Panda (band)

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Panda
Origin	Monterrey, Mexico
Genre(s)	Pop punk Alternative rock Post-Hardcore
Years active	1996 – present
Label(s)	Movic Records Warner Music de México(Distribution)
Associated acts	Magnolia y Los No Me Olvides Super Azfalto
Members
Arturo Arredondo Jorge Vázquez José Madero Ricardo Treviño
Former members
Jorge Garza David Castillo

Panda (occasionally styled PXNDX) is a Mexican alternative rock band formed in Monterrey, Nuevo León in 1996. The band caught local attention in 2001 with the album "Arroz con Leche" [1], and mainstream success on their albums Para ti con desprecio (2005) and Amantes Sunt Amentes (2006).

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Formation (1996-1999) 1.2 Arroz con leche and La revancha del príncipe charro (2000-2004) 1.3 Para ti con desprecio and Amantes cunt amentes (2005-2007) 2 Controversy 3 Members 3.1 Current members 3.2 Former members 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Collaborations 4.3 Singles 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

[edit] Formation (1996-1999)

The band was formed by José Madero, Jorge Garza, Ricardo Treviño, and David Castillo, all from Monterrey, Nuevo León. The band started playing covers but when they realized they were good writing their own songs they started writing songs about friends, parties and love. Those songs were placed on a demo tape, Demo 1997, and distributed to independent labels. Soon after that, David Castillo departed Panda and was replaced by Super Azfalto's former drummer, Jorge Vásquez. They caught the attention of an independent label, Movic Records, and signed a record deal.

[edit] Arroz con leche and La revancha del príncipe charro (2000-2004)

Their first studio album, "Arroz con leche", was released in September 2, 2001, and caught little attention by people and critics, only selling 50,000 copies. Their second album, "La revancha del príncipe charro," was released February 3, 2002, a short time after "Arroz con leche". "La revancha del príncipe charro" sold well, and reached platinum in Mexico. Part of the success of that record was due to the combination of punk and rock sounds. The album also contained a cover from Joan Sebastian and Alberto Vazquez's duet song, Maracas.

The band toured in the United States and Mexico to promote their album. At the end of the tour, Jorge Garza left the band and was replaced by another member from Super Azfalto, this time guitarist Arturo Arredondo.

[edit] Para ti con desprecio and Amantes cunt amentes (2005-2007)

A third album, Para ti con desprecio, was released in 2005. It is their most popular album to date in Mexico and Latin America, although it lost them many fans, now called Anti-Pandas, because Panda supposedly stole lyrics and guitar riffs from groups such as My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and Smashing Pumpkins. The singles "Cita en el Quirofano", "Cuando no es como debiera ser", and "Disculpa los malos pensamientos" topped MTV's Los 10+Pedidos for 39 weeks in total. "Disculpa los malos pensamientos" was also the most voted video on MTV in 2006^[1] That same year, the band collaborated in the soundtrack of "Skimo", a Mexican sitcom from Nickelodeon, with the song "Si esto fuese realidad".

At the end of the year, the band released Amantes Sunt Amentes, their fourth album, which reached the top of the Mexican charts within weeks and was certified platinum. To date, the album has sold approximately 200,000 copies, and has become one of the top selling Mexican rock albums of all time. The album's first single, Narcisista Por Excelencia, reached the Mexican Top 10 and was a top 40 hit in Latin America.

During this time the band released their second single, "Los Malaventurados no Lloran". The song reached staggering digital success in Mexico and became a success in other parts of Latin America, peaking within the top 40 of the Latin America Top 100. The music video has received heavy rotation in MTV.

In February 2007, the band collaborated in the album "Tributo al más grande", a tribute album for Mexican norteña band "Bronco". The band recorded the song "Oro" with a new rock style. The singer José Madero, accompanied Guadalupe Esparza and Luis Cortes in the song "Amigo Bronco".

In mid July, the band released a third single: Procedimientos Para Llegar A Un Comun Acuerdo. Because of the extensive success of the band's previous single, the song was sent to radio stations in all of Latin America at the same time. Procedimientos quickly debuted in some of the important Latin charts, ultimately reaching the top 10 in many countries.

In 30 November 2007, Panda released "Sinfonía Soledad", their first live album that contains a concert on Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City. It contains their main songs and two hundred new songs dedicated to their fans.^[2]

The band was nominated in Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2006, winning the categories Best Group or Duet, Best Alternative Artist, and Breakthrough Artist. The band performed "Narcicista por excelencia" during the show. In Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2007, the band was nominated for three categories, but only won Best Alternative Artist.

[edit] Controversy

In 2005, the Mexican magazine R&R,^[3] published an article stating that several Panda songs, mainly from the album Para ti con Desprecio, were similar to songs from other bands of similar genres (mainly in the lyrics where they are virtually translations), such as: My Chemical Romance, Green Day, MxPx, Blink 182, Sum 41 and Fall Out Boy

After this scandal, people has been mentioned this to the band every time they are interviewed. In the interview published on February 31, 2006, on Versus, a T.V. show from Telehit, when they asked questions about the plagiarism, the band members show up on the defensive and respond in contradictory ways: For example, Kross, drummer for the band states: "But we didn't steal, it's was coincidentally, I don't know... It was not done purposely, it was not made with any malicious intent, so I don't know, the subconscious betrays you ..."

With the release of their fourth album "Amantes Sunt Amentes" and the growth in popularity of the band on MTV in other countries, they do not avoid the topic, but prefer to change the topic. Ricardo Trevino, bassist for the band said: "There are peoplewho said: love or hate Panda. I think we are more than those who hate us listen, then why would you discuss those things?

The evidence of plagiarism caused many people to reject Panda. ^[4][5], these groups call themselves Anti Pandas^[6], and have expressed their position through different websites, Youtube, MySpace and Facebook, as well as festivals where Panda plays. The Anti Pandas says that the list of plagiarism of Panda stands at more than 35 songs.

Panda has been booed in different festivals, such as the 2007 edition of Rock'N'Exa, where the public threw bottles, trash, and other things at them while they played. ^[7][8]

The same thing happened in 2008 at the Vive Latino^[9] , and the Third International Rock Festival in Rio.

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

• José Madero (Pepe) - Lead vocals, secondary guitar, moog synthesizer
• Arturo Arredondo (Arthur / R2D2)- Lead guitar, secondary vocals
• Ricardo Treviño (Rix) - Bass guitar, chorus, shriek
• Jorge Vázquez (Kross) - Drums

[edit] Former members

• David Castillo (Chunky) - Drums
• Jorge Garza (Ongi) - Lead guitar, secondary vocals

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Album	Year	Chart Position	Certification
Arroz Con Leche	2001	16 MEX	Gold
La Revancha Del Príncipe Charro	2003	7 MEX	Platinum
Para ti con desprecio	2005	1 MEX	2X Plantinum
Amantes Sunt Amentes	2006	1 MEX 3 VEN 1 ECU	Platinum
Sinfonía Soledad	2007	1 MEX
Poetics	2009	N/A

[edit] Collaborations

Album
Skimo Soundtrack Released: 2006 Songs: Si esto fuese realidad
"Un mundo maravilloso" Soundtrack Released: 2006 Songs: No te deseo el bien, pero tampoco te deseo el mal
Tributo al más grande Released: 2007 Songs: Amigo Bronco (Pepe, Luis Treviño and Guadalupe Esparza) Oro

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Album	Top Singles Chile	Top Singles Colombia	Top Singles Iberoamérica	Top Singles México	México Rock Digital	Los 10 más Pedidos Norte	Billboard Hot Ringtones
2000	Te invito a mi fiesta	Arroz con leche	-	-	-	92	-	-	-
	Buen día		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Si supieras		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2002	Hola	La revancha del príncipe charro	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Maracas		23	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Ya no jalaba		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2003	Quisiera pensar		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2005	Cita en el quirófano	Para ti con desprecio	-	-	-	-	-	1	28
2006	Cuando no es como debiera ser		-	-	-	-	-	1	-
	Disculpa los malos pensamientos		-	-	-	-	-	1	-
	Narcisista por excelencia	Amantes Sunt Amentes	25	-	36	9	1	1	-
2007	Los Malaventurados No Lloran		35	8	29	26	1	1	-
	Procedimientos para llegar a un común acuerdo		-	10	61	54	1	1	-
	Muñeca	Sinfonía Soledad	-	10	61	54	1	1	-
2008	Nunca Nadie Nos Podrá Parar (Gracias)		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2009	Solo A Terceros	Poetics	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website