R5 Describe their Sound as Both Pop and Rock
R5 has rapidly emerged as an exciting new voice in the world of pop rock. The L.A.-based band started playing together in 2009 and is comprised of siblings Riker (bass/vocals), Ross (guitar/vocals), Rocky (guitar/vocals) and Rydel Lynch (keyboard/vocals); along with friend Ellington “Ratliff” (drums/vocals). Glitter recently sat down with R5 to talk about their new album, which comes out spring 2015, their favorite song on the album, their North American road tour happening this fall, and what one fashion trend they wish was never invented. Read on because you know you want to.
GLITTER: What can you tell us about your new album?
RIKER: The new album is reflects how we’ve grown and matured as a band and as individuals. It’s a whole year later in our lives so the music has grown a bit with us and it was very natural. It wasn’t like we sat down and said we want our sound to move in this direction. It just sort of happened and the songs came with this new edge. For us, everything is about raising the bar from what we did last time around. So whether it’s our songs, live shows, music videos, new albums, we’re always trying to top the last thing we did. We feel like we really took ourselves to the next level with this album.
GLITTER: What’s your favorite song on the album?
RYDEL: I really love all the songs on the album. Every time I listen to each song I find a new favorite section, lyrics, or riff.
GLITTER: Would you describe R5’s sound as more pop, rock, or a combo of both?
RIKER: R5’s sound is definitely a combination of both pop and rock. We bring pop elements to our music, but the core of our inspiration comes from lots of rock ‘n’ roll.
GLITTER: Has a fan ever inked themselves with anything R5 related?
RIKER: Yes! Lots of fans have gotten our logo tattooed on them. Lyrics are pretty popular too. I’ve seen lyrics from songs like “Say You’ll Stay,” “Here Comes Forever,” and “Always.” It’s really amazing to see tattoos of lyrics you wrote.
GLITTER: What’s more important: making music for yourselves or to please the masses?
RIKER: I think both are important. If you make music that you didn’t like but everyone else did, that wouldn’t be very fun, but if you make music that you like, odds are someone’s going to like it too. We make music, obviously, because we love to and we absolutely love the music we make. But ultimately we also make it to share with our fans so of course we hope they will love it as much as we do.
GLITTER: What is your favorite part about the fall season?
RYDEL: The new R5 tour! 😉 Haha and, of course, all the holidays. I always look forward to those and all the home cooked meals we’ll get to eat!!!
GLITTER: What fashion trends do you wish were never invented?
RATLIFF: Bow ties because when I would dress for dances in the sixth grade I was killing the bow tie game (ladies loved it). Then it became trendy and I had to resort to suspenders – but that was short lived. Now I don’t wear any of that.
GLITTER: What was it like joining forces with Office Depot for their “Gotta Get INSPIR5D” campaign? What is it about?
RYDEL: It was amazing. We had a great time shooting it in a small town in Ohio. And the fans are really loving it which makes us really happy!
RATLIFF: It’s about inspiring kids to be proactive and make the best of their school year.
GLITTER: What has been your favorite live performance so far?
RIKER: There are so many shows that we could name as our favorite, but the last show we played in London was insane! The energy in the room was just incredible so much so that at the end of the show Ross stage dives and does a little crowd surfing. It was epic!
GLITTER: When will your North American road show, R5: Live On Tour, kick off?
RIKER: This tour kicked off on September 3rd in Orlando at the Hard Rock Live. We’re really excited for this tour because it’s the very first time we’re going to be playing songs from our new EP, “Heart Made Up On You,” and we might even play a new song from the upcoming album that no one has heard yet! It’s going to be an awesome tour and we cannot wait to see everyone at the shows.
GLITTER: What was it like appearing on Good Morning America, Ellen and Live with Kelly & Michael?
RATLIFF: Being on those shows were great opportunities for us. We had a lot of fun and all the hosts were really nice. But the best part was getting calls from my grandma’s poker club buddies and ex-girlfriends about how they saw me on TV.
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Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio
