send 72 HIV infected children to

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

. Tours often took donations such as socks, blankets, and jackets and gave the collections to local homeless shelters. Certain albums raised money for world hunger related causes. The company also ran a food and medical center in Tijuana, Mexico that fed upwards of 150 children each day and contributed to an orphanage in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

. Five Minute Walk tours were not restricted to "christian friendly" venues such as churches, as bars and non-traditional venues such as roller skating rinks were considered ministry opportunities. Typically their bands would not preach to the crowds, but let the music carry the message to the listener. The approach of the label was to ensure the bands were spiritually healthy so that they could effectively transmit the Gospel message. The labels lyrical approach, as explained by Frank Tate, was "...if you search the lyrics and ponder what they're saying, you'll hear the hope that they've found. But you're not going to come to one of our shows and get banged over the head with a

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

." Five Iron Frenzy participated in the 1998 Ska Against Racism tour, which raised awareness of and money for

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

causes. Five Iron also participated in the

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...

in 2002.

Slogan

"Love God, Love Others, Take Time to Listen." :''Excerpted from an interview between Harmon Leon and Frank Tate:''

Bands

* Brave Saint Saturn (Active, with Department of Biophysics) * Dime Store Prophets (Disbanded; members went on to form Tremolo) * Dryve (Disbanded; members went on to join Marjorie Fair and Tremolo) * The Echoing Green (Active, with A Different Drum Records) * The Electrics (Inactive) *

(Active) * Justin McRoberts (Active, currently unsigned) * Model Engine/Black Eyed Sceva (Disbanded) * Mortal (On Hiatus; members went on to join Fold Zandura and Switchfoot) * My Brother's Mother (Disbanded) * Philmore (Inactive) * Rivulets and Violets (Disbanded) * Roper (Disbanded) * Rose Blossom Punch (Disbanded; members now in

Fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

) * Seven Day Jesus (Disbanded; members went on to join The O.C. Supertones, The Red Velvet, and Audio Adrenaline) * Sherri Youngward (Active, currently unsigned) * Soul-Junk (Active, with Quiver Society! Records) * The Smiley Kids (Disbanded) * The W's (Disbanded; members went on to join The O.C. Supertones, Bendixon, and Alpha Charlie) * Yum Yum Children (Active, currently unsigned)

References

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External links