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Formed in Monterey, Mexico the five-man band of Kinky delivers unadulterated rock music throughout Latin America. The band, consisting of Cesar Pilego, Ulises Lozano, Omar Gongora, Carlos Chairez and Gilberto Cerezo, danced with crossover success when their song "We Are The Galaxy" became the official anthem for the MLS's L.A. Galaxy. Still, Kinky would rather stick with their indie roots. Si Entertainment caught up with their keyboardist, Lozano, while they embarked on their U.S. tour.

Si Ent.: Tell me about your band's name. It sounds sexy.
Ulises Lozano: The word does have a sexual connotation to it, we know, but we actually liked the word because it also means strange, rare, you know, not doing things normal; different.

Si Ent.: Cool. What about your latest album title Reina? I read on your MySpace page that you were in California during the mudslides?
UL: Our office and studios are in Los Angeles. We were recording Reina when the mudslides occurred. Our basement was flooded; ruined a lot of instruments. There was so much mud on the floor it looked like the top of a giant chocolate cake. So we thought this would be like one of those exaggerated sized cakes at a quinceañera for la reina of the house-hence the name.

Si Ent.: And your new label, Kin Kon Records?
UL: Well . . . there, we were having a little fun with the whole Spanglish thing. The ‘kin' is the short version of Kin-ky, and the ‘kon' is to represent the size of our ambition, King Kong sized.

Si Ent.: You guys were nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards: Best Engineered Album and Best Alternative Music Album. Congratulations. How is it going to the awards? Who do you get excited to see?
UL: It's awesome. This is actually our seventh time being invited. The whole red carpet experience is indescribable. They throw a great party, drinks flow like water, and you get to meet and see lots of old friends, and tons of good people. We like to hang out with Pesado, Recado, and Café Tacuba to name just a few.

Si Ent.: What is the best memory you have as a band?
UL: It would definitely have to be Vive Latinos in Mexico's capitol. There aren't even words when you look upon a million faces. It was an incredible experience.

Si Ent.: What was the best show you've ever performed?
UL: That would be our second time performing in London. Our first time there we opened for the Buena Vista Social Club. They invited us back the next year; alone. That night, the Royal Festival Hall was sold out.

Si Ent.: What other cool places have you been? I read somewhere that you played in Argentina; how was that?
UL: We've been to Argentina for four years now. We actually just got back in February. It is always great. They love to dance and moshpit. We've also played in Malaysia, Indonesia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, of course, and here in the U.S., but not Africa yet. We are trying to do more tours in the U.S. and Mexico to please our fan base.

Si Ent.: What do you think your responsibility or purpose as a rock group is to your fans?
UL: To give good music and always try to improve the quality of our music. We try to work on new sounds, experiment with different stuff, you know, something kinky. We're not afraid of trying new things.

Si Ent.: OK, so if you could say anything to the world about yourselves, the world, life . . . what would it be?
UL: Enjoy life. Seize the day. Keep the future in mind always, but never at the expense of today.

Si Ent.: Good advice. Kind of like you're, "livin' and I'm livin' it up!"
UL: That's right, just like our song.

Si Ent.: So where can people find out more about you?
UL: Well, we have signed on with you guys at Si. We also have a MySpace page and can be found on iTunes. Also, we recently made an exclusive live album with iTunes; with a never before recorded song, "Radio."

Photos by Ricardo Trabulsi

Kinky is presently performing at Comcast Spring Break in Santa Cruz, CA. For more info on Kinky go here.