Music
Press
“Breathe Deep might be the greatest recording ever independently release without the support of a record label.” - From the article “Five bands you don’t want to miss” – Go Triad Magazine 06/17/04
“When these guys pick up their instruments it’s like their picking up weapons – they’ll blow you away. Another thing this band has is dynamics. Cheebo’s melodic vocals soar over the raw, growling guitars, and double-bass drum licks fly between synchronized tom fills. The next minute all is quiet and the bass pumps the rhythm along while the drums cool down to carry the background. Tim Westemoreland lays down a syncopated rap and DJ Armstrong places in scratches and samples. Then the music builds and BAM, another full force cannon takes a blow at me. It’s immediately obvious that… they have been able to meld with each other like many bands, and often good musicians, are unable to.” – Lee Adams, Yes! Weekly 3/16/2005
“a true indie release of emo metal. What makes them stand out from the pack is the sampling and turntable play of David Armstrong.” - Stubble Musiczine, Issue 37
“Heavy guitar riffs with a hint of Tool tones infused with hip-hop for that Limp Bizkit vibe and guttural screaming with clean vocal harmonies for all the emo-hard-core fans. They also mix in spaced out trippy leads for all the heads in the house. What really makes The Five L’s different, though, is that they throw in a new twist of Red Hot’s style funk bass leads. It’s a mix that keeps you listening to see what will happen next. With all that and a well produced recording, this CD is one worth checking out.” – Prick Magazine (Volume 5, Issue 5) February, 2005.
“…aren’t quite as heavy and grind core-influenced as Slipknot, and they don’t lean as heavily toward the rap aspect of rap metal like Limp Bizkit. In other words, they are a happy medium….” “…there is an interesting dynamic going on between the two vocalists.” - Alan Maready, Encore Magazine
“They remind me of a mix of say Snot and Incubus' S.C.I.E.N.C.E. CD. It's good stuff.” - A.M. "Rex" Donati, Head of College Promotion / Digerati; Howard Rosen Promotion, Inc.
“A Band that each day takes another step to becoming a huge national act." - Nighttribesinc.tripod.com
“Love the music, especially the scratching and hip/hop feel to the Old Skool Metallica rifts. Very cool.” - onlinemusic.au.com (Australia)
“…the kind of music that makes you wanna’ grab somebody by their hair and rip it out of their scalp. I’m sorry, while listening to “Napalm Bomb” I had to go and beat the living pulp out of some people. Now I feel better thanks to The Five L’s. – Chris Horton on the 1/15/05 SLAB Music Radio Show broadcast (www.SLABmusic.com).
- Various
Discography
“What” – 2001 (8 song EP)
“Breathe Deep” – Recorded December, 2003 with Thomas Johnson of Porno For Pyros producing. The album was independently released in April, 2004.
Four songs appear on the nationally distributed DVD about Extreme Sports “No Mercy” (Wausau, WI) - 2004
“My Faith” appears on the CD compilation Southeast Exports (Knoxville, TN) - 2003
“My Faith” appears on the CD compilation Best of 106.5 The End (Charlotte) - 2003
“My Faith” appears on the 2004 Atlantis Music Conference Rock Sampler CD (Atlanta) – 2004
Jagermeister EP – Contains 4 of our songs from Breathe Deep – 2004
“I am the Matador” will appear on a nationally distributed compilation CD put out by Skratch Magazine (LA) sometime in March, 2005.
"Chest" will appear on the CMJ ON AIR CD Sampler in March, 2005.
A track will appear on an upcoming Jagermeister CD Compliation (150,000 copies will be distributed).
Streaming available at www.thefivels.com as well as at many other music websites including garageband.com
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The Five L’s formed in March of 2000 with the purpose of forging an aggressive funk-metal band that would also have a hip-hop influence. Their core musical influences were Rage Against The Machine, Jane’s Addiction, old Metallica, Notorious B.I.G., Tool, and Alice In Chains. The band quickly sold over 4,000 copies of their debut CD “What” at club performances across North and South Carolina.
Originally The Five L’s had six members but grew to seven with the edition of David “Scoop” Armstrong (DJ). The original drummer Nick Hood was replaced by Stacy Taylor and guitarist Brandon Bean with James Hilton. With these changes the band began work on their second full-length CD “Breathe Deep” in December 2003 with Thomas Johnson of Porno For Pyros producing. The album was independently released in April, 2004.
With the power of their sophomore recording effort the band began to attract some national attention and sponsors (Jagermeister, Red Bull Energy Drink, JNCO, Everly Strings, Little John’s Tattoo), expanded their performances from their core base in North and South Carolina to play club dates in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama and was selected as one of the acts (out of 245 bands performing) at the 2004 Atlantis Music Conference. Their song “My Faith” was included on several compilation CD's including Southeast Exports (Knoxville, TN), the Best of 106.5 The End (Charlotte, NC), The Atlantis Music Conference compilation CD that was distributed to numerous record labels, an Extreme Motorcycle DVD (Wausau, WI) that featured four compositions by the band, and soon to be distributed Skratch Magazine (Orange County, CA) and College Music Journal ON-AIR (NY, NY) compilation CDs. The band was also featured on XM Unsigned and later recorded a 60-second promo to be used on various XM radio channels. The songs “My Faith,” “Planting Seeds,” “I Am The Matador,” and “Chest” were all voted Song of the Week and Song of The Day on Garageband.com in the space of an eight-month period. This remains an unprecedented feet no other band has yet achieved in the history of the prestigious music website.
By August, 2004 the band had opened for nearly two dozen national acts sharing the stage with Slipknot, Slayer, Sevendust, Stuck Mojo, Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, Clutch, NonPoint, Three Days Grace, Phunk Junkeez, 2 Skinnee J’s, Flaw, Switched, Twizted (Psychopathic Rydaz), Dying Fetus, Dope, Bile, 420 Monks, Mushroom Head, Fear Factory, Dog Fashion Disco, and Nocturn. The band conducted both national college radio (February/March, 2005) and a commercial radio specialty show (July/August, 2005) campaigns with Howard Rosen Promotion, Inc. of Van Nuys, CA. The band also recently secured legal representation and is currently seeking management with strong music industry connections. The band continues to work on their third CD and was tapped to tape a 15-minute segment for “The Goods,” a TV show that airs on Fuse TV (37 million homes). The band will also showcase at the prestigious MidPoint Music Conference in Cincinnati, OH (september 21-24).
At the end of May, 2005 David “Scoop” Armstrong left the band to further pursue his business interests in heavycontact.com (a hip hop webzine and beat making studio).
Band Profile
In an industry teeming with unoriginal bands, The Five L’s strive to be different. The Five L’s seamlessly blend funk, metal, hip-hop, alternative rock, and hardcore bringing a fresh and creative update to metal. With the recent release of their sophomore album, “Breathe Deep,” The Five L’s have solidified their place as one of North Carolina’s premier bands.
Don’t just take our word for it though… The Five L’s are sponsored by Jagermeister (NY), JNCO Jeans (LA), Everly Strings (Burbank), Red Bull Energy Drink (Santa Monica), and Little John’s Tattoo (Greensboro) and is working on several other endorsement deals with companies that recognize the power of this group’s unapologetic message. They have shared the stage with nearly two dozen national acts, had music chosen for numerous nationally distributed compilation CDs, was one of the featured acts at the 2004 Atlantis Music Conference, and have attracted the attention of a half dozen major record labels as tracks from their sophomore recording “Breathe Deep” went to #1 on a couple of prestigious Internet music site charts.
“Breathe Deep” was produced and mixed by Thomas Johnson, a former member of Porno For Pyros and who has recorded many national acts, including Jane’s Addiction, Rancid, Bad Religion, Marshall Tucker Band, The Warped Tour compilation, South Park (the cartoon show) compilation, The Distillers, Yoko Ono, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, George Clinton, and April’s Motel Room, to name but a few.
What does it all mean? The Five L’s headline and pack venues all over the Southeast and are ever expanding. The band is six strong and ready for anything. From the mystery of their name to the sheer energy of their live perf
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