Life & Work with 2% of La Puente

Today we’d like to introduce you to 2% .

Hi 2%, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Johnny: Personally, I started making music because of my dad. He always had these guitars at his house, and I just wanted to learn how play them. One time, in the middle of the night, he caught me, just, like, playing a guitar really loudly even though I had no idea how to play it. The next day, he got me my own. Later on, I met Joseph [Avila, our former guitarist] through Starbucks. We were both baristas who loved music and started jamming out together, writing songs. A few jam sessions later, Ingrid [Gio] came with her friend Lia, and we started making, like, rap songs and took off from there.

Gio: (laughs) It was her birthday, and she and I were out for her birthday brunch. Once we were done, I remember having been invited to hang with Joseph and Johnny, so I took her to jam with us. I had never jammed out with anyone like that before. We had so much fun that I decided to jam with them again; Lia never joined us again. After a few jam sessions together, the three of us decided to become a band—Joseph on lead guitar, me on vocals and keyboard, and Johnny on everything else. Joseph named the band Two Percent, stylized “2%,” which was my idea in order to reach a worldwide audience by not using letters, and made the requirement that, in order to be in the band, you have to work at the Starbucks we all worked at. Ten years later, we are now here—without Joseph, but with a recent addition, our drummer, Niko.

Johnny: Actually, can I change my answer?

Gio: Yeah, sure!

Johnny: Well, it’s true, I met Joseph and Ingrid through Starbucks. One day, we got together, spent the whole day jamming and singing. 2% formed from there, and we played a lot of shows together. Then, Niko brought his knowledge and joined on drums and helping me out so much while Joseph stepped down. That brings us to today where we are playing and still learning together.

Gio: What about you, Sir Niko?

Niko: As far back as I can remember, I was surrounded by music. During my first four years, my dad would have his Argentinian folkloric music group practice at my house once a week, and they would sometimes leave their instruments behind so that I could play on them. By age 4, I started piano lessons. By age 7, I took 3 months of guitar lessons, and with that, I had finally found my first passion. I played guitar in a band with my friends at age 10-11, playing small shows at birthday parties. After that came a nonstop revolving door of jam sessions and bands, picking up and teaching myself other instruments such as bass and drums along the way. After high school, I was in several long-term bands and projects where I continued to gain experience as a musician, also filling in as needed for other projects. Finally, in late 2024, after six years of inactivity in the music scene (Covid-19 and other reasons), I reconvened with some friends and coworkers, joining 2% on drums. Someone else that I can’t go on without mentioning is my uncle Brian. Throughout the years, he has provided me inspiration as well as endless amount of musical equipment. Being in a band himself, he had a lot of great advice and support for me, even allowing me to play with his band on occasion.

Gio: His band is called Chicken Legs! (laughs) Also, quick blurb on myself: I always thought my dad had the coolest music taste, listening to rock en español, freestyle hip hop, and trance. On the other hand, my mother’s side of the family are all mariachis. I have actually spoken about it before on several interviews. Just search Ingrid Giovanie. (winks and laughs)

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Gio: It hasn’t always been a smooth road. There were times that scheduling was a constant conflict. Creative differences arose. I almost quit the band, like, five times (laughs). Then, when we finally had a completed body of work to then tour with it for the first time ever, we were hit with the Covid-19 pandemic; we rarely saw each other after that for about four years. Then, in 2024, our good friend Isaac Luis said, “Let’s pull you old heads out of retirement. I want to see you perform.” We invited a drummer, Carlos Perez, to play. Then, Perez left the band, so we were once again without a drummer until our crown jewel, Niko, came along! Then, our guitarist couldn’t make practices as often as before, so we brought on another guitarist in the meantime, Eric Pantoja. Finally, a couple months later, our guitarist-primary-melody-maker-since-the-inception-of-the-band, quit—after 10 years—leaving me, a non-guitar player, to take over the role. Personally, it has been difficult, but I am having fun learning this new skill!

Johnny: The only struggle is trying to stay cool in the practice room.

Gio: (laughs) Once again, Niko?

Niko: Mostly smooth. We had to reassess a few things when we lost our guitarist. Although I miss Joseph being in the band and there’s always an open spot for him, the process of adjusting to being a 3-piece with a learning guitarist has actually been very fun and rewarding. I think it pushed all of us to think outside the box, and it made us consider how to maintain a full sound with one less member. Overall, smooth travels.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Niko: This is still regarding the band-slash-music, right?

Johnny: That should be your answer.

(laughter erupts among the three)

Niko: Am I famous enough to rage quit an interview? (laughs) We are a band of former and current baristas that like to write songs about love, the system, our struggles, our victories, and anything in between. I like to think that our specialty is bringing a good time to wherever we are. None of our shows are ever identical, and we keep it interesting by switching genres, doing covers, dressing up—whatever we feel like doing. I don’t think we set any limits for ourselves, which is what keeps me invested and makes it so much fun all the time.

Johnny: Personally, my specialty is bringing my ideas to the group where we work together to create new songs. I think I’m good at finding my place in a song. I’m proud of the music we have made together and the shows that we have put on and will continue to put on. The thing that sets us apart from others is our sound as well as our lore.

Gio: I agree. Being a barista, especially at Starbucks, is a unique experience; some people have great stories, others: horror, nonetheless, a story; and we know people at their crankiest (laughs). We mostly perform originals, and if we are to do a cover, we cover a song that is out of the conscious mainstream or unreleased. My favorite so far is “Get Drunk” by Lizzy Grant a.k.a. Lana del Rey. Personally, one of my favorite factors is that Johnny is hard-of-hearing. He’s our Beethoven. Anything is possible. I also have noticed that each of us help each other through our blind spots. When Johnny needs organization and beautification in his music, Niko and I help with that. Where Niko may struggle with a bit of on-the-fly creativity, Johnny and I encourage him to let loose, and where I lack the motor skills of an instrumentalist, Johnny and Niko are there to the rescue. It’s a beautiful symbiotic relationship.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Johnny: None of us are real.

Gio: Yup. You know the saying, “I’m the realest.”? Yeah, well, we’re the opposite of that.

Niko: I guess we’re kinda like Santa or Jesus. We are real if you believe we are.

Pricing:

• Booking rate max 2 hours: $690

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2percentbaby/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2percentbaby
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@2percentbaby
• soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/2percentbaby

Image Credits
Main Photo: Harvard Yard (yadira)
(Hero Carlisle)
Que Sera (thanks to The Modes)
SFV Pride (Carlos Alejandro Lujan)
Long Beach Teen Pride (Ashcolin Nova & School of Sexuality)
MeowMeowz in Pasadena (Victoria Paz)