Q&A: Getting Personal with Reik

If you haven’t heard of Reik, you clearly haven’t been paying attention. The Mexicali pop-rock trio performed last month at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and have been steadily climbing the charts since the release of their third and newest album, Un Dia Mas. Now, they’re getting ready to embark on their biggest tour yet: Starting tomorrow, they will travel to 18 U.S. cities with their provocative songs (and good looks). I spoke to 22-year-old crooner Jesus, while guitarists Julio and Bibi were off doing their own thing:   

The band is going on tour tomorrow; how exciting is that?
This time we’re doing every city where there’s a large Latin community. We start in Miami and end up in Southern California. It’s the biggest tour and it’s going to be very exciting. We’re telling people that we have a new album and we have new music. It’s an achievement.

You’re three handsome guys; do you have any crazed fans?
That happens and it’s really surreal for us. We’ll be walking around and people go totally ape-shit when we’re around. It’s funny; I enjoy it a lot. I try to be nice, thankful. I get it. I’m a fan too. If I ever saw John Mayer walking on the street, I’d go up to him.

How is this year going so far?
We’ve been having a really good year. We’re very thankful. It’s the first album in which we’re aware of what’s going on. Before, we would do whatever the company would tell us to do. This time, we’re writing the songs, picking out the songs and the producers. We were a lot more involved.

What’s the inspiration behind the songs? Is it based on your lives?
Some of them are autobiographical. There are a couple of songs that speak to our personal experiences like “Piel de Ciudad,” which I wrote. I lived a part of last year in New York and when I was writing the album, there was a dwarfing experience. It made me remember that I’m just one more story in the book that is life. It was a very important thing for me to live there. It was very humbling.

How do you all work together?
It’s not hard; we throw our ideas around and keep the ones we like. Sometimes you end up with a song that you don’t like too much or on that can be a hit. We just sort of flow with it.

Have you ever thought about singing in English?
I can do Maroon 5 and Radiohead covers. We did that on our first tour when we didn’t have enough songs. In order to record in English, you need to be more established in the Latin industry. It’s something I’d like to do in the future, but not yet.