Flatfoot 56
Encyclopedia
Flatfoot 56 is a Celtic punk
band from Chicago, Illinois. The group's use of Scottish
Highland bagpipes
has led to their classification as a Celtic punk
band, comparable to Dropkick Murphys
or Flogging Molly
.
, guitar
, mandolin
) to the lineup and the band began including the Highland bagpipes and a second guitar
into its sound.
In 2001 they recorded their first demo, then in Summer 2002, the band recorded their first full length album, entitled Rumble of 56. This recording was done in Rockford, Illinois
, in a studio called the Noise Chamber. Their second album, Waves of War, was released in 2003. Their song, "That's OK," had heavy radio play on stations across the Midwestern United States
. It has been known as one of the higher-rated songs Flatfoot 56 has ever played and is a crowd favorite at live performances.
In 2004, Flatfoot 56 performed at the Cornerstone Festival
in Illinois for a crowd of about 700 people. It was at this concert that the band released their third album, Knuckles Up. It has been the band's best-selling record, and the group continues to record and tour. The band has been signed to Flicker Records
and has re-released Knuckles Up through the label. Their fourth record, Jungle of the Midwest Sea
, was released on May 15, 2007.
After the release of their fourth album, the band embarked on tours. They also appeared in festivals like Skanksgiving '08, Sonshine Festival
2008 and 2009, and the Warped Tour
. They are also set to appear at the Sonshine Festival 2011 They also appeared in the Warped Tour 2010 Tour Compilation
album, and recorded a song for the Swingin Utters tribute album titled Untitled 21: A Juvenile Tribute to the Swingin' Utters.
In January 2009, the band announced on their website that they were recording a new, full-length album. On December 18 of the same year, it was officially announced that they had signed to California based Old Shoe Records for the release of their new album Black Thorn
. The album was initially due for release St. Patricks Day (March 17) 2010, but was delayed until March 30, 2010. Upon its release, the album debuted at #2 on Billboard Heatseekers New Artist Chart. The first-week sales have also pushed the album into the Billboard Top 200 at #160, as well as other Billboard charts
.
The video for their 2010 single "Courage" was nominated for a 2010 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for 'Best Director.'
In 2010 the Flatfoot 56 songs "Shiny Eyes," "Son of Shame," and "We Grow Stronger" were featured in episodes 7, 8 and 9 of season 3 of the TV series Sons of Anarchy
.
The band is planning to start writing and recording new music in September 2011.
While not touring and playing with Flatfoot 56, Kyle Bawinkel sings for the hardcore side project Sexually Frustrated.
Flatfoot 56 also performed WWE superstar Johnny Curtis
's theme
, "I Told You So".
Former members
| || Jungle of the Midwest Sea
|| Rock Album of the Year (Dove Award) ||
|-
| | || Courage || Outstanding Achievement for Individual Excellence Off Camera
||
Celtic punk
Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...
band from Chicago, Illinois. The group's use of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Highland bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
has led to their classification as a Celtic punk
Celtic punk
Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...
band, comparable to Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....
or Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.-Early years:...
.
History
The band formed in summer 2000 as a three-piece punk band. The three original members, who are brothers (Tobin Bawinkel, Justin Bawinkel, and Kyle Bawinkel), started writing songs in Fall 2000. By the Christmas season of the same year, they were playing their first concert. In January 2001, the band added Josh Robieson (bagpipesBagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
) to the lineup and the band began including the Highland bagpipes and a second guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
into its sound.
In 2001 they recorded their first demo, then in Summer 2002, the band recorded their first full length album, entitled Rumble of 56. This recording was done in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, in a studio called the Noise Chamber. Their second album, Waves of War, was released in 2003. Their song, "That's OK," had heavy radio play on stations across the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. It has been known as one of the higher-rated songs Flatfoot 56 has ever played and is a crowd favorite at live performances.
In 2004, Flatfoot 56 performed at the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
in Illinois for a crowd of about 700 people. It was at this concert that the band released their third album, Knuckles Up. It has been the band's best-selling record, and the group continues to record and tour. The band has been signed to Flicker Records
Flicker Records
Flicker Records is a Christian record label based in Franklin, Tennessee. It was founded by members of Christian rock group Audio Adrenaline. The label mainly focuses on rock/hard rock artists, though it also created a subsidiary, Big House Kids, for Christian children's music.The label was...
and has re-released Knuckles Up through the label. Their fourth record, Jungle of the Midwest Sea
Jungle of the Midwest Sea
-Awards:The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year at the 39th GMA Dove Awards.-External links:* at Amazon...
, was released on May 15, 2007.
After the release of their fourth album, the band embarked on tours. They also appeared in festivals like Skanksgiving '08, Sonshine Festival
Sonshine Festival
Sonshine Festival is a Christian music festival held annually in Willmar, Minnesota, usually the second weekend in July. It features Christian musical artists from the United States and around the world. The festival is a member of the Christian Festival Association.A secondary function of the...
2008 and 2009, and the Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
. They are also set to appear at the Sonshine Festival 2011 They also appeared in the Warped Tour 2010 Tour Compilation
Warped Tour 2010 Tour Compilation
The Warped Tour 2010 Tour Compilation is the fifteenth installment in the annual compilation series accompanying the Warped Tour. The cover is a photograph of Blink-182 performing on the 1999 Warped Tour.- Track listing :...
album, and recorded a song for the Swingin Utters tribute album titled Untitled 21: A Juvenile Tribute to the Swingin' Utters.
In January 2009, the band announced on their website that they were recording a new, full-length album. On December 18 of the same year, it was officially announced that they had signed to California based Old Shoe Records for the release of their new album Black Thorn
Black Thorn
Black Thorn may refer to:*Black Thorn *Black Thorn , the fifth studio album by the celtic punk band Flatfoot 56.*Rogue Spear: Black Thorn, a video game add-on...
. The album was initially due for release St. Patricks Day (March 17) 2010, but was delayed until March 30, 2010. Upon its release, the album debuted at #2 on Billboard Heatseekers New Artist Chart. The first-week sales have also pushed the album into the Billboard Top 200 at #160, as well as other Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
.
The video for their 2010 single "Courage" was nominated for a 2010 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award for 'Best Director.'
In 2010 the Flatfoot 56 songs "Shiny Eyes," "Son of Shame," and "We Grow Stronger" were featured in episodes 7, 8 and 9 of season 3 of the TV series Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
.
The band is planning to start writing and recording new music in September 2011.
While not touring and playing with Flatfoot 56, Kyle Bawinkel sings for the hardcore side project Sexually Frustrated.
Flatfoot 56 also performed WWE superstar Johnny Curtis
Johnny Curtis
Jonathan Curtis is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand under his ring name Johnny Curtis. He also performs in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. He was the winner of the fourth season of NXT.- Early Career :Curtis...
's theme
Music in professional wrestling
Music in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
, "I Told You So".
Members
- Tobin Bawinkel - lead vocals, lead guitar
- Kyle Bawinkel - bass, vocals
- Justin Bawinkel - drums, vocals
- Eric McMahon - bagpipes, guitar, bass drum
- Brandon Good - mandolin, guitar, vocals
Former members
- Josh Robieson - mandolin, bagpipes
Black Thorn
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Billboard 200 | 160 |
| 2010 | Christian Albums | 11 |
| 2010 | Heatseekers Albums | 2 |
| 2010 | Independent Albums | 17 |
Awards
|-| || Jungle of the Midwest Sea
Jungle of the Midwest Sea
-Awards:The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year at the 39th GMA Dove Awards.-External links:* at Amazon...
|| Rock Album of the Year (Dove Award) ||
|-
| | || Courage || Outstanding Achievement for Individual Excellence Off Camera
Chicago / Midwest Emmy Awards
The Chicago / Midwest Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Chicago / Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences . The chapter was founded in 1958, and serves the Chicago metropolitan area and the surrounding parts of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin....
||
Discography
- Rumble of 56 – 2002
- Waves of War – 2003
- Knuckles Up – 2004
- Knuckles Up (re-release) – 2006
- Jungle of the Midwest SeaJungle of the Midwest Sea-Awards:The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year at the 39th GMA Dove Awards.-External links:* at Amazon...
– 2007 - Black ThornBlack Thorn (album)Black Thorn is the fifth studio album by the Chicago celtic punk band Flatfoot 56. It was released as a part of the tenth anniversary of the bands founding...
– 2010