Exclusive Interview and Photos: AUSTIN & ALLY star Ross Lynch on fame, music and family

By SUE SCHNEIDER / Photo Editor

Posted: January 1st, 2013 / 11:49 AM

Ross Lynch at the Radio Disney N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) event | ©Sue Schneider

Ross Lynch stars as Austin Moon on Disney Channel’s hit show, AUSTIN & ALLY. Austin, an overnight Internet sensation is trying to make it big in the music business. With the help of his friend Trish De la Rosa (Raini Rodriguez) who manages Austin, which sometimes backfires no matter how hard she tries. Finally signed to a record label, Starr Records his dream is about to come true, along with his good friend Ally Dawson (Laura Marano) who writes all his songs. Ally works at her fathers music store Sonic Boom, but is too shy to sing herself. Calum Worthy (Dez) is Austin’s nutty best friend and is always getting Austin and himself into trouble.

ASSIGNMENT X sat down with Ross at Radio Disney’s N.B.T. Kick-Off Concert held at Hollywood and Highland recently and talked about the show and his real life music career with the band R5, which consists of Ross, his siblings Riker, Rydel, Rocky and along with their best friend Ratliff, are the five R’s of R5. Recently they were signed to Hollywood Records.

ASSIGNMENT X: How did you get the role on AUSTIN & ALLY?

ROSS LYNCH: Just like any other job you just go through a lot of auditions and hope for the best.

AX: You do play a lot of instruments, even on the show?

LYNCH: Yes, I play guitar, bass, drums and piano and a bit of ukulele and I’ve recently picked up the violin, but it’s not my best instrument. (Laughs)

R5 on stage at the Radio Disney N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) event | ©2012 Sue Schneider

AX: Do you write your own songs?

LYNCH: Not for the show, mainly because I am focusing writing songs for my band R5. Although I haven’t written many because I’m just so busy with the AUSTIN & ALLY schedule, but hopefully in the album that will come out in early 2013 I will have a song on there.

AX: What process do you use when you write the songs?

LYNCH: Whatever comes first. It could be a cool guitar lick or a cool melody or even a cool line…whatever comes first and you just try to add on to it and grow it into a song.

AX: Anything special that the band does before going on stage?

LYNCH: I basically just go crazy. Just push my brothers around and kind of wrestle and then we get in a huddle and we put our hands in and we say, “Ready, Set, Rock.”

AX: Have you ever had any weird fan encounters?

LYNCH: I was in a hot tub with my brother and a fan came up and thought my brother was me. And they were going “oh my gosh your Austin on AUSTIN & ALLY and I was like no, actually that is me. And they were like “no it’s him.” And I was “no seriously it’s me.” And finally I ended up singing for them and they finally believed me.

AX: Do you consider yourself like a boy band even though your sister’s in it?

LYNCH: We are not actually a boy band, we’re like a band, band. We play all the instruments. So I feel like out biggest inspiration is like McFly, and Fallout Boy, kind of like the more band type stuff.

AX: What was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you on stage?

LYNCH: Nothing really embarrassing has happened to me on stage, but it didn’t happen to me but one of my brothers Rocky was rocking out pretty hard and he hit his head on his guitar and his head started bleeding. But that wasn’t really awkward, it was kind of cool…it was like Rock N’ Roll you know! That was kind of a fun moment!

AX: The music that you do with the band is totally different then what you do on AUSTIN & ALLY?

Ross Lynch and R5 on stage at the Radio Disney N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) event | ©2012 Sue Schneider

LYNCH: In a way. AUSTIN & ALLY is more sense and more kind of poppy, but for our band it’s very guitar driven and it’s more rock.

R5 joins us.

AX: How do you like all working together? And you Ratliff are the friend?

RIKER: He is the best friend. He is the family that is not blood related, but we love it. Just being able to do what I love more then anything in the world with my best friends is just amazing. It’s the coolest thing in the world.

AX: What’s it like being with your brothers all the time?

RYDEL: It’s fun. They are crazy, but I love hanging out with them and playing with them on stage. It’s super fun!

AX: Do you guys ever fight?

RYDEL: Professional disagreements.

ROCKY: We have boxing matches ever once in a while. (Everyone is laughing)

R5 at the Radio Disney N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) event | ©2012 Sue Schneider

AX: What’s the difference in ages?

ROCKY: Riker is 20, Rydel is 19, I will be turning 18 in two weeks, and Ross will be 17 this year.

AX: Have you ever appeared on AUSTIN & ALLY?

RYDEL: We were on his music video.

RIKER: “We Heard It On the Radio” music video, we’re in that.

AX: I asked Ross, but is there anything that any of you do special before going on stage or request for the dressing room like maybe having MM’s?

RIDER: There is something written up for us and it just shows up and basically it is just like water, some fruit is all we need. We are fine with just water that is all we need.

Raini Rodriguez, Ross Lynch, Laura Marano and Coco Jones at the Radio Disney N.B.T. (Next Big Thing) event | ©2012 Sue Schneider

AX: Do you all write the songs together?

ROCKY: We write our songs, mainly Riker and I.

RIKER: And when it comes to creating a live version of the song like how you want to arrange them for a live performance everyone kind of contributes to that.

AX: Where would you like to see the band in five years?

ROCKY: As a family, we have always fantasized on having a stadium tour.

RYDEL: Like going to the U.K. and stuff.

RIKER: Travel the world!

ROCKY: We just want to tour the world!

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