Cole Pendery and Dana Vaughns of IM5. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com.
IM5
Growing Wild on the Road
By Maggie Mitchell
We’ve been following the boys from IM5 for a few years now. Going through some changes as of late, the once five-person boy group is now a trio, consisting of three founding members – Dana Vaughns, Gabe Morales and Cole Pendery. Even through the differences, IM5 continues to go strong, while stealing the hearts of tween and teenage girls worldwide. And they’re not letting go.
We last talked to the guys in Atlantic City nearly eight months ago. Now, as IM5 is about to embark on their headlining “Grow Wild” Tour, hosted by YouTube sensation Sam Pottorff, we wanted to check back in and hear all about it.
Starting out in San Diego next week, the #GrowWildTour is due to hit 24 cities including New York, Atlanta, Phoenix, Philly and Chicago, ending in Sacramento on the 29th of May. Being the headliners, IM5 has chosen some other great acts to take on the road with them: The Weekend Riot, The House on Cliff, Austin Jones and Bailey McConnell.
Just yesterday I chatted with Vaughns, Morales and Pendery while they were on their way to rehearsal. We talked about what to expect from the tour and so much more. Here’s what they had to say:
Cole Pendery of IM5 in Atlantic City NJ. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com.
We haven’t talked since last summer. What’s new with you guys?
Cole Pendery: A lot. Oh wow, last summer. A lot of stuff has happened. We got new management, new music and the band’s a little different visually now. So, it’s been a lot of good things happening in the world. We’re happy.
Being down to three, do you plan on looking for more members, or just keeping things as they are?
Dana Vaughns: For right now we are just sticking with three, being that we are about to go on tour in a week. We are just working and we realize that we feel like five isn’t necessary at the moment. In the future we would love to have two dancers, or something like that. But for now, it’s just three.
Gabe Morales of IM5 in Atlantic City NJ. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com.
We’re very excited to hear about Grow Wild Tour, can you tell us about that?
Gabe Morales: We’re very excited about the Grow Wild Tour. It starts April 18th in San Diego. It’s our first “tour” tour. We’ve gone around the U.S. and there have been tours we were on, and then we come back weekends or a few days later. Now, we are actually going to be gone for five weeks straight. It’s very exciting. It’s going to feel like a tour tour. A lot of new music is coming out so we’ll be promoting that. We are not flying out. It’s going to be driving this whole time. We are very excited to be doing this. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
What is one stop you are really looking forward to?
Dana Vaughns: I can’t say that there is one stop that I am specifically looking forward to. I’m just excited to go to places that I’ve never been before. I see a lot of people tweeting, “You’ve never been to my state.” We are going to a lot of those places this tour.
Are you guys planning on working on new music and covers on the road?
Cole Pendery: We’ve been talking to producers back in LA, but we haven’t been talking about what we are going to do on the road. That’s actually a good idea, though, we probably should. We are always thinking about new music to put out.
Dana Vaughns of IM5 in Atlantic City NJ. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com.
You have so many great groups coming on tour with you, including our friends The Weekend Riot. Is there any chance we could see a collab with these talented groups?
Dana Vaughns: There’s no plans of that right now, but who knows while we’re on tour. Yeah, I feel like it’s a possibility but nothing set in stone yet.
Sam Pottorff is joining you guys on tour as well. Have you been close with him and what should we expect from him?
Dana Vaughns: I don’t know! We haven’t really talked about what he’s going to do on tour, but I know he’s hosting. I’m sure he’ll be funny and will interact with the fans.
Cole Pendery: Sam is great. We always have so much fun together. So, I know we are going to be doing some cool vlogging videos and stuff. We want to do them on the road with him. It’s going to be a fun time. We enjoy Sam and are glad he’s on tour.
Cole Pendery and Gabe Morales of IM5. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com.
Other than the last two, who else are you guys bringing on tour with you?
Dana Vaughns: Austin Jones, Bailey McConnell and The House On Cliff.
Cole Pendery: We actually are on our way to meet up with The House On Cliff right now. We have to meet with them and talk tour and stuff.
Are you guys the type to pull pranks on everyone while you guys are traveling?
Cole Pendery: Dana sure is!
Dana Vaughns: I just think that we are going to have a lot of fun and it will be a great experience. But for sure, we’ll pull pranks and stuff like that! At the end of the day you just have to have fun!
Cole Pendery and Gabe Morales of IM5. Photo copyright 2014 PopEntertainment.com.
Do you guys have one thing that you do before you go on stage to prepare for your shows?
Dana Vaughns: We pray collectively. We all try to pray before a show. We just all warm up. Gabe punches the air, that’s kind of interesting!
We also have some fan questions. What’s one word to describe your friendship?
Cole Pendery: Unbreakable.
Gabe Morales: Brothers.
Dana Vaughns: I would say el familia.
Cole Pendery: It’s la familia, Dana! (laughs)
Grow Wild Tour
What’s your favorite thing about being on tour?
Cole Pendery: For me, I like going different places and meeting the fans. It’s true. That’s what you go on tour for, to meet the fans! So just meet the fans and performing. We’re doing what we love and it’s amazing. I think it’s cool. It’s just a great feeling.
What should we expect out of your show?
Dana Vaughns: You should expect some new music. We are doing some hints of stuff that will be on our EP later this year. You can expect dancing, a lot of body rolls! We might wink at you. I don’t know, but it’ll be good!
Copyright ©2015 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: April 10, 2015.
Photos ©2014 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.