Five Eight celebrate 20 years of 'Weirdo' at Vinyl Music Hall
- March 20, 2015
- / Mike Ensley
- / training-development
Mesmerizing anger with guitars.
That’s what I remember most about the live shows from Athens, Georgia band Five Eight that I attended in the mid-90s.
The band will be playing a show commemorating the twentieth anniversary of their album Weirdo, Saturday night at Vinyl Music Hall.
In the mid ‘90s, my friend Chip Chism and I had a college radio show on the University of West Florida’s on-campus student radio station WFSR.
We played a lot of bands – Nirvana, The Ramones, Beck, The Pixies - but despite the fact that they weren’t a “well-known” band, Five Eight songs were a staple of our shift. We played tracks from their E.P., The Angriest Man (1993) and their two albums, I Learned Shut Up (1993) and Weirdo (1994).
[sidebar]
Vinyl Music Hall Presents
Five-Eight "Weirdo"- 20th Anniversary Tour
lowelectric, Heavy Kid
SAT, MARCH 21, 2015
8:00 pm
Vinyl Music Hall
Pensacola, FL
$10.00 available at the box office
or via Ticketfly.com
vinylmusichall.com
[/sidebar]
Chism, who is now Parking Services Manager at UWF, remembers one song that was played religiously.
“They had that song ‘God Damm It Paul’ about a drugged-out fan who crashed his car and killed his friends,” Chism said. “We loved the hell out of that song.”
But my girlfriend was only 16-years-old
when she read my eulogy.
Just a paragraph on page 7B
of the Journal-Constitution.
Some say suicide
take me with you.
Paul you cannot hide
yourself from fear.
“God Damn It Paul” – Five Eight
Mike Mantione knows how to hit the listener right in the gut with his lyrics and plaintiff wailing voice. Mantione is Five Eight’s singer and guitarist, and with bassist Dan Horowitz, co-founder. He says personal anger at things he sees around him has always been a motivator for his writing.
“I was angry then,” Mantione said. “I’m even angrier now.”
Five Eight formed from the ashes of a previous band that Mantione and Horowitz had played in together, The Reasonable Men, when they were both college students in SUNY-Binghamton in upstate New York. By early 1990, the pair had relocated to Athens, become Five Eight and started building a loyal following through relentless touring in the Southeast, becoming known for their intense live shows.
Eric Jones, owner of Revolver Records in downtown Pensacola, is a fan. He remembers the band’s reputation preceded them before he ever saw them live.
“They had a buzz ahead of them before they ever played,” Jones said. “Just word of mouth grapevine stuff that somehow got around town before that guy that invented Twitter bought his first mobile phone.”
Jones said the actual experience of seeing the band live lived up to the hype.
“It was a packed, sweaty room at Sluggo's (where Handebar is now),” Jones remembers. “There was a lot of angst, but there was also lots of good natured bantering with the crowd.”
When I said I thought it was funny and
when I did not try to be cool.
What I show is my impersonation of you all
and I’m the weirdo.
“Weirdo” – Five Eight
“It’s really turning 21-years-old.”
Mantione says that the decision to remix, re-release and tour behind the twentieth anniversary of the band’s 1994 album “Weirdo” felt “kind of Spinal Tap” to him.
“I didn’t think there was anything to gain in remixing the album. It’s tough to revisit that work,” he said. “It was a low budget, indie album made under duress.”
Mantione says at first, he wanted no part in the re-release.
“It was a moment captured in time,” he said. “I just wanted to leave it alone.”
He eventually relented and found himself caught in another moment in time that changed his mind.
“I found myself in a room with everyone who had worked on the album and we were all just listening to the remix,” remembers Mantione. “When we made the album, the instruments never sounded right to me; the vocals didn’t stand out.”
The remix fixed those issues.
“Suddenly, it sounded like we do now,” he said. “It sounded timeless. I realized that it was worth it.”
What brings you to me are some memories in photographs.
You're up on the table spending nothing but the borrowed past.
Breathe out the ballast.
Come to the surface
when you're swimming and alone.
Drink from the chalice
Drown in the blood
as it turns to stone.
Your heart's a magnet and in my dreams I'm dancing with you.
"She's Sleeping" - Five Eight
Playing music, whether in front of a crowd, or with just his bandmates is what makes Mantione tick.
“Five Eight revolves around practice,” Mantione said. “When we play together, we write songs. Someone will come in with an idea and we’ll turn it into something.”
Touring has been the bands’ mission from its conception and they have been doing it for 25 years.
“I love to play shows,” Mantione said. “My dream is that someday we’ll make a record that is as good as we are live.”
And Five Eight has played on the biggest of stages - in 2004, they opened for REM on their U.S. tour.
“Opening for REM was a great time,” Mantione said. “It was really almost a dream to play with a band as great as they are.”
The band will play Vinyl Music Hall on Saturday night. Chris Wilkes books the shows there and when the opportunity to book the band came around, he knew he had to have them.
“When it hit me that they hadn't been to Pensacola in a couple of years and that this year marked the twentieth Anniversary of their classic album "Weirdo" I just knew I finally had to get them into Vinyl to commemorate the occasion,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes literally grew up a fan – he managed to get on the guest list for one of the band’s Pensacola shows at age 17 and bypassed the ID check at the door. Like Jones, he had heard about the band’s angry, powerful live performances and when he saw them for the first time, he wasn’t disappointed.
“When I finally did see them, it turned out that even the stellar reputation that they'd built didn't do them justice,” Wilkes said. “It was everything you'd ever want from a sweaty, packed room underground rock show.”
When the band hits the stage on Saturday, despite being on tour in celebration of the re-release of “Weirdo,” don’t expect the show to focus exclusively on that album.
“We don’t do nostalgia very well. We’re not going to go out and play the entirety of that album at the show,” Mantione. “We’ll play selected songs, but we’ll play stuff from our whole career and new stuff as well.”
In the 20-something years since Weirdo was released, the band has matured and gotten better, but their live shows are still powerful.
“We were desperate in the early days,” he said. “We’re definitely more relaxed now, but we’re still crazy on stage.”
Mantione says that it is a little strange sometimes to play songs the same way they did when they were younger as they’ve gotten older.
“It is unnerving to sing “Weirdo” at 52. Looking people directly in the eye – maybe coming on too strong,” he said. “It’s hard to pull off.”
But while Mantione and Five Eight have gotten older, their desire to create something meaningful with their live shows has not changed.
“When you play a room, it’s never the same experience,” he said. “We just want something to happen in that room for the people watching us – a unique experience.”
As we end our interview, I ask Mantione if the anger that everyone talks about in Five Eight’s music and performances are what powers the band. Mantione is quiet for a moment.
“I don’t think its anger. I think what powers the music is honesty.”
Mike Mantione knows how to hit the listener right in the gut with his lyrics and plaintiff wailing voice. Mantione is Five Eight’s singer and guitarist, and with bassist Dan Horowitz, co-founder. He says personal anger at things he sees around him has always been a motivator for his writing.
“I was angry then,” Mantione said. “I’m even angrier now.”
Five Eight formed from the ashes of a previous band that Mantione and Horowitz had played in together, The Reasonable Men, when they were both college students in SUNY-Binghamton in upstate New York. By early 1990, the pair had relocated to Athens, become Five Eight and started building a loyal following through relentless touring in the Southeast, becoming known for their intense live shows.
Eric Jones, owner of Revolver Records in downtown Pensacola, is a fan. He remembers the band’s reputation preceded them before he ever saw them live.
“They had a buzz ahead of them before they ever played,” Jones said. “Just word of mouth grapevine stuff that somehow got around town before that guy that invented Twitter bought his first mobile phone.”
Jones said the actual experience of seeing the band live lived up to the hype.
“It was a packed, sweaty room at Sluggo's (where Handebar is now),” Jones remembers. “There was a lot of angst, but there was also lots of good natured bantering with the crowd.”
When I said I thought it was funny and
when I did not try to be cool.
What I show is my impersonation of you all
and I’m the weirdo.
“Weirdo” – Five Eight
“It’s really turning 21-years-old.”
Mantione says that the decision to remix, re-release and tour behind the twentieth anniversary of the band’s 1994 album “Weirdo” felt “kind of Spinal Tap” to him.
“I didn’t think there was anything to gain in remixing the album. It’s tough to revisit that work,” he said. “It was a low budget, indie album made under duress.”
Mantione says at first, he wanted no part in the re-release.
“It was a moment captured in time,” he said. “I just wanted to leave it alone.”
He eventually relented and found himself caught in another moment in time that changed his mind.
“I found myself in a room with everyone who had worked on the album and we were all just listening to the remix,” remembers Mantione. “When we made the album, the instruments never sounded right to me; the vocals didn’t stand out.”
The remix fixed those issues.
“Suddenly, it sounded like we do now,” he said. “It sounded timeless. I realized that it was worth it.”
What brings you to me are some memories in photographs.
You're up on the table spending nothing but the borrowed past.
Breathe out the ballast.
Come to the surface
when you're swimming and alone.
Drink from the chalice
Drown in the blood
as it turns to stone.
Your heart's a magnet and in my dreams I'm dancing with you.
"She's Sleeping" - Five Eight
Playing music, whether in front of a crowd, or with just his bandmates is what makes Mantione tick.
“Five Eight revolves around practice,” Mantione said. “When we play together, we write songs. Someone will come in with an idea and we’ll turn it into something.”
Touring has been the bands’ mission from its conception and they have been doing it for 25 years.
“I love to play shows,” Mantione said. “My dream is that someday we’ll make a record that is as good as we are live.”
And Five Eight has played on the biggest of stages - in 2004, they opened for REM on their U.S. tour.
“Opening for REM was a great time,” Mantione said. “It was really almost a dream to play with a band as great as they are.”
The band will play Vinyl Music Hall on Saturday night. Chris Wilkes books the shows there and when the opportunity to book the band came around, he knew he had to have them.
“When it hit me that they hadn't been to Pensacola in a couple of years and that this year marked the twentieth Anniversary of their classic album "Weirdo" I just knew I finally had to get them into Vinyl to commemorate the occasion,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes literally grew up a fan – he managed to get on the guest list for one of the band’s Pensacola shows at age 17 and bypassed the ID check at the door. Like Jones, he had heard about the band’s angry, powerful live performances and when he saw them for the first time, he wasn’t disappointed.
“When I finally did see them, it turned out that even the stellar reputation that they'd built didn't do them justice,” Wilkes said. “It was everything you'd ever want from a sweaty, packed room underground rock show.”
When the band hits the stage on Saturday, despite being on tour in celebration of the re-release of “Weirdo,” don’t expect the show to focus exclusively on that album.
“We don’t do nostalgia very well. We’re not going to go out and play the entirety of that album at the show,” Mantione. “We’ll play selected songs, but we’ll play stuff from our whole career and new stuff as well.”
In the 20-something years since Weirdo was released, the band has matured and gotten better, but their live shows are still powerful.
“We were desperate in the early days,” he said. “We’re definitely more relaxed now, but we’re still crazy on stage.”
Mantione says that it is a little strange sometimes to play songs the same way they did when they were younger as they’ve gotten older.
“It is unnerving to sing “Weirdo” at 52. Looking people directly in the eye – maybe coming on too strong,” he said. “It’s hard to pull off.”
But while Mantione and Five Eight have gotten older, their desire to create something meaningful with their live shows has not changed.
“When you play a room, it’s never the same experience,” he said. “We just want something to happen in that room for the people watching us – a unique experience.”
As we end our interview, I ask Mantione if the anger that everyone talks about in Five Eight’s music and performances are what powers the band. Mantione is quiet for a moment.
“I don’t think its anger. I think what powers the music is honesty.”
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