My guitar Chromeo is a fat-necked, bad-to-the-bone robot from the future that shoots lasers and saves galaxies. Stay out of its way and don't make it angry-it snarles and bites like a viper!"

Mad Max walks into a David Bowie concert. He accidentally steps on Tom Morello’s foot and they get into a fight, but Voltron breaks it up.

Now, imagine the soundtrack.

It probably sounds a lot like Family Force 5, an Atlanta-based fivesome that has been starting parties and entrancing audiences around the world through its infectious fusion of funk, pop, dance, hip-hop and robot rock.

Guitarist Derek Mount brought his punishing riffs to the band in 2005 after graduating from the University of Georgia and has since embarked on nonstop touring and recording with FF5. The band has 2 full-length CD releases under their belts along with several special-edition releases, various EP’s, and countless multi-media pieces. This abundance of activity comes as a result of both the band’s unceasing imagination and its formation of its own record label, Transparent Media Group (with distribution though EMI).

Nicknamed Chap Stique because of his addiction to the product bearing the same name, Derek loves experimenting with guitar sounds as well as putting on an over-the-top live show that can only be described as explosive. “We rip up the stage like five ADD kids who forgot to take their ritalin and broke into the Red Bull truck!”—Derek proudly states.

Outside of the band, Derek’s most bold claim to fame is that he has eaten every item off the Waffle House menu (except Walt’s Steak and Vegetable Soup) despite the fact that he is a self-proclaimed “health geek.” He also holds a fishing record in the Bahamas and has frequently been told that he is the owner of has the most beat-up PRS’s in the world. However, his most impressive trait is his ability to recite the entire script of “This is Spinal Tap.