Formed in the summer of 2003 in Manhattan, and currently residing in Brooklyn, NY, cholo has honed an earnest indie sound weaving together saxophones, frenetic drumbeats, and wayward vocals with aggressive guitar hooks and lamenting melodies.

Felipe Flores christened the band as an ode to his Peruvian-American roots and first generation immigrant beginnings. Growing up in a Long Island suburb, he was the only Peruvian he knew who liked Jane’s Addiction, the Pixies, Fugazi, and Morphine, as well as John Coltrane and John Zorn (he played saxophone for his school jazz band). When he formed cholo, he discovered that his fellow bandmates had similar experiences of feeling like outsiders who loved music that few people appreciated. Whether it was Rosa listening to Bikini Kill on a beach in Guam, Dave blasting Tool on his way to school in Jersey, or Gary buying the first Nirvana record in Dublin, their love of music brought them to the Smash Studios practicing spaces of midtown Manhattan, fiddling with amps as garment factory workers toiled a few floors below.

Years later, cholo is still somewhat of an outsider, but instead of being on the receiving end, they’re making their own brand of music. In September 2005 they released their first self-titled LP, which garnered praise from critics in the US, Peru and Italy. Soon after they started working on material that became their sophomore album, Unlimited Nights and Weekends, set for release in January 2008. It features cameo performances from Heather McIntosh of Elf Power and Simon Beins of The Wowz. Cholo regularly plays shows in downtown New York and Brooklyn, in venues like Cake Shop, North Six (now Music Hall of Williamsburg), the Knitting Factory, Galapagos, and Union Hall. They’ve opened up for Mobius Band, Ill Ease, Oppenheimer, Jeffrey Lewis, Only Son (ex-Moldy Peaches), and played the CMJ festival this past fall. They’re also the only rock band represented by 50 Cent’s booking agency, A-List Talent, whose roster includes other buzz-worthy NYC acts such as Roxy Cottontail, Kudu, Game Rebellion, and the Bangers.