Style of Five

Five Style (a name taken from a martial arts technique called "Five Style Fist"), also known as 5ive Style, is a Chicago-based funk/jam quartet. Their albums were released on the Subpop label in the 1990s. The group existed from about 1993-2000 in various incarnations, centered on the guitar work of Billy Dolan (who has also played in Heroic Doses, and The Fire Theft which featured 3 members of Sunny Day Real Estate, among other projects). Other members were major players of the 1990s Chicago music scene and included bassist Leroy Bach (of Chicago funk group Uptighty, the first Liz Phair studio band, and Wilco fame), drummer John Herndon (aka "Johnny Machine", who made his first appearances on record in "Tool of the Man" era Poster Children and became established as a longstanding drummer/percussionist in Tortoise), and keyboardist Jeremy Jacobsen (also known as The Lonesome Organist and member of Euphone). Drummer Ryan Rapsys, also of Euphone and Gauge, filled in on drums on a January 2000 tour when they opened for Giant Sand and Vic Chesnutt. 5ive Style were the opening act in a brief May 1996 tour which also included The Sea and Cake and Tortoise; by some accounts these dates were the best shows of the Chicago "post-rock" hey day.