In
the world of music, where cookie cutter,
sound-alike bands can be found in nearly every
club and venue across the country on any given
weekend, Tulsa-based melodic rock metal band
Down For Five is setting standards to set
itself apart from this pack, both musically
and visually in its live performances.
The band was formed in the spring of 2002 by
lead guitarist Janna Jordan and lead vocalist
Syke Mochek. With the entrance of bassist Scott Squires in
early 2005, Down For Five solidified itself as
a true, unparalleled force in heavy rock in
the Midwest. Drummer Carl Lowe joined the band
in November of 2006 to round out the power
house lineup.
Even since the band’s inception, the vision
has always been to combine modern, grooving
heaviness with the musicality, flavor, and
attitude of old school rock and metal. This
vision has been, and continues to be, carried
out by Down For Five in a very successful and
effective manner.
Down For Five has developed a reputation for
its over the top and in your face live
performances, including use of props such as
banners, lasers, state-of-the-art lighting,
pyro fog machines, and more. The band prides
itself in giving its fans a true rock and roll
show to remember, reminiscent of the “larger
than life” acts of days past.
Down For Five has already achieved respectable
levels of success, with its recording of Time
Has Come – a full length release which
came out on Hollywood, CA based Sunset Trash
records in April of 2006. The album is
receiving airplay in various parts of the
country, as well as Canada. Time Has Come
was mastered at Capitol Records in Los
Angeles, CA and the band has seen consistent
sales since its release. The band played three
shows in Hollywood shortly after the
album was released and, at one of those shows,
had the opportunity of jamming with Lemmy from
Motorhead, as well as other well known
musicians. DFF recently picked up endorsements
from Hollywood-based Coffin Case and TurboTrem
Bar Corporation.
In addition to receiving radio airplay, Down
For Five has done countless on air interviews
with various media outlets, on air live
performances, received television airplay for
its 2003 DVD, which featured an EPK and three professionally
shot videos, and also did the soundtrack for a
nationally distributed paintball video. In
2003, the band was invited to that year's
Edgefest, performing alongside acts such as
Evanescence and Mudvayne.
In 2005, the band recorded a song entitled
"Let's Go" which was named the
official theme song for the Tulsa Oilers of
the Central Hockey League. The song was used
as the team's intro music during skate out at
the Oilers' home arena. Tulsa's AF2 football
team, The Tulsa Talons, also saw fit in
collaborating with Down For Five, using the
band's song "Rise" in 2004 and 2005
as the intro music on its official website.
Down For Five recently wrapped up shooting a
video for the first track on Time Has Come
entitled “Caricature.” The video was shot
and directed by Ash Greyson, who has shot and
directed videos for national acts, including
pop sensation Hanson.
The band performed at Diversafest 2006 in
Tulsa, OK to a packed house at The Venue, in
which industry personnel was present to check
out the band’s live performance. A writer
for the Denver Post and Rolling Stone named
Down For Five as one of the top five
performances at the festival.
In
February of 2007, Down For Five had the
opportunity to play a showcase for Skid Row
guitarist Dave "The Snake" Sabo, who
is also a representative for Doc McGhee's
management company McGhee Entertainment, the
management company for bands such as KISS, Ted
Nugent, and Down.
The band recently performed at the historic
Rocklahoma 2007 on the main stage, alongside
acts such as Poison, Skid Row, Vince Neil,
Slaughter, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot,
and many more.
Down For Five continues to tour regionally in
support of Time Has Come and is looking
for opportunities on a national/international
scale, in particular landing on a national/
international tour.