PARAMORE
An American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennesse in 2004 consisting of Hayley Williams (lead vocals/keyboard), Josh Farro (
lead guitar/backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass), and Zac Farro (drums). The group released their debut album All We Know is Falling in 2005, and their second album Riot! in 2007, which was certified platinum in the US and gold in the UK.
Formation and All We Know Is Falling (2002–2005)
In 2002, at the age of 13
(b. December 27, 1988), vocalist Hayley Nichole Williams moved from her hometown
Meridian,
Mississippi to
Franklin, Tennessee USA where she met brothers Josh and Zac Farro while attending private school. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with
Brett Manning. Prior to forming Paramore, however, Williams and bassist Jeremy Davis took part in a
funk cover band called the Factory, while the Farro brothers had practiced together after school. The other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been “edgy about the whole female thing” of having Williams as vocalist, but, because they were really good friends, she started writing for them and it eventually worked out. The band was officially formed by Josh Farro (
lead guitar/
backing vocals), Zac Farro (
drums), Jeremy Davis (
bass) and Hayley Williams (
lead vocals) in 2004, with the later addition of Williams’ neighbor Jason Bynum (
Rhythm Guitar). They took the name Paramore, which is derived from the maiden name of one of the group’s former bassists during the time in which they were “still playing in the garage” once the group learned the meaning of the homonym;
paramour (“secret lover”), they decided to adopt the name, using the
Paramore spelling. The band’s first song written together was “Conspiracy”, which was later used on their debut album. Over the following years, Paramore performed at venues outside the greater Nashville area, including the concert festivals
Purple Door and
Warped Tour.
John Janick, CEO and co-founder of the music label
Fueled by Ramen, got a hold of Paramore’s demos and went to a
Taste of Chaos performance in
Orlando, Florida to see the band perform live. After a smaller private performance at a warehouse, the band was signed to the label in April 2005. Paramore traveled back to Orlando to record their debut album
All We Know Is Falling, but, shortly after arriving, Davis opted to leave the band citing personal reasons. The remaining four members of Paramore continued with the album, writing “
All We Know” about his departure, and later deciding to base
All We Know Is Falling around the concept. The album artwork also reflected Paramore’s grief as Williams explains, “The couch [on the cover of
All We Know is Falling] with no one there and the shadow walking away; it’s all about Jeremy leaving us and us feeling like there’s an empty space.” Recording for
All We Know is Falling had taken three weeks, and promotional material for the album had only featured the four of the remaining members. Before touring, the band added John Hembree (
bass) to their line up to replace Davis. During that summer, Paramore was featured on the Shira Girl Stage of the 2005 Warped Tour. After being asked by the band, Davis returned to Paramore, after five months apart, as Hembree left.
All We Know Is Falling was released on
July 24,
2005 and reached #30 on the Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart. Paramore released “
Pressure” as its first single, with a video directed by
Shane Drake, but the song had failed to place on the charts. The video featured the band performing in a warehouse, eventually getting sprayed with water sprinklers as the storyline of a conflicted couple occurs. “Pressure” is also featured on the soundtrack to the
EA Games video game
The Sims 2 for the
Playstation 2 and
Xbox. In July, “
Emergency” was released as the second single, the video again reuniting the band with director Shane Drake and featuring Hunter Lamb, who replaced Bynum on guitar. The video for “Emergency” showcased Paramore in another performance, this time fixing the members bloody and in worn costumes. The third single “All We Know”, was released with limited airtime, and the video consisting of a collection of live performances and backstage footage.
Riot! (2007–present)
In January 2006 they were a part of the Winter Go West Tour where they played alongside Seattle bands
Amber Pacific and
The Lashes, and in February, Williams’ vocals were featured on “Keep Dreaming Upside Down” by
October Fall. In the spring 2006, Paramore was an opening act on headlining tours for both
Bayside and soon afterwards,
The Rocket Summer. They toured the United Kingdom from
October 5 to
October 15,
2006, where they ended in London at The
Mean Fiddler. The band then covered
Foo Fighters‘ “
My Hero” for the
Sound of Superman soundtrack which was released on
June 26,
2006. During the summer of 2006, Paramore played a portion of Warped Tour, primarily on the
Volcom and
Hurley Stages, and their first night on the Main Stage was at a date in their hometown of Nashville. Paramore’s first United States headlining tour began on
August 2,
2006 to a sold-out audience with support from
This Providence,
Cute Is What We Aim For, and
Hit the Lights with the final show in Nashville. That year they were voted “Best New Band”, and Williams as #2 “Sexiest Female”, by readers of the
British magazine
Kerrang!. In 2007, Paramore was named by British magazine
NME as one of ten bands to watch out for in their “New Noise 2007″ feature. In January, the band played an acoustic set for the grand opening of a Warped Tour exhibit at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the dress Williams wore in the video for “Emergency” was also put onto display in the exhibit. Paramore was featured in
Kerrang! magazine once more, however, Williams believed the article was an untrue portrayal of the band, particularly because it focused on her as the main component. Afterwards, Williams addressed the issue in the band’s
LiveJournal, with a post saying, “we could’ve done without a cover piece. sorry, if it offends anyone at Kerrang! but i don’t think there was one bit of truth in that article.” In April, Williams’ vocals were featured in “Then Came To Kill” by
The Chariot. They headlined a tour in early 2007 with
This Providence,
The Almost and Love Arcade. Paramore began recording their second album
Riot! in January 2007, ending production in March, without the guitar of Hunter Lamb (who left the band early in 2007 to get married); without Lamb, lead guitarist Farro was required to play both guitar parts on the album. Lamb has since been replaced by guitarist Taylor York, who had been in a band with the Farro brothers before the two met Williams, as temporary member for the duration of touring. After being courted by producers Neal Avron and
Howard Benson, Paramore opted to record
Riot! with
New Jersey producer David Bendeth (
Your Vegas,
Breaking Benjamin), releasing the album on
June 12,
2007.
Riot! entered the Billboard 200 at number 20, the UK charts at number 24, and sold 44,000 its first week in the United States. The name
Riot! had been chosen because it meant “a sudden outburst of uncontrolled emotion”, and it was a word that “summed it all up”. The first single from the album, released
June 21,
2007, “
Misery Business“, is, according to Williams, “more honest than anything I’ve ever written, and the guys matched that emotion musically.”
Summer of 2007 saw Paramore participating on their third Warped Tour and posting journals of their experiences on
yourhereblog for MTV. In June they were declared by
Rolling Stone as “Ones to Watch”. Paramore made their 1st Live Television debut on Fuse Networks daily show,
The Sauce The second single from
Riot!, “
Hallelujah“, was released on July 30, 2007, and is currently only available online and on UK television. The video, much like “All We Know”, features backstage footage and live performances. In August 2007, Paramore had been featured in television spots on
MTV, performing acoustic versions of their songs or acting in short accompaniments to MTV program commercials. As “MTV Artists of the Week”, the band filmed the faux camping themed spots in
Queens, New York, all written and directed by Evan Silver and Gina Fortunato. Mtv.com also has a collection of
short videos with the band to promote
Riot as well. For weeks in August 2007, the “Misery Business” video was the number one streamed video at
MTV.com. On October 8, Paramore played “Misery Business” live on
Late Night with Conan O’Brien, a booking made possible due to the friendship struck between the band and
Max Weinberg during the 2007 Warped Tour. In August, Paramore participated in the band
New Found Glory‘s music video for their cover of
Sixpence None the Richer‘s song “
Kiss Me“. On
October 11,
2007, the music video for “
Crushcrushcrush” debuted on the United States television as the next single from
Riot!. The video for “Crushcrushcrush” featured the band playing a performance in a barren desert, being spied upon, and later destroying their equipment. The single was officially released in the United States on
November 19 and made available in the
United Kingdom on
November 12,
2007. Williams recorded guest vocals for the tracks “Church Channel” and “Plea” for the
Say Anything concept album
In Defense of the Genre released on
October 23,
2007. The group performed
live, acoustic style in
Boston on
November 29,
2007 for FNX radio. On
December 31,
2007, Paramore performed on the
MTV New Years Eve program which ran from 11:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Paramore was featured on the cover of February 2008 issue of
Alternative Press magazine and voted “Best Band Of 2007″ by the readers. The band was nominated for “
Best New Artist” at the
50th Annual Grammy Awards presented on
February 10,
2008 but lost to
Amy Winehouse. Early 2008 saw Paramore touring the
United Kingdom, supporting their album
Riot!, along with New Found Glory, Kids in Glass Houses and Conditions. In early February 2008, the band began a tour in
Europe, however on
February 21,
2008, the band announced that they had cancelled 6 shows due to personal issues. Williams wrote on the band’s web site that “the break will give that band ‘a chance to get away and work out our personal issues’”. Mtv.com reported that fans of Paramore were speculating about the future of the band and reported rumours of trouble had been began earlier in the month when Josh Farro expressed his anger against the media’s focus on Williams. The band, however, returned to their hometown to record the music video for the fourth single “
That’s What You Get“, which was then released on
March 24,
2008. The band toured with Jimmy Eat World in the United States in April and May 2008. The band headlined the
Give It A Name festival in the United Kingdom on
May 10 and
May 11,
2008. Also the band performed on the In New Music We Trust Stage at
Radio 1′s One Big Weekend in
Mote Park,
Kent on
May 10,
2008. Paramore will have their debut Irish performance at the
RDS in
Dublin,
Ireland on
June 2,
2008. Also, Paramore will perform at the 2008
Vans Warped Tour from
July 1-
July 6,
2008. In the
Alternative Press cover story, Zac Farro speculated on a forthcoming album, saying that it would sound like bands
Mew,
Thrice, and
Arcade Fire. On MTV’S
TRL,
May 7. 2008, Lead Singer, Hayley Williams said that the band was working on a new album, and that it would hopefully be released by next summer. Hayley says she and the band have been practising the new songs during the mic checks on tour.
[citation needed] On
May 19 Paramore announced on their website that they will be going on tour again the tour being named “
The Final RIOT! Tour” and starting
July 25 and ending
September 1. Paramore will be touring in Mexico for only 3 shows in October.
Musical style and influences
The majority of Paramore’s recordings come from collaborations between lead vocalist Hayley Williams and lead guitarist Josh Farro — Farro first writes the music, afterwards taking it to Williams for a melody and lyrics, and from that point the song worked out between the two. Once the foundation is laid out, the remaining band members help to work on sound and arrangement. The duo’s songwriting has been called “contrastly cliched and weak at points”, while others have said the songs are “ridiculously catchy” and “sing-a-long worthy”. Joshua Martin had written after an interview with Williams, “The band isn’t just a short pop-punk girl with red hair and a spunky attitude. Their music is like them, it’s aged differently. It’s sped up, and slowed down. It’s emo without being whiney, or bratty. Almost a very literal anti-
Avril Lavigne.”
Alternative Press magazine had commented that the band was “young sounding”, yet “honest”. Paramore’s first album
All We Know is Falling had an arguably more “formulaic pop-punk” sound that was “delivered particularly well” and the combination of the two had created a “refined rock infused pop/punk album.” The band’s second release,
Riot! was said to explore a ‘diverse range of styles,” however, not straying far from “their signature sound.”
Alternative Press and various other reviewers have noted that the band’s stage performances have helped boost them to larger fame.
Alternative Press states that Williams “has more charisma than singers twice her age, and her band aren’t far behind in their chops, either.” Singer-songwriter
John Mayer had praised William’s voice in a blog in October 2007, calling her “The great orange hope”; “orange” in reference to her hair color. Because of the female fronted aspect of the band, Paramore has gained comparisons to
Kelly Clarkson and the afore mentioned Avril Lavigne, to which one reviewer said was “sorely unfounded.” Reviewer Jonathan Bradley noted that “Paramore attacks its music with infectious enthusiasm,” however, he also explained that “there isn’t a whole lot of difference between
Riot! and the better songs from
Kelly Clarkson or Avril Lavigne.” A reviewer at
NME had likened Paramore’s sound to that of “
No Doubt (stripped of all the
ska bollocks)” and “
Kelly Clarkson‘s wildest dreams”. Williams has gone on to comment about the female aspect of the band saying that Paramore is not “this girl-fronted band” and it makes “music for people to enjoy music, not so people can talk about my sexuality.” Paramore has expressed their influence for creating the band and their music had come from appreciation for
Jimmy Eat World,
Chicago,
Sunny Day Real Estate,
Death Cab for Cutie and
Failure; Williams citing her personal influences as
Robert Smith of
The Cure and
Etta James. Williams explained that bands such as
U2, “who are massive, and do whatever they want, write whatever they want and they stand for something”, Jimmy Eat World, “who I don’t think ever disappoint their fans,” and No Doubt, who “have done amazing things,” act as a pattern for the path in which Paramore would like to take their career. In an interview with the BBC, Josh Farro stated “Our faith is very important to us. It’s obviously going to come out in our music because if someone believes something then their worldview is going to come out in anything they do. But we’re not out here to preach to kids, we’re out here because we love music.”
