By: Alexandria McLean | @itbalexandria

It’s been three years since Family Channel first introduced Canada to pop-rock band R5. Since then, fans have been able to watch siblings Riker, Ross, Rocky and Rydel Lynch, and family-friend Ellington Ratliff grow and mature into the musicians they are today.

This year alone has been crazy for R5! Having toured the world, released an EP, and created a music video for their new single “Heart Made Up On You,” it’s a mystery if any of the members of R5 got any sleep…but we are not complaining!

R5 made eleven stops in Canada on their 2014 Louder Tour earlier this year, and turned that number into twelve when they stopped in Toronto last Tuesday for the only Canadian date on R5 Live on Tour. In between the two tours, R5 released the Heart Made Up On You EP, which serves as a teaser for their new sound and second full-length studio album. Leaving a solely pop sound behind, this EP is sure to get R5 fans, new and old, excited for the full length album that is set to release in 2015.

The Magazine got the chance to sit down with Riker, Ross, Rocky, Rydel, and Ratliff before their show in Toronto to talk life on tour and the making of the Heart Made Up On You music video. 

The Magazine: How has the tour been so far?

Rydel: Pretty epic!

Ross: It’s been going really really well. The first bit started off a little slower because I was a little sick, well for me personally.

Rocky: It was great for me.

Ratliff: The rest of us killed it.

Ross: There is always something nice about being sick on the road because you can always look forward to getting better.

Rocky: But when you are not sick, you are like “Oh no! When am I going to get it?”

Ratliff: That is true! It’s like a murder mystery. Oh shoot it got Riker!

Ross: The tour keeps getting better and better. Every night we will look at our show and look at the weakest section, and we’ll fix it and make it better. As the tour goes on, it gets better. We like to change it up too. Change the set.

The Magazine: You released a new EP this summer called Heart Made Up On You. How was it working on that album?

Ross: That was a lot of fun.

Riker: It was good actually, yeah.

Rydel: Care to elaborate?

Ross: It was the most fun to actually record it.

Riker: It was really cool because we got to work with a bunch of new people. We loved working with our producer for “Heart Made Up On You” and “Things Are Looking Up”. It was cool to experience new things. It was also cool to take a departure away from Louder, which was very very straightforward pop. We got to kind of go back to our rock roots and really bring in more guitar and more drums. I was just super super stocked about that so it was just awesome working on new songs going “Oh, this sounds like a band!”

The Magazine: You have written the music off this EP. Do you have a favourite song, or a song you relate to the most? 

Rydel: My favourite is “Easy Love” because as soon as it starts it is just right there. First listen and I feel like everyone will love it. We even put a little surprise in there for the fans, and it’s hilarious.

Riker: “Stay With Me” I can probably relate to the most, but my favorite is probably “Things Are Looking Up”.

Ross: To listen to I like “Stay With Me” and to perform I like “Easy Love”. “Easy Love” and “Heart Made Up On You” actually.  It’s beginning to be really powerful live actually.

Rocky: I think I like “Heart Made Up On You” actually as a song.

Ratliff: Did anyone say, “Stay With Me”? I like “Stay With Me”.

The Magazine: You were busy this summer! You also released your music video for Heart Made Up On You. How was it working on that?

Riker: It was unbelievably hot.

Ross: And every other music video was unbelievably cold. We cannot get good weather.

Rydel: It was the hottest day ever and I had these leather heels on. The sun was soaking through my boots and my feet were burning.

Ross: The nice thing about this music video, is what Riker said earlier, is it was a departure from Louder, which we liked. We have always been ones who enjoyed music videos that do have more of a story and more of a narrative.

Rocky: There is something different.

Ross: Yeah, there is something different, something more like you can watch…

Rocky: You can watch it.

Ross: …rather than just interesting visuals….

Rocky: You can touch it.

Ross: Shhh!

Riker: We went out to make more of a short film than a music video.

Ross: It worked out. We are really happy with it. 

The Magazine: What has been the most memorable moment on tour so far?

Riker: On this tour, every night we do this thing called bus hopping.

Rydel: Each bus has a different vibe.

Riker: There is a different kind of party on this bus and then there is a different kind of party on this bus…and then the third bus is a movie, and everyone is asleep.

Ross: …which is our bus.

Rocky: And they are all parked right next to each other.

Ross: So if you don’t like this bus, you just go to the next bus.

Rydel: Our bus is like our mangers watching a movie. It is calm. You can read a book. Then like, Brandon and Savannah’s bus is a rave. Then the crew bus is like chatted up.

Riker: There are all these different things going on. That has been the theme of the tour. Bus hopping.

The Magazine: Favourite place you have travelled to?

Rydel: Copenhagen, Denmark!

Riker: Copenhagen, Denmark!

Ross: Toronto! What? I am serious! I like Toronto.

Riker: Honestly, I like Canada. There is so much hockey. You can go into anywhere and just watch hockey. We went somewhere in Montreal, it was literally a dance club, and there were hockey games going on.

Ross: I loved it. I am moving to Montreal.

Thanks R5!

R5 will be back in Toronto, Canada Thursday October 2^nd to perform at this year’s We Day! You can catch their performance, and the entire show online at www.weday.com.