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Thursday, March 3, 2016 6:00am ET by  
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JAGMAC tell Pressparty about supporting Little Mix on tour

Jared, Angelique, Gabriel, Manjo, Alyssa, and CJ are the new kids on the block. Known as JAGMAC, this band consists of four brothers and two sisters aged between 15-24 and they were born and raised in Baltimore, USA. 

Later this month, JAGMAC will fly over to the UK to join Little Mix on their upcoming Get Weird arena tour and we sat down with the group to talk about their dynamic, their impressive background (each member has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do), and what they like about the 'Get Weird' ideology. 

First off, let's talk about your group name! It’s made up from the first letters of your names, but how did you decide that would be a good moniker for you collectively? 

We’ve been through an evolution of names in the past, but this one definitely stuck. Our mum actually came up with it, she thought it was good as it includes everyone and it’s not sticking to one word. We all play a part in the band and it’s important that everyone stays included, so kudos to our mum for coming up with that name. It just kind of stuck. it’s definitely different. It’s not your typical word, but I think once you get it, it sticks. We all like it, and we hope everyone else does too.  

You’re four brothers and two sisters! How does that dynamic work? Are there every arguments or clashes, or does being in a music group bring you closer together? 

It’s very interesting having a group with your brothers and sisters, but it’s definitely a blast. Having four brothers and two sisters, there’s never a dull moment, everyone’s always cracking jokes and having a good time. Being able to share this love for music together as a group is really cool, because as a family we’re doing something we love at the same time. It’s awesome.  

We all have our moments and little fights but we’re family and we stick together. Our parents are definitely there to keep us in line and check at all times. We’re very blessed to have that. 

We’ll be honest, what family doesn’t argue? But we’re family so we have to get along and be able to work together, or we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. It’s easier for us to work together because we know each other so well. 

It’s also funny because we do martial arts too, so when we fight it gets pretty intense. We argue about food like, ‘I want that mac and cheese. Pow. Pow.' It turns into an action movie, but it’s really funny and we joke about it later. It’s really fun to be with them. 

You're heading out on tour with Little Mix very soon. Do you have a favourite Little Mix song? If so, which one would you choose and why?

I think we’re all falling in love with their new song with Jason Derulo, 'Secret Love Song'. We’re also fans of 'Black Magic' and ‘Wings'.  

What are you most looking forward to about the tour? 

We’re most looking forward to performing in the big arenas and being able to see so many people and fans, and being able to share the stage with amazing artists, Little Mix and Nathan Sykes, and also seeing all the different cities and trying the different foods. 

Little Mix previously explained that 'Get Weird’ means, to them, "being who you are, being yourself and loving who you are as well and not being afraid to show that.” How do you embody these ideas? Do you think it’s an important message to promote? 

I think that’s great, to show individual personality, even if you are a little bit weird and being able to express that in a way that all girls can relate to, and not just girls, boys too. Cause we’re definitely not your typical family, so I guess we are kind of weird as well. That’s a great outlook, coming together and expressing yourself as an individual. 

Every member of the group has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do… Where did your fascination and passion for this martial art arise from? What do you love about it?

We’ve been doing martial arts ever since we were 3 years old. Our Dad actually has a martial arts school here in Baltimore. At a very young age it’s always been our passion, we’re all black belts in Tae Kwon Do and we also practice a Filipino marital arts called Eskrima, which is Filipino stick fighting. Being able to start martial arts at a very young age is something that’s also been a passion of ours, and growing up watching the Power Rangers, because I think even to this day we all want to be Power Rangers. 

 

 

 

Let’s talk about your debut single, So Good. What inspired it? How involved were you in the creative process?

Our producer played it to us a couple of months ago and we heard the song and heard it had a very fun, upbeat, 1940s swing feel to it and immediately once we heard it we were like, ‘Oh my goodness, we need to have this song’. So my brother and I (Alyssa) were able to write to it a couple of months later, and we wrote it in literally maybe an hour, an hour or two. We were inspired by Michael Bublé’s ‘Feeling Good’, just kind of explaining how wonderful you feel when you hear the song and how it makes you want to dance and just feel good, it makes the world feel like a happier place when you hear the song. 

What’s coming up for JAGMAC in 2016?

You can expect a lot more shows, a lot more music. We’ll be releasing our album very, very soon. New music, music videos and a lot of positive energy for months and years to come. 

Catch JAGMAC supporting Little Mix at the following concerts:

  • Sun 13 Mar-16 Cardiff Arena
  • Mon 14 Mar-16 Brighton Centre
  • Tue 15 Mar-16 Bournemouth BIC
  • Thu 17 Mar-16 Newcastle Metro Arena
  • Fri 18 Mar-16 Birmingham Genting Arena
  • Sat 19 Mar-16 Glasgow Hydro Arena Matinee 2.00 pm
  • Sat 19 Mar-16 Glasgow Hydro Arena 
  • Tue 22 Mar-16 Liverpool Arena
  • Wed 23 Mar-16 Nottingham Capital FM Arena
  • Thu 24 Mar-16 Manchester Arena
  • Sat 26 Mar-16 Leeds First Direct Arena
  • Sun 27 Mar-16 London O2 Arena - Matinee 2.00 pm
  • Sun 27 Mar-16 London O2 Arena
  • Mon 28 Mar-16 Cardiff Arena 
  • Wed 30 Mar-16 Dublin 3 Arena
  • Thu 31 Mar-16 Belfast The SSE Arena, Belfast Matinee 2.00 pm
  • Thu 31 Mar-16 Belfast The SSE Arena, Belfast

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Watch JAGMAC in action below: 

 

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