Five Eight

Five Eight emerged from Athens, Georgia as an emo ensemble built around singer and guitarist Mike Mantione, who described himself as manic depressive and used his songs to confront personal demons with unflinching specificity. The group first appeared in 1989 via the independently issued cassette Passive-Aggressive, featuring core members longtime bassist Dan Horowitz, guitarist Sean Dunn, and drummer Patrick "Tigger" Ferguson; two years afterward they reappeared with Inflatable Sense of Self. After signing with the Sky label, Five Eight delivered their debut full-length CD I Learned Shut Up in 1992 and followed it a year later with The Angriest Man. Following the 1994 release Weirdo, however, the band remained largely inactive through the middle of the decade before resurfacing in 1997 with Gasolina!, produced by Ed Stasium. Both Dunn and Ferguson departed suddenly that winter, prompting the addition of drummer Mike Rizzi; together the revised lineup issued the 1999 split single “The Road Beat the Shit Out of My Favorite Band” with Clemente. Deep Elm then put out the full-length The Good Nurse in spring 2000. Five Eight came back in 2004 with a self-titled CD that marked the first recording issued directly by the band.