Can you tell us where the name Pentatonix can from,how did you get together and how did you get your first big break in music?
Sure! The name comes from the Pentatonic scale, a 5-note scale widely used in all types of music. In terms of forming the group, Scott Hoying was at The University of Southern California for pop music when he found out about the a cappella competition show on NBC called “The Sing-Off”. He asked his two best friends from high school, Mitch Grassi and Kirstie Maldonado, to join the group. After the core trio was formed, they found vocal bass Avi Kaplan through a mutual friend, and then they found me through a cello-beatboxing video that I did that was going viral at the time called “Julie-O”. We met the day before the audition, and then as they say, the rest is history!
Scott - He would love to have a tattoo sleeve one day!
Mitch - When you’re not looking, Mitch is rapping ALL. THE. TIME.
Kirstie - She’s taking online courses to be a speech pathologist.
Avi - He likes cooking a whole lot.
Myself - I looove doing pushups. Right now I’m up to doing 150 pushups every other day.
After winning "The Sing-Off,” we wanted to figure out a way to keep our fans interested in our music, so we started using YouTube and social media. It’s been an amazing platform to connect with our fans! I definitely don’t think we would be where we are now without it. We are even able to sell out tours internationally because people abroad see us on YouTube! We’re thankful for the internet, that’s for sure!
You have a new tour in 2014,Can you tell us as much as you can about it ,what can we expect and can you tell us a story from a time you have been on tour?
We’re excited! We’ve been touring the same material for about a year-and-a-half, so we’re excited to create a new tour with a lot of new material from YouTube and also PTX Vol. 2! We’re giving people the same sound that they love, but with more lights, more music, and a lot more fun! One of the fun things about tour is making more personal connections with our fans during VIP. We had one opportunity to do an intimate performance for a family with a girl who had leukemia. Her only wish was to meet us and sing to her. It was a truly special moment.
What can we expect from Pentatonix in 2014?
Lots of touring, more collabs on our YouTube channel, and more original music!