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/

4 comments:

  1. Nice collection of information and layed out nicely. My only complaint would be the header "Paramore Nation." You have such a big red space that the title and font choice looks so small and empty almost. Font choice or if you have power over how big the red bar is can help with that first impression. Other than that good job overall.

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  2. Your topic is quite interesting. Although I know who Paramore is I didn't know much about them. I was somewhat disappointed, however, that you didn't take Paramore's artistic style and use it for your blog design. The color compliments the topic, but the font does not. If you were trying to make the blog design somewhat benign to show off Paramore's artistic style, then I would use more pictures. You have quite the interesting topic. I do wish there was just a little bit more added to the posts visually.

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  3. You really seem to know your stuff about this band. I'm not too familiar with them or their music, but it was still really interesting to read about. I think the design layout you chose is very effective. It's simple yet goes along with your topic. I like that it's easy to read and not too garish. Very well done!

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  4. Paramore is an awesome band, I listen to them quite often. Like Kelsey I did not know much about them so it was good to hear story. I especially like the title of your blog. Paramore Nation caught my attention really quick. I honestly do not have much to critique. Really great blog!

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