The Stu Reid Experiment: TSRE Wonders: Exclusive Interview with The Five One

A few months ago, I wrote about a group called The Five One, making some noise for the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia). In that post, I wrote, "The guys have a great combination of covering/sampling/remixing wherein they take an original track, play the original melodies and rhythms, add their own embellishments, and change most of the lyrics. It's a cool blend of a lot of appropriation styles, and it makes for a very entertaining listen." Since that post, they've continued to take off, making a name for themselves and planning an upcoming original EP.

Recently, I caught up with the four members of The Five One, for an exclusive Stu Reid Experiment interview!

TSRE: You go by the names Green, Red, Blue, and Gold – where did those monikers come from?

I picked GOLD because I am Romanian. The Romanian National Soccer Team wears a Gold color that really hit me in watching the 94 World Cup. I wear the color that represents my whole family and birth place.

RED is the Color that I "became." Similar to the way a larva becomes a cocoon and then a butterfly, I started as a child then became an adolescent and then a Color which makes me proud to say that I have continued living my life with the joys, desires, and innocence of kids!

I have always been a BLUE colored soul. but until RED went anti every other color I didnt really think about it. It got serious. He won't wear a Red shirt with blue stitching on it. That’s dedication I couldn't understand, so I took it as disrespect. In an attempt to counter act him being a "Color Nazi" I took on the Color I have always appreciated, Blue. And in doing so I began to admire Red's logic and relationship with his Color. "We define Color so our Art is us," became words to live by.

TSRE: I’ve noticed that you have a strong social media presence online. Do you think that’s an important part of being an artist in today’s world, or is it simply something you enjoy doing?

Well for artists who don't have a dedicated "team" or infrastructure to help them promote and market, it’s a necessity…especially if you’re not going out doing shows and promoting yourself physically like a lot of up-and-coming rappers tend to do.

The internet has been playing a strong role in spreading the message of art/music for years now. It’s certainly an important aspect of being an artist in Deuce Day World (today’s world), and it’s also just a part of keeping up with the times, socially. You’ll find just about every DMV kid representing/promoting something on Facebook or Twitter, and The Five One are no different.

One thing that separates us, though, is that we carry this message on our sleeve. Everywhere we go, we are colors. Our jobs know that we are colors and they keep up with that we’re doing. If you see a basketball player or artist in street clothes, you won’t necessarily know who they are. When you see four colors walking in the street, you might be a little more curious. That’s the most powerful message for us right there, IN PERSON.

The internet has provided a way for those who aren't at the shows to see photos & videos of what's goin’ on. That's one aspect. Another would be the ease at which we can drop music and spREaD it around the globe. Green and Gold are also right in what they saying.

Definitely! The internet gave us a 24 hour workstation. A way to be in someone's ipod in New York, and Belgium while we are recording at home. You have to have that open connection with people. And even better that medium they can go to to get whatever info they didn’t get from your show or your CD. It’s a MUST or you’re shooting yourself in the foot. But being a Color, like Gold mentioned, is the most powerful thing in the world. People leave our shows and anything they see our Color they remember how really really The Five One is!

TSRE: On The Remix Album, The Five One record an interesting combination of interpolation, cover, and remix all blended in a single song. Is that how the project was originally envisioned? Do you have a name for what you’re doing?

I guess we could say it was our intention only because naturally we're influenced by a lot of different art and music from comic books, theater, film, international music as well as American, which comes through when we create our own art/music. So we didn’t just wanna throw verses on a track we added a lot of sound clips, rearranged the music, added instrumentation....and I don’t know what to call it, personally.

“Stuntin’ Like Mufasa,” “What Sarah Said,” and “District of Colossus” don’t even feel like remixes to me. They feel like the same style of original material to me, just because we’re always incorporating samples to begin with! We are definitely going to come up with a genre title for what we’re doing, because it deserves to have its name called out.

We have been trying to put a name to it for a while now. But like our music, it’s gonna have to come to us. The remixes came out that way due to us staying true to the way we like our music to sound: GOOD. We wouldn’t take a song we like and mess around with it. "We can just put a verse on a song and put it out. But that’s not hot, sorry. It’s gotta be GOOD."

5109 was a great way for others to gain a better understanding of who we are and what we are about. There are different themes, moods, vocal styles, etc. all throughout 5109 which helped people believe us when we say "We do a little bit of everything" in response to the question, "What kind of music do y'all make?"

TSRE: What’s the process of selecting a song to remix? You’re doing a song every week – where do you keep finding inspiration?

Everyone brings up songs that they think we could remix just by listening to music every day. We hear how a song we hear can be changed and worked on. We all have healthy imaginations so having too many ideas is usually our problem. A lot of the time the songs were made the day before we put them out...probably at least 30 % of them.

We wanted to make sure we coveRED as many bases as we could. Not remixing the same artist over and over again was imperative from the start.

HypeMachine is a great spot to find all kinds of quality music/good remixes. Green showed me that site, I pay it a regular visit. There is really nice material out there, you just have to dig deep to find it.

Umm YEAH! I just hear a song and bring it to the table. The Colors sit down and we FIO (Figure It OUT). Like Green said, it seems to happen the day before a lot of the time due to us working and things.

TSRE: Do you have a favorite song that you’ve worked on during the Remix Album project?

Got Till It’s Gone (Janet Jackson), Need You More (Daft Punk), What Sarah Said (Death Cab for Cutie).

The ones that I play the most are “Hard Dopalicious Night,” “What Sarah Said,” “District of Colossus,” “LA Girl,” and “Stuntin’ Like Mufasa.” “Stuntin’ Like Mufasa” in particular stands out to me because I love family. That’s the kind of positive message I want the kids to receive. They need to be grateful for what they have and not get all caught up in every distraction.

As far as "my favorite song(s) that I've worked on" there's “SLU2CLU” because we made a video for it, “What Sarah Said” because I got my solo on, and “Dirty Fame” because we touched on what was, at the time, current events.

“LA Girl,” “Stuntin Like Mufasa,” “What Sarah Said,” “Need You More,” and “Face the Gun.” Something about these songs makes me sad they are remixes and not ours! I like the feeling.

TSRE: Any plans for an original album in the works?

Definitely. We pressed pause on the Remixes and we are only working on original material for this EP, which we'll be sending you as soon as were done...it’s gonna be perfect.

Yomesane.

YEAH!! I’m excited. I don't know about you, but I am.

TSRE: The DMV is certainly an up-and-coming music scene. We’ve heard it

characterized as mostly Go-Go, but it seems like there’s more to what’s being produced in your neighborhood. Where do you fit into the DMV scene?

We are kinda finding that out on our own. We play instruments, so our live show is more like an indie show I guess. We have been well received by DC’s Hip Hop scene as well as the rock scene...so we're kinda everywhere.

The DMV scene is hardly “mostly Go-Go.” There’s a lot of music to go around, but the DMV kids that really push the name “DMV” are mostly different shapes and forms of Hip Hop. You won’t really see too many kids saying that they’re from the DMV. I think that’s something they’ll jump onto by next year, since the name is really getting respect and popularity. Like Green said, we’re everywhere – just because you can’t simply fit us with Rock or Hip Hop, or anything else for that matter.

I believe we exemplify the positivity and potential that the DMV represents.

We have been blessed with a sound that can do a Rock show Friday night, and an underground Hip Hop show Saturday night. DMV has always shown us love no matter the crowd. So everywhere is the only way we can explain it.

TSRE: As an up-and-coming group, what’s your feeling on the “blogosphere”? Is it good for musicians? Is it good for music? (No need to candy coat, we have thick skin).

Well it seems no matter what if you’re on a label or if you have blog contacts that respect and love what you do, it’s about the push and how you work your promotion. But the greatest thing about blogs is that they EXIST - if we didn't have them people probably wouldn't know where to get new music nowadays. I only see positive things from the blogosphere...just want more blogs to know about us and write good things!

If it weren’t for the blogosphere, the DMV nickname probably wouldn’t even exist. It spread like wildfire just like Wale did. I would certainly say it’s good for music, because that’s how you found us! I only wish that the idea of blogs came out even earlier, to be honest. Between 2000-2005, it was mostly band pages before Myspace came out. Everybody stayed in their designated areas and nobody was really getting out there independently. Today’s resources are a great opportunity to be heard!

Me and computers ain't really friends like that, but I think the blogs are cool. They bring Colorless Bastaads together with Colors, making the world a better place.

TSRE: What’s your favorite piece of musical equipment? Do you guys play many instruments, or mostly work digitally?

We all play instruments. I play drums and bass mainly live, but dabble in guitar and keyboard.

I just bought a 60’s acoustic guitar, which I believe is a “Kay.” I’m throwing down a bit of money to get it fixed up. That’s definitely going to be up there. I just bought a Japanese-made Fender P-Bass, called Butterscotch. That’s my lady.

PRS! My main guitar is a Custom 24 with the Scarlet Red finish - my favorite toy for sure! We all do play more than one instrument, and rotate during the live shows (not like a gimmick, but because Blue can't rap and play drums at the same time all the time, so Green will take over and then Gold will take drums from Green so he can play Butterscotch and sing at the same time, etc.).

Drums are my favorite. I play DRUMS. But I'm working on playing with Gold's "Lady" (Butterscotch), haha.

TSRE: And finally, what is the most awesome piece of clothing you own? Bonus points for pictures.

UM all my GREEN Sneakers....

My GOLD Reebok Pumps.