''Upbeats and Beatdowns'' is the first full-length album of the band

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 ...

. It was originally released independently on November 29, 1996 before receiving a national release on April 8, 1997, on

Five Minute Walk 5 Minute Walk was an independent record label founded by Frank Tate in April 1995. Operations were based in Concord, California in the back offices of The Screem, a music club operated by Tate. They only carried Christian bands and considered th ...

, under the SaraBellum imprint, with distribution from

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Overview

The lyrics were generally received as being "relevant and forceful;" one reviewer commented that the band offered praise and worship "by the pound." The first track, "Old West", begins one of many themes that would recur on the band's subsequent releases. The track is critical of the ill treatment of Native Americans in the name of Christ, and the liner notes implore us to learn from the Sand Creek and

Meeker massacre Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879 in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute people, Ute Indians (Native Americans of the United States, Native Americans) attacked t ...

s. According to the Five Iron Frenzy MySpace blog, "Milestone" is often given the title "Nintendo" due to an incorrectly named mp3 distributed on file-sharing networks. "A Flowery Song," was nominated for a Dove Music Award in the "Short Form Music Video of the Year" category. The video was filmed in Albuquerque, south of the band's hometown of Denver. Its content included an unusually energetic, raucous scene, in which volunteers wearing colorful costumes danced down a suburban street. These costumes were not obviously connected to the lyrical content of the video, and ranged from Disney princesses skipping to an Ace of Hearts aggressively dance-punching the air.Archived a
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Track listing

All music written by Scott Kerr and Dennis Culp and all lyrics written by

Reese Roper Michael Reese Roper (born June 30, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, best known as lead singer for the Denver, Colorado-based Christian ska punk band Five Iron Frenzy, as well as fronting the rock bands Brave Saint Saturn and Roper. Pers ...

, except where noted otherwise.

Personnel

Five Iron Frenzy * Leanor Ortega - saxophone, background vocals * Nathanael Dunham - trumpet, background vocals * Dennis Culp - trombone, background vocals, lead vocals on "Beautiful America" * Scott Kerr - guitar, background vocals * Keith Hoerig - bass *( Andrew Verdecchio) - drums * Micah Ortega - guitar *

- lead vocals Additional personnel * Jamie Awbrey – rooster crow on "A Flowery Song" *

Masaki Liu Masaki Liu, sometimes referred to as "Saki", is the engineer and producer operating One Way Studio, a digital recording studio in Benicia, California. Liu has recorded and produced music for many bands, including Five Iron Frenzy, Black Rebel Moto ...

– producer, mixing, background vocals on "Beautiful America" * Edith Bunker – background vocals on "I Feel Lucky" * Frank Tate – executive producer

References

{{Authority control Five Iron Frenzy albums 1997 debut albums