An Interview With Up and Coming Boy Band, LOS 5 On Their Newest EP, Their EP Release Concert TONIGHT And More!

Los 5 are an independent band, formed out of Los Angeles, by way of Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. The band consists of Juan Pablo Casillas (Lead Vocals), Matt Rey (Rap Vocals), Ismael Cano, Jr. (Guitar & Backing Vocals), Hector Rodriguez (Bass) and Tomas Slemenson (Drums).

These bi-cultural musicians are incredibly inspired and make music that projects positivity into the world through their fun and energetic music.

In March, they were Elvis Duran’s (TODAY SHOW) Artist of The Month and got to perform on the show and were interviewed by Kathie Lee and Hoda too:

TODAY, they released their debut EP, “Meet Los Five” and to celebrate they will be performing at Universal City Walk tonight at 7:30pm at 5 Towers Stage. The event is free and open to all ages!

Learn more about Los 5 in the following All Access interview:

Question: Thanks for your time guys! 2016 has certainly been a big and exciting year for Los 5. What’s all this excitement been like for you all? 

Answer: It’s been very exciting. We’ve been traveling, playing in all kinds of places but the most exciting part of this year is to release our first EP! Putting music out and performing is what it’s all about for us.

Question: Growing up, did you all always want to be musicians? If you weren’t in this band today, what could see yourselves doing? 

Answer: Ismael – Growing up, I was always in between soccer and music, but my passion for music has always been there.

Question: Can each of you recall your earliest musical memories? When did your love of music really take off? 

Answer: Hector – I remember my dad had a large collection of live performance videos by all these great bands and I started to get immensely intrigued by the musicality of it. The first time I picked up a guitar, which was gifted to me by my cousin Ismael, was when my love for making and playing music really took off. Ismael, Tomas and I picked up instruments for the first time by the age of 9.

Answer: Matt – The first song I ever memorized the lyrics to was when I was around 4 and the song said, “I don’t wanna go to work, I don’t wanna go to school, I don’t wanna get married. I wanna play guitar all day and have the world fall in love with my voice.” My mom was mad at me for something and the song started playing in the background, I couldn’t help but quietly sing along causing her to burst into laughter. From that moment on I knew what I needed to do.

Question: Can you talk about how Los 5 first formed? Where did you all meet? Was there an instant connection between you all?  Why do you think you all work so well together? 

Answer: It was all a series of coincidences starting on Hollywood Blvd. Juan and Matt went to rival high schools in Colorado but ran into each other in Hollywood and moved in together. Juan met Ismael and Tomas at Musicians Institute and started playing in bars. Hector was invited by his cousin Ismael later on and joined the band. There was an obvious connection we all felt when we first started playing together and knew this was something special.

Question: You are just about to release your newest EP. What was the inspiration for this collection of music? How long did it take to put it together? Can you talk about some of the talented people that your worked on the EP with? 

Answer: We went into a period of time where we met and worked with incredibly talented producers and songwriters. Being songwriters ourselves, it was an honor and a very fun process to collaborate with great people such as. MdL, Tom Meredith, Claudia Brant, Mario Marchetti, Rune Westberg, Melanie Fontana, Tiffany Vartanyan, Drew Alexander and more. We had a 6 month writing period where we were writing 8 days a week non stop, so it was just a matter of choosing the best songs suitable for the EP.

Question: How do you go about writing songs? Do you take turns or write altogether?

Answer: We write all together. It’s a very collaborative process in which we all play a different role in bringing the music to life.

Question: Can you talk about your involvement with Red Cross and Tubeathon? How did you get involved with them? 

Answer: We started the band doing an anti-bullying campaign in various different high-schools, so we’ve always loved the idea of doing charity events and helping in any way we can. We were involved in that event because of our relationship with iHeart Radio, who have always been supportive with us and also, our good friend Shira Salazar from “What’s Trending”.

Question: I am really enjoying your covers online? How do you go about picking what songs to cover?  What have been some of your favorite songs to cover in the past?

Answer: Thanks! We try to choose songs that fit our style and can sound good with the make up of our band!

We loved covering Ride by twentyone pilots. It’s a really fun and chill song.

Question: How important is it to you to be sure to incorporate your various cultures and backgrounds into your songs?

Answer: We always try to maintain and conserve our essence reflected in our music.

Question: What can you tease our readers about your upcoming show at Universal CityWalk TONIGHT? 

Answer: We are playing some songs that our fans have never heard before and we’ve also stepped up the production of our show.

So pretty much, it’s going to be epic!

Question: What have been some favorite shows of yours in the past? What do you think makes an amazing show?

Answer: We have seen the Eagles “Farewell Tour” on DVD. It’s definitely one of our favorites. JPs personal favorite is Justin Bieber’s Believe Tour! (Laughter)

There’s nothing like the fans singing our songs while we’re performing them on stage. It’s a great feeling and makes for a great show!

Question: Who are some of your favorite artists? What musicians inspire you? Who would you love to work with in the future?

Answer: I think we all have a huge admiration and respect for Bruno Mars. We would love to collaborate with artists like Daft Punk, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran and more.

Question: What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs? 

Answer: We always wish to convey a positive message through our music.  Music is universal so we want to say something that the whole world needs to hear.

Question: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about yourselves or your music? 

Answer: Follow us on our journey at @Los5Music and Los5Music.com

Welcome to the family!

Stay connected with Los 5 here:

Get POQUITO MAS on iTunes HERE: http://smarturl.it/PoquitoMas
Listen to POQUITO MAS on Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1mhoxiR
Get MAÑANA on iTunes HERE: http://smarturl.it/L5Manana

Website: http://los5music.com
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/los5music
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Los5Music
Instagram: http://Instagram.com/Los5Music
Snapchat: @Los5Music

iTunes- http://smarturl.it/MeetLosFive

Spotify- http://smarturl.it/MeetLosFiveSpotify