Flobots are an American alternativerock and hip hop group from Denver,Colorado, formed in 2000 by lead MC Jonny 5, aka JamieLaurie. Flobots found mainstream success with its major label debut Fightwith Tools (2007), featuring the single "Handlebars", which became a popular hit on Modern Rock radio in April 2008.

Though the official name of the band is Flobots, they are often referred toas The Flobots, sometimes even by the band members themselves.

History

Early career and Onomatopoeia (2000-2004)

In 2000, the group began to form when lead MC James Laurie, (Jonny 5) teamedup with producer Farhad Ebrahimi (Yahktoe). Together they released the album Onomatopoeiain 2001, and the title track ended up in a compilation by the MIT SongwritingClub (Yahktoe's alma mater). The title track featured guitar player DavidGralow, celloplayer T'Errance Favors, and bass player Jaymz Haynes.

Flobots Present...Platypus (2005-2006)

Jonny 5 kept the Flobots name when forming a sideproject with another lead MC, Brer Rabbit. They teamed up with violist MackenzieRoberts, bassistJesse Walker, guitaristAndy Guerrero (from funkband Bop Skizzum), trumpet player Joe Ferrone (also from Bop Skizzum), and drummer KennyOrtiz. By the year's end, their unique instrumentation and politically andsocially charged musicbecame popular in their hometown of Denver,and Flobots became a full time project. The group members also identifythemselves by numbers; Jonny 5 is 05, Brer Rabbit is 0, Mackenzie is 33, Andyis 17, Jesse is 101, Joe is 79 and Kenny is 69.

In October 2005, the band released Flobots Present...Platypus, whichwent on to sell over 3000 copies over the next two years. In August 2007,Flobots opened for Coloradolocals TheFray at Red Rocks, one of their largestperformances to date.

Fight with Tools (2007-2008)

In October 2007, after a year of writing and producing, they released FightWith Tools and sold out their CD release show at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood, Colorado.

Flobots entered a contest held by Denverradio station 93.3 (KTCL),called Hometown for the Holidays, which allowed fans to vote for their favoritesongs from 35 local bands. Flobots subsequently won both the radio portion ofthe contest as well as the liveperformance award. As a result, the station put "Handlebars" intofull rotation at the end of January due to the immense popularity of the songduring the contest.

In February 2008, Flobots held a show at the Gothic Theatre in Englewoodcalled "The Heart Attack" featuring local bands The Hot IQs and PaperBird. It was after this show that the group was approached by and subsequentlysigned to Universal Republic on a two CD major label deal.On March 31,the band announced that they would be playing Tucson, Arizona's majoralternative rock festival, KFMA Day, with Metallica, Apocalyptica,Chiodos, and Scarson Broadway on May 16.Flobots were also part of the sixteenth annual KROQ WeenieRoast on May 17,along with Atreyu, BadReligion, Flogging Molly, Metallica, TheOffspring, Pennywise, TheRaconteurs, Rise Against, Scarson Broadway and Seether. On July 20, 2008, Flobots played at the Mile High Music Festival in Commerce City, Colorado with headlinersDave Matthews Band and John Mayer. On July 26, 2008, Flobots played 93.3's Big Gig at Coors Amitheater in Greenwood Village, Colorado withOffspring. On September 1, 2008they performed at Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival in Seattle, Washington.

The single "Handlebars" became popular on alternativerock radio in April 2008 and peaked at #3 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.

They made their television debut on Carson Daly's talk show on May 20, 2008.Also on May 20th, Flobots spent two hours with Dr. Drew and Stryker answering sex questions on Loveline andre-released their album Fight With Tools to a wider audience after theirnew found success. Flobots also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Lenoon June 5, 2008 withtheir song "Handlebars". They performed their secondsingle "Rise" on Late Night With Conan O'Brien onOctober 13, 2008.

Next album (2009-present)

On February 17, 2009,the Flobots announced in a MySpace blog entry that they were "working really hardon their next album and plan to have it completed soon."

According to a September 2009 report, the band has finished recording thenew album, with Mario Caldato (of BeastieBoys fame) producing it. A 2010 release is expected.