Panda

by Alvaro Santistevan
January 2007

You need to look no further than Mexico’s Panda to see the trickle down effect of just how much influence the Americanization of rock has had on its Latin neighbors. The bridge between the two sounds has never been so close. It’s the size of the movements that still remain very different. Regardless, “we grew up listening to gringo music,” says Arturo Arrendondo of Panda, who have won three MTV Latin Music Awards; one for Best Indie Group in 2005 and two for Best Group or Duo and Best Alternative Artists in 2006. Now, the part punk part rock quartet finds itself in the midst of promoting their 4th album, Amantes Sunt Amentes.

The core of the band is comprised of José “Pepe” Madrero who is the lead singer and plays rhythm guitar, Ricardo Treviño (bass), Arturo Arredondo (guitar), and Jorge “Kross” Vázquez (drums.)

Some bands never even get to record 4 albums. How hard is it to continue growing as a band?
We are the kind of band who was really never in search of fame. It has always been – and it still is – a hobby for us, and we are thinking of taking it a bit more seriously. It’s what we really like to do. But we never really thought we’d make it to a fourth album.

What are differences you see between the English rock scene and the Spanish rock scene?
A whole lot of difference. Right now the rock here in Mexico is a little bit more Americanized. The rock we used to have before was inspired more on real Mexican music like cumbia. You remember the Caifanes and those bands? They were influenced by cumbia, Tex Mex and grupero. Now we are getting a lot more punk. That influence is basically the US. As for differences, there are a whole lot of rock bands in the US and here there are only a handful, but it is growing.

So the scene is growing a lot?
Yeah, it’s a neat thing. Right now it is not the most popular genre, but it is growing and I think in 5 years we will have a bunch of bands that will come out and become popular.

What is the band up to now?
Right now we are in Mexico city and we are doing promotion and tomorrow we are going to film the video for our next single, “Los mal aventurados no lloran”

Favorite song on the album?
Probably this next single, [“Los Mal Aventurados No Lloran”]. The song has a kind of like an eighties feel. There are probably 4 or 5 that I really like a lot on this album.

Talk to me about the band’s musical influences.
Each one of us has different musical influences. Rix has a lot of 80s influence; bands like Rush, Yes, Phil Collins and that type of stuff. When I was a teen I was into bands like Korn . Kross, right now he is into drumming in Brazilian style music. Pepe likes folk music. I mean we all have really different influences.

How do you go about writing your music?
We kind have a non-conventional way of writing songs but it works for us. First we get an idea for a song on acoustic guitar. Then we just jam over the idea and then Pepe writes the lyrics for it once the music is made. It should be the other way around but we do it that way.

What is better Panda live or Panda on CD?
With every band it is different. With some bands they have really good CDs, but they suck live. This band is all about playing live and that is what we really like to do. I really like to record an album, but let’s say Pepe, that’s the part he hates the most. He likes playing live. And that is really the most important part for us.

Any plans on doing an American tour?
Yeah we would like to. I know we will be playing at the SXSW festival in Austin. We’ve played in the US before, not lots of gigs, so yeah, we would like to.

How has the Internet changed music? Has it made it easier or harder for bands to succeed?
It’s kind of hard to say, but it works both ways. With our band, the Internet has helped us a lot. It has been one of the main factors that has pushed us to the top, you know. But I mean you have the free music downloading and that in general hasn’t helped the music industry.

What is the goal for this upcoming year?
The goal for this year is to go out and play as much as we can in the US and in Europe and South America also.

Don’t miss Panda live at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX, March 14-18, 2007

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