Riker & Rocky Lynch Dish On Their New Year's Week Shows In Vegas (Exclusive)

R5 are less than a week away from performing their first show at The Venetian in Las Vegas.

The band — Riker, Ross and Rocky, and Rydel Lynch, and Ellington Ratliff — will not only be celebrating the coming new year, but also Ross‘ 20th birthday!

JJJ had the chance to speak with Riker and Rocky and got the scoop on the shows, their holiday plans and more. Check it:

JJJ: We know your family usually goes back to Colorado for the holidays. Are you going to miss that this year?
Riker Lynch: We are actually still going to go back for Christmas and then we just fly to Vegas from there. It’s gonna be a great holiday with those 2 places this year.

JJJ: Who is the best skier out of the five (and Ryland) of you all?
Rocky Lynch: [Definitely] Ryland.

JJJ: What’s the best thing about the holidays for you?
Riker: I love making festive drinks like Surfing Santas, Pain Killers, A Little Naughty. I like to consider myself a mixologist (laughs) That and obviously spending time with the family. I like to take a couple days and turn off all connections with the rest of the world for a bit. It’s refreshing.

(Click inside for more of our interview with Riker and Rocky…)
JJJ: Do you have a favorite holiday memory?
Rocky: We were in Japan for Thanksgiving and we ended up eating a bunch of sushi instead of turkey.

JJJ: Do you remember your first New Year’s Eve kiss?
Rocky: Yes I do. It was right after we played a show in Hersey Park, PA. I ran behind the stage right at midnight and had my first New Year’s Kiss.

Riker: At that same show Ross and I actually jumped off the front of the stage, ran to two girls in the front row, and had a very spontaneous New Year’s kiss with two fans. It was pretty funny. It’s harder than you think trying to kiss someone while everyone else is trying to grab you and kiss you as well. (laughs)

JJJ: How do you guys feel about Ross turning 20!?
Rocky: It’s crazy because every band member will now be in their 20s!

JJJ: What are your holiday favorites?
Rocky: My Favorite holiday movies are The Grinch, Love Actually, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Riker: I just like everything about the holidays. The food, the memories, the love in the air. It’s always a great time.

JJJ: Why did you choose Vegas for NYE? What’s going to be different about these shows?
Riker: I always like playing New Years Eve shows and when The Venetian offered us to have 3 shows over New Year’s Eve week I think the first works out of my mouth was “HELL YES!” I mean New Year’s Eve, the biggest party of the year and we get to be in Vegas playing a rock concert. It’s going to be a night to remember so hopefully it’s not too blurry afterward. (Laughs)

JJJ: You two actually spent your recent birthdays in Vegas, too. Hopefully they were good!
Rocky: Yes we had a blast. We were there for three days and slept a total of about 6 hours.

Riker: We had an insanely awesome time. I went there for my 21st as well so I like the tradition we have started with the guys. If you haven’t yet, you’ll have to check out the video we made of the trip on YouTube. It’s basically a Wild Hearts music video but you pretty much get a recap of the whole trip. The only thing we did that couldn’t be in the video was gambling and that’s just because you can’t film in casinos. We played a ton of Blackjack at one point we were at one table for like 3 hours and had no idea. Roulette was fun too. We didn’t end up winning any on that trip but I plan on redeeming myself over New Years.

JJJ: If you could trade places with any musical artist for a day who would it be?
Riker: I’m gonna say Coldplay because I really dig their new album and they have SO many hits! We went to their album release party in LA back in November and they put on a great show. It was an awesome time.

JJJ: If you had to get one group member’s face tattooed on you, who would it be and why?
Rocky: Riker because he definitely has the sexiest face (laughs)

==================================

R5 will be playing on Tuesday, December 29th @ 8PM, Thursday, December 31st @ 7:30PM and Friday, January 1st, 2016 @ 8PM. For tickets, head to Venetian.com NOW!