La Explosiva Banda de Maza

La Explosiva Banda de Maza is a large banda orchestra whose founding members ranged in age from 17-25. The group's sound is deeply rooted in the Sinaloan banda tradition. The large ensemble was founded in Sinaloa by cousins Guillermo, José, and Jorge Lizárraga, all life-long professional musicians. Before forming a band that reflected their original take on Mexican Regional music, Jorge had been a trombonist with artists including Espinoza Paz, Jenni Rivera, Banda Los Recoditos, and German Lizárraga. Jose Lizárraga had spent 17 years playing with many artists but spent the majority of his professional life with Banda el Recodo. Guillermo Lizárraga began his career with Lupillo Rivera, and later joined Carnival Band before he formed his own Banda La Sinaloense, with whom he had the opportunity to play with La Arrolladora y Banda Ms. Later, La Sinaloense worked directly as Gerardo Ortiz's backing band. In early 2016, the cousins began to recruit and audition other likeminded musicians, regardless of age. By September, they were a full unit and rehearsing in earnest. They began playing out and issuing live YouTube videos. Their sophisticated arrangements, original songs, and committed presentation -- along with their stylish look -- attracted Warner Bros. As a pre-release for their forthcoming debut album -- recorded live in the studio -- La Explosiva Banda de Maza issued a professionally shot, narrative video for the romantic Sinaloan ballad "Para Ser Sincere," which was issued in August of 2017 and rang up a million views in two weeks. It was directed by industry veteran Manuel Escalante. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi