Reston-based band hitting
all the right notes

TheFiveOne gathering acclaim in
Washington, D.C., music scene

Although he admittedly can't seem to keep a day job, the future remains golden for Reston musician and songwriter Andrei Busuioceanu.

Busuioceanu, better known in the Washington, D.C., music scene as "Gold," is one of four members of the Reston-based musical group TheFiveOne.

Each member in the group has replaced his birth name with a color and each is adamantly reluctant to be referred to as anything else.

Other members in the band go by the monikers Blue, Green and Red.

The group takes its name from a Reston neighborhood located just off Bowman Towne Drive locally nicknamed "the 5-1," where some band members grew up.

"It is called that because it is right next to the Reston District Police station," Gold says. "Police are often referred to as the '5-0,' so because of the neighborhood being right next to the station, it is called the 5-1." All four band members grew up and still live in Reston.

With favorable reviews in The Washington Post and Washington City Paper, three albums and a fourth on the way, the group is gaining recognition and has already made the leap from opening band to headliner at local venues.

"They have a growing audience here and in the Baltimore area," said Mei Verba, who books bands for Vienna musical venue Jammin Java.

"They are a good headline draw for us and now have their own opening acts," Verba said. "Our capacity is about 200 and each time TheFiveOne has been here, they have filled out the place."

Verba describes the group's music as a mix of reggae, hip-hop and rap. "They definitely have a unique sound," she said. "They also have a great stage presence and get the audience involved in their message."

Reggie Vazal, 21, of Reston, says The FiveOne's message is exactly why he is a fan.

"They sing about stuff that matters," he said. "The lyrics might initially sound like a song is just about partying or whatever, but if you listen a little harder you realize it is really about global warming or something else important."

Gold appreciates the compliment, and says the group tries to make music with deeper themes and concepts.

"Music is where my head is at at all times," he said. "That's why I can't seem to hold down any other type of job."

Born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1984, he came to the U.S. when he was 6 years old and moved to Reston soon after. "My parents came here just after the Romanian Civil War in December 1989," he said. "When my father saw the architecture at Lake Anne Plaza, he fell in love with it because he said it reminded him of home."

Having been classically trained in violin and piano from a young age, Gold now plays bass guitar and sings with TheFiveOne, although he is able to play a variety of instruments and also writes songs.

"I consider myself a bassist in the sense that Paul McCartney is a bassist," he said. "Paul is an amazing bass player, but you don't really pigeonhole him that way."

Playing his Gold namesake to the hilt, the 26-year-old often dresses in gold-colored clothing, gold Converse hi-top sneakers and gold sunglasses, and even has a gold-colored wallet.

"It is not a marketing gimmick," he insists. "Each of us in the band chose our color persona very carefully and thoughtfully."

In his case, the gold color -- like the individual it represents -- has its roots in Romania.

In 1994, the Romanian soccer team was in the World Cup and wore gold uniforms, he said. "I was only 10 years old, but I felt the unity that many Romanians felt during that period, which was only a few years after Civil War clashes killed more than 1,000 people there. I never forgot that World Cup and I like the message of unity that the color gold now represents to me."

When asked to describe TheFiveOne's sound, Gold replies: "We are like the Beatles rapping over a punk song made by Bob Marley."

Having recently returned from both the Miami Music Festival and the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, the group will play locally at Jammin Java on May 28.

"We have to be on the road to make money, but I love living in Reston," Gold says. "I go to Lake Anne to breathe, and I run into [Reston founder] Bob Simon all the time. How cool is that? Reston is my home and I feel that as a band, we develop as Reston develops."

gmacdonald@fairfax

times.com