The eight-member band brings its unique brand of hip-hop, R&B; and pop to our studio for a jam session.
8:55AM EDT October 2. 2012 - Using the term success loosely, New York-based hip-hop pop band Pants Velour got their first taste of it, literally, when they won a year's worth of burritos for writing a jingle for Chipotle in 2008."I used to work at Chipotle," says MC Eli Northrup, who is now a lawyer. "They had this contest to name your own burrito and talk about it ... so we did a jingle called Dr. Guapo."
But they're not starving artists. Seven of the eight band members -- Cenophila Mitchell, Josh Raff, Samuel Coe, Jordan Battiste, Larry Zipf, Rajiv Ravishankar and Northrup -- have day jobs. "This is our 5-9 job," Northrup says. Lead singer Nicole Leidinger keeps her vocal cords warmed up, and makes ends meet, with a steady stream of wedding singer gigs. (The video below features three songs by the band)
Band members hope their 5-9 job becomes their full-time occupation. With a spot on this season's X Factor and with the production expertise of David Kahne (Paul McCartney, The Strokes, Regina Spektor), who is working on their single, All I Need, they could be on the way. In the meantime, they juggle their day jobs, rehearsals and gigs and keep track of it all with Google calendar.
LISTEN:Our past StudioA guests
"Conflicts come up all the time, but we find a way to get everyone in a room," rapper Raff says.
(Here's what the band has to say about their career, below)
