Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The visual importance of Paramore
Images
http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/users16/panicrebels/default/gang-some-fans--large-msg-123078439448.jpg
Song:
Misery Business,
Riot Album, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
A little bit of History
What is it that
makes a band successful? Some say that it is how many records they sell or how
quickly their shows become sold out. Others might say it is the number of
followers they have on Facebook
or Twitter; For Paramore, it’s not about the
glitz and glam of fame but more of the raw talent that comes from within them.
It is the energy they have every time they go out on stage
and perform, whether it is a room of 20 people, or twenty thousand people.
Paramore has achieved great success in the past few years and they are currently
working on their fourth album, but right now we are going to travel back to the
beginning of the band, from their humble beginnings in Franklin, Tennessee to
where they fit in to the music industry today.
The group, which
originally consisted of vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis,
guitarist Taylor York, and the Farro brothers, drummer Zach and guitarist josh,
was formed in Tennessee back in 2004. Jeremy Davis, who was good friends with
both Hayley and the Farro brothers, was the one that introduced everyone in the
beginning. The group started hanging out after school and started to realize
that they all had a talent and a love for music. The boys were unsure at first
about welcoming Hayley into their group because they didn’t know about having a
female lead vocalist. Soon Hayley started writing some songs for the group and
the boys quickly caught on to the idea of having her lead the group. Hayley
said of the guys when she first met them, “They were the first people I met who
were as passionate about music as I was.”[1]
Hayley was originally signed to Atlantic
Records as a solo artist with the labels hopes of turning her into a chart
toping pop princess, however, Hayley refused to be a single artist claiming
that her vision was always to be part of a group. Hayley once stated in an
interview to HitQuarter’s, “She wanted to
make sure that she and her band got the chance to show what they can do as a rock
band writing their own songs."[2]
After
being signed to the record label Fueled by Ramen,
Paramore started working on their first full length album titled All We Know is Falling. During
this time, band member Jeremy Davis decided to leave the band for personal
reasons; the remaining members decided to write the album around his departure
from the group.[3] Even the album artwork was based on his departure with the empty couch and the
shadow of a figure walking away representing Jeremy leaving. After
five months of being gone, Jeremy was asked by the band to return…He agreed.
The band released “Pressure” as the first single of the album with a video
directed by Shane Drake.
In 2007,
Paramore started on their second album Riot. The name had been chosen because it meant a
sudden outburst of uncontrolled emotion and it was a word that summed it all
up. [4] This
album definitely had and outburst of emotion ranging from lyrics written from
personal encounters that the band members had gone through in their personal
lives to how the band was coping as a band, to the emotions that they wanted to
share with their fans. Musicomh.com interviewed the band about all things Paramore
and Hayley had this to say about the Riot
album, “I think our goal was to
put more energy into this, to put more youth into this record, but at the same
time to show how much we've grown, and to show what we can do if we spend time
on a record."[5] 
In January of 2009, Josh Farro talked about the
bands third album Brand New Eyes. In early 2008, the band announced the cancellation of
several shows and a looming hiatus due to issues within the band. Fortunately, the
band eventually decided to remain together and record a follow-up to their
breakthrough album, Riot! Out of that inner turmoil came most of
the inspiration for their third album, which has been described by the band as
heavier and more emotional, with the lyric writing process being especially
difficult for Hayley Williams who had to write about her feelings with tensions
in the group still flourishing. [6] In early December of 2010, Josh Farro sent out a
statement taking about his and his brother Zac’s plans to leave the band, he
claimed the band had become a manufactured product of a major label and also
claimed that Hayley had been manipulated by the label and now saw the other
members as nothing more than back up to her stardom. The three remaining
members posted a response to all of the turmoil on their website saying that
for almost a year it seemed like the brothers had lost interest in the band and
the importance of their music. Even with the news of the brothers leaving, they
wanted to make sure the fans knew Paramore is still going to be a band and will
not give up for the fans. [7]
Today the three
remaining members, Hayley, Jeremy, and Taylor, are still going strong creating
music that is more powerful lyrically and emotionally than ever before. They
are winning awards left and right and are still staying connected to the fans
that got them here in the first place. They said that no matter what happens;
they will stay together and keep doing what they love to do.
[1]
Wikipedia contributors, “Paramore.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramore
(accessed Feb. 20, 2012)
[3]
Tony Pascarella, “The Trades-Interview with Hayley Williams and Josh Farro,”
Published August 8, 2005, http://www.the-trades.com/article.php?id=3440
[5]
Alex Nunn, “Paramore Interview” 6-2007, http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/paramore_0607.htm
[6]
Ivan Mitchell, Accessed February 20, 2012, http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/paramore/brand-new-eyes/30046/
[7]
Hayley Williams, Jeremy Davis, Taylor York, “Announcement” Posted December 18,
2008, http://www.paramore.net/blog/announcement/
The Journey Begins...
My
passion, although some might call it an obsession, for music is what brought me
to writing this blog. However, music is such a broad topic that I can go on
endlessly about, so I have decided to
focus on one of the bands that have changed my life and truly make me believe
in the power of music.
This
is a band from the small town of Franklin,
Tennessee called Paramore. Let me
tell you the story of how I discovered them and how they have become the number
one band on my playlist. Back in the summer of 2007, I was going to a huge
concert festival known as the Van’s
Warped Tour with a few friends. My friend Phil was going on and on about a
band that was going to be performing later in the day that he was in love with.
None of us knew the band so no one really gave it much thought. The day
progressed with us going from stage to stage, watching all of our favorite artists
perform the songs we know and love. Now the thing I love about Warped Tour is they have tents set up all over that the bands hang out in to meet the
fans and take the most memorable pictures that these diehard fans will never
forget. Well Phil was one of these diehard fans and had hunted down the
Paramore tent. We were standing in line
to meet the band when all of a sudden my sight became blurred and I felt as
though I was spinning. The heat of the day had caught up to me and I needed
some cool air, fast. My friend took me into the bathroom to get a cool towel
and grab some water while Phil wouldn’t budge from the line. He was determined
to meet the lead singer, and what he called the red headed rocker, Hayley
Williams.
If
I could rewind time, I would go back to that day and make sure that I was in
that line to meet Paramore because by the end of the night I was a fan and I
was kicking myself for not being in that line. Once I got some water and food
in me I was ready to continue on with the festival. We wandered around for awhile and Phil was
trying to get the group to walk over to one of the stages to watch Paramores
performance but no one in the group new them and so they all said that they
would pass. I on the other hand, am always up to discovering new music and open
to anything so I agreed to go with him to watch them play. We eventually made
our way over to catch the end of Flyleaf’s
performance and wiggled our way up to the front of the stage.
This
moment still gives me chills when I think about it. This is when I knew that
this band was going to have a big influence on my life. We are standing at the
front of the stage when the three boys of the band walk out and take their
places on the stage. Then Hayley comes bouncing out full of energy and ready to
put on a show. The first few notes of
the song I found myself dancing along. It was infectious. The energy from the
crowd was mirrored in the energy of the band and I only had to listen to a few
seconds of the first song to know that I was in love with this band and their
music. The sun was setting, the energy was high, and they were performing their
newest song Misery
Business and I was completely wrapped up in the moment. They went on to play a full set involving old
and new songs and I realized I didn’t want them to stop playing, and neither
did the rest of the crowd.
Coming
back to present day I can confidently say that I am a huge fan of the group and
their music. Their music does help me when I am down and I find that I will get
lost in their lyrics and every time I hear Misery Business my mind will wonder
back to that hot summer day in 2007 when I first discovered the intensity of
their performances and the power of their music.
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