F.Y.P: Biography

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Formed:

Jan 1, 1988 in Torrance, CA

Disbanded:

Jan 1, 2000

Genres:

Rock Music, Alternative Rock Music, Punk and Hardcore Rock Music

Decades Active:

1990's|2000's

A fun, humorous and vital punk rock band from Torrance, California (a suburb of L.A.), F.Y.P Five Year Plan was the brainchild of Todd Congelliere, who wrote most of the songs and was the only constant member. F.Y.P released a couple of classics in Dance My Dunce and Toilet Kids Bread, though all their records are worthwhile. As far as impassioned, dysfunctional, militant geek punk rock, Congelliere struck a chord with punks in the know. His buddy Hal Badal and he were also able to eke out a living from their tiny, but esteemed punk rock label, Recess Records, which is responsible for releases from exceptional punk bands like the Dwarves, the Criminals and the Crumbs, as well as all of F.Y.P's releases. A scraggly-looking punker sporting Greyhound-bus-depot-style fashions, Congelliere has written his fair share of memorable, brilliant punk tunes.

Before he was a punk, Congelliere was a pro skater and he first got into punk rock via his skater pals. With a skating company endorsement, Congelliere made some dough and bought himself a 4-track, a guitar and Fisher Price drum machine from Toys R Us. Hence came F.Y.P's first primitive recordings in the early '90s, which are most notable for their silly titles, My Nieghbors is Stoopid, Finish Your Popcorn and Guido, Where Are You? Eventually, Congelliere scraped a band together and released F.Y.P's hallowed second album, Dance My Dunce in '94. (Their first was Incomplete Crap, a collection of their early 7-inches.) Dance My Dunce includes classics like "Vacation Bible School" and their cover of the Toy Dolls' "My Girlfriend's Dad's a Vicar," as well as the feisty "It's Not My Fault You Like Air Supply," and "Kids That Play Dead," an ode to mean parents. Sean Cole joined the band as drummer in '95 and stuck around on various instruments longer than any other F.Y.P member outside of Congelliere. F.Y.P refined and perfected their rants into definitive songs on Toilet Kids Bread, produced by Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves, an album that does not lack for melodies or clever choruses. Between their last two releases My Man Grumpy and Toys That Kill, F.Y.P bassist and crucial member of the Recess family Joe Ciauri committed suicide by jumping off a 150-foot-cliff in San Pedro. Eventually, F.Y.P returned, but the suicide and other factors, such as their fans' requests to play the tunes off Dance My Dunce ad nauseam, led to serious burn out. So, Congelliere and core F.Y.P member Sean Cole decided to borrow the name from their last album (like their heroes the Descendents who became All) and gave birth to Toys That Kill in 2000, a band that sounds well, not so different from F.Y.P.

- Adam Bregman

, All Music Guide