The music industry today may be at its most critical point in all of its history- there is so much talent out there right now and so many individuals that are just waiting to make their mark as a musician, it’s a wonder that anyone breaks out and makes a name for themselves. It comes down to being discovered by the right person, having a unique gift, and maybe a little luck.
Paramore has all of these things, and then some. In 2003 when lead vocalist Hayley Williams was only 14 years old, she was signed to a record label and was on her way to becoming the incredible singer that she is today. She formed the band with brothers Josh and Zac Farro, as well as bassist Jeremy Davis. A few years later Taylor York would permanently join too. Hayley stuck to the kind of music she believed in- alternative rock- instead of allowing the group to be mainstreamed and turned into something that they didn’t want.
Maybe it’s because they stuck to their beliefs and what they loved, but as a huge fan of Paramore myself, I think that their genuine talent is the reason they began to get noticed as soon as they released their first album, ‘All We Know is Falling’ in 2005. It wasn’t until their 2nd album ‘Riot!’ came out in 2007 that Paramore became more than a band to keep an eye out for in the future. Their single ‘Misery Business’ was released in June 2007 and in August, it hit number one on the MTV Music Charts. In February 2008, Alternative Press released an issue of their magazine that called Paramore the “Best Band of 2007” as voted by readers. That same month they were nominated for their first Grammy Award. It took Paramore only two years from their first album to become the next biggest music act in Alternative Rock, and they’ve stayed at the top of their game ever since.
Since then, it’s been nothing but up for this extremely talented group. They have been on tours with The Rocket Summer, New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World, Jack’s Mannequin, Paper Route, and perhaps most notably; a two and a half month tour with No Doubt in 2009. I went to the Montreal date, incredibly excited for both Paramore and No Doubt, and I was completely blown away by Paramore’s set. At only 21 years old, I remember thinking how professional, mature, and totally bad ass Hayley Williams looked on the Bell Center stage. She sang her heart out, backed up by a well rehearsed band that was perfectly in sync with her every move. You could immediately tell how hard they had all been working together, achieving in four years a band status that most Alternative music groups have to spend twice as long to accomplish.
Two weeks ago, Vans Warped Tour stopped in Montreal at Parc Jean Drapeau. The music festival has been a home to them many summers in the last few years, so it was no surprise when they jumped on the tour this year to play a few of the dates. It was an incredibly hot and sunny day in Montreal, but not too humid considering the heat waves that our city has been getting. It was the perfect weather for a full day of music, the night coming to a close with none other than Paramore on the Main Stage.
Earlier that afternoon I got the chance to hang out with Jeremy, the long time bassist for the band. I was a little nervous, being a fan of Paramore since 2007, but looking back I can hardly remember those feelings. He was in such a great mood and so happy to be hanging out at Warped, it was impossible not to feel comfortable right away. Everything he had to say was not only honest, but he was just so much fun to talk to! We started joking around right away, and for a few seconds I almost forgot that I was talking to a musician whose albums have been on heavy rotation on my iTunes for years.
After suggesting to Jeremy that he doesn’t swim any more laps in the Montreal lakes, (“I wish I would have known that before because the last time I was here I DID jump in the water, I was swimming in this river here!” he said to me, laughing) we got right to talking about life on Warped Tour. It was easy to see that Jeremy was having a great time at the festival, and happy to be back visiting a few of the cities that the band hadn’t been to in a while. “We’re just really excited you know? We chose to come and be on the Warped tour first of all because we love it, and it’s like summer camp for us.” He continued by saying “…we wanted to come here in Canada. There are places we haven’t been in a little. We’re in the writing process for a new record right now so we might not be able to come here for a little while. So we definitely wanted to come here and show some love before we get started.”
Since Warped Tour is known as one of the most grueling touring experiences, I was curious as to how the band felt about missing out on real bathrooms, showers and having a home. “You know, it’s just one of those things that makes you feel like you’re on Warped tour. If it’s too clean, you don’t feel like you’re on Warped. I guess that’s another good thing about us being on Warped only for a week!” We proceeded to make way too many jokes about not showering for their entire week and keeping your distance from people as the days wore on. The one bright side to being so experienced on Warped is that Jeremy managed to pick up some useful tips for getting through the hot and sweaty days: “You know baby wipes? They make this thing that I haven’t seen in a lot of places and it’s called ‘Baby Wipe Bath’ and it’s like a towel that’s this big *stretches arms out about one meter* and there’s so much soap put in it, it’s ridiculous! So… it’s KIND OF like a shower!” He explained to me. I had never in my life heard of these, but part of me believes that they may have been made especially for musicians on tour.
In between our conversation about Warped, I really wanted to know more about the No Doubt tour, so I jumped into that almost immediately. Still one of my favorite concert experiences in the last few years, I was happy to hear only great things about his experience with the band. “I mean, it’s one thing when you get a tour with those kind of people; you really don’t think that with big bands like that you’re going to get much time to hang out and talk, but they really spent a lot of time with us. The tour itself was 2 and half months long, so we really got involved with them, their families, and they invited us to everything! It was a lot of fun- great experience, and learning experience for us too.”
I also asked Jeremy a few fun, random questions and un-surprisingly he always had hilarious answers. When I asked him about pre-show rituals, he told me “we always have a little prayer, we always jump around; get the blood flowing. I always run on the walls, somewhere.” I immediately burst out laughing as he continued by saying “Oh yeah, it’s just one of those things that like, even if there isn’t a wall and it’s a tent, I’ll definitely… *pretends to run up a wall* wall ride! Wall rides are pretty important.” Luckily Jeremy’s fake, outdoor wall didn’t injure him in any way, but I can only imagine what kind of crazy stunts he pulls before running up on stage.
On a more serious note, I wanted to talk a little bit about the ‘new’ Paramore that has been slowly emerging since the band lost two of their founding members, Josh and Zac Farro. According to the Alternative Press article written on the subject, the band said in their official statement about the drummer and guitarist leaving that they were not shocked about the departure, because it seemed that their hearts simply were not in the job anymore. However, fans could take comfort in knowing that the three remaining members were excited to start a new chapter and work together harder than ever.
Although I didn’t ask Jeremy specific questions about Josh and Zac, he did make it clear that the band is moving on, as any band in this situation has to. We discussed what Paramores’ next album was going to be like to start off, to which he replied “We want to go into this new record- when we go in to record- we want to go into the whole thing a lot more prepared than we usually are.” He elaborated on that thought a little bit and added that whereas the band will usually only write and record the 11 songs that go on any given album, this time they want to go into the studio with a lot more options to choose from. “… [we also want time to] really plan out stuff and make it happen. Just spend a little bit more time on it. So we’re excited about that, for sure.”
When I brought up the question of Paramore changing their sound, he had some really interesting things to say about it. “You know, we don’t want to change, but at the same time we want to get all our ideas that we’ve had since forever written out in song form and just get rid of them.” He added that the band wanted to just be able to start fresh with new music. “That’s what makes music new- fresh ideas, not just a fresh new take. It’s still going to sound like Paramore and it’s still going to be us and our style of music and all that stuff. We just definitely want to have a FRESH sound.”
This was such an important point, because like any band, Paramore is growing up, maturing, and wanting to continue to create above and beyond what they’ve already created. As far as the new album goes, there aren’t too many details about it yet because the three remaining members are still touring until the end of the year, however Jeremy did give me a few tidbits of information from Hayley herself. “I’m telling you, as far as lyrically, Hayley wants to make it more of a happy record- still hopeful like all of our previous stuff, but just happier ideas to it. That’s the spot we’re at right now.”
Paramore may have a somewhat different lineup and a plan to start fresh with a new CD next year, but the raw talent and hard work that has gotten them this far isn’t going anywhere. Fans can get excited for lots more Paramore- when a band makes their way from the ground up in just a few years, you know they’re meant to be sticking around for a while, regardless of the trials they’re put through.
Until their new album comes out, you can still catch Paramore on their South American tour this fall as well as a few dates in the States. We may have to wait a little while to catch them back in Canada, but with a new record in their plans, there’s no doubt they’ll be worth the wait to see live again.
Don’t forget to follow Taylor, Jeremy and Hayley on Twitter, and you can also learn more about them on their official website linked below:
www.twitter.com/yelyahwilliams
www.twitter.com/schzimmydeanie
and:
Alternative Press’ article with the bands’ statement on Josh and Zac Farro
To read the entire interview transcript click here.
Follow Us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Tumblr
Check out our videos
