Panda (band)

Formation (1996-1999)

The band started playing covers but they realized they were good at writing their own material, so 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, After all that their personal friend and independent producer Mario (MarakaZ) Huerta acting as A&R, caught the attention of an independent label, Movic Records, and signed a record deal (by Kiko Lobo).

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

Their first studio album, Arroz con leche, was released on 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. The album also contained a cover from Joan Sebastian and Alberto Vazquez (singer)'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].

Para ti con desprecio and Amantes sunt 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 Quirófano", "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. 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 was close to Maná first album Falta Amor.

During this time the band released their second single, "Los Malaventurados no Lloran". 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" and led to a great upset.

In mid July, the band released a third single: "Procedimientos Para Llegar A Un Común 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.

On November 30, 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 new songs dedicated to their fans.

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.

Controversy

In 2005, the Mexican magazine R & R 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 (some lyrics were virtually translations), such as: My Chemical Romance, Green Day, MxPx, Blink 182, Fall Out Boy.

After the scandal, reporters have often mentioned this to the band when they are interviewed. In the interview published on February 31, 2006, on Versus, a T.V. show from Telehit, the band members appeared defensive when asked about the plagiarism, and responded in contradictory ways. Kross, drummer for the band stated: "We didn't steal, it 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 preferred to change the subject when asked about plagiarism. Bassist Ricardo Treviño said: "There are people who say: You either love or hate Pxndx. I think that those who love us are the majority, so why would we argue about these things?". The group acknowledged that all the bad publicity was publicity in the end in their song "¡Ah Pero Cómo Vendo Cassettes!", that roughly translates to "oh, but I still sell lots of records".

The accusations of plagiarism caused many people to reject Panda. These groups call themselves Anti Pandas, and have expressed their position through different websites (YouTube, MySpace and Facebook), as well as festivals where Panda plays. The Anti Pandas say 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.

The same thing happened in 2008 at the Vive Latino, and the Third International Rock Festival in Rio, although they have an outgrowing fan movement in major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, not to mention most of Latin America and throughout the world.

Current members

Former members

Touring members