Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco |
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Panic! at the Disco is an alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The band has created a fusion sound that combines elements of pop punk, emo, electronica, dance, and Indie.[1]
Their 2005 debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out charted the Billboard 200 reaching #13, and has sold over one million copies since its September 2005 release.[2]
History
Beginnings
Panic! at the Disco was formed in the suburban area of Summerlin, in unincorporated Las Vegas, by childhood friends Ryan Ross on guitar and Spencer Smith on drums. Since the age of thirteen, the two played blink-182 covers in bands of different formations, but finally recruited Brent Wilson on bass and Brendon Urie on vocals and guitar. The band name was taken from a line in the song Panic at the disco by Name Taken.
In order to get their music heard, The band contacted Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, through LiveJournal, and sent him a link to their PureVolume site. Wentz was so impressed that he took a trip to Las Vegas to meet the band in person. After seeing them play in their garage, he asked if they would sign with his Fueled by Ramen imprint label Decaydance.
Rise to fame
Panic! at the Disco was featured on MTV's TRL on January 17, 2006, where they premiered their music video for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies." Frontman Urie stated that the group feels both the song and video are overplayed saying, "It's like some people don't even realize we have a whole album of songs. 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' isn't the only [song] we've written."[citation needed] Due to their indie and internet roots, the group did not especially like the idea of appearing on TRL, since a lot of fans would consider this move "going mainstream." To address this concern, they made a post on their official website, apologizing and stating that their appearance was not meant to happen, and that they were against the idea, but they received a lot of publicity as a result. The video for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," featuring Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque, has an eerie circus wedding theme. It debuted at #10 on the TRL countdown, catapulting the album to the top of the Billboard independent chart and to #13 on the Billboard 200 in July 2006.
The band's video of "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is among YouTube's most-viewed videos, having been streamed more than 5 million times. It is also the most requested song on New York City radio station Z100, and both "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" and "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" have been on The Interactive Nine at Nine with Romeo at the same time.
Their second music video, for the single "But It's Better If You Do," has a storyline involving the band playing in a speakeasy in 1930s America. Urie commented, "Our new video is meant to show the fans the dark and secluded style of Panic." The single was released on May 1st in the UK and debuted (and peaked) at #23. That month the band completed their first headlining shows in Europe. All of the dates were sold out, with some (notably the show in Manchester) selling out in hours. Afterward, the band embarked on a two-month North American headlining tour with supporting acts The Hush Sound, OK Go, The Dresden Dolls, and Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque.
In July they released their third music video, "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off." The video features people with fish tank helmets walking the streets of what appears to be a studio back lot. The video only shows the band in one shot, reportedly because they felt that their looks were distracting from their music.
A remixed version of their song "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" can be found on the official soundtrack to the movie Snakes on a Plane. The song, which reached #5 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, is planned to be the next single for Pop stations.
In early August, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out went platinum, having sold over one million albums.
Departure of Brent Wilson
The band officially announced the departure of their bassist, Brent Wilson, with a message on the band's website on May 17. No official reason was given for Wilson's departure. The announcement stated that a long-time friend of the band, Jon Walker, would be filling in for the summer tour as a temporary bassist while the band searched for a permanent replacement. On July 3, the band's Myspace profile was edited to list Walker as bassist/vocals, and Walker is now considered a member of P!ATD.
MTV News[3] reported the band and Wilson have now engaged in a war of words. Wilson stated in an interview with Spin Magazine[4] that he was fired without warning, as opposed to the band's official statement that his departure was a decision reached by the entire band. In response, the band alleged that Wilson did not write the bass parts on their debut album or even play bass on the recording. Wilson is currently demanding a cut of royalties from the band's debut album based on his work. If an agreement cannot be reached, he has threatened to take his former band-mates to court.[5]
Notable events
During P!ATD's opening song on August 25, 2006 at the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival, an unknown audience member threw a bottle at the stage, which struck and temporarily knocked out Urie, forcing the band to stop playing. After some minutes, he got back up and shouted to the crowd, "You can’t take me out! Let's see how well you guys do with my left side," and continued with the same song.[6]
At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" won the Video of the Year award, beating out artists such as Christina Aguilera, Shakira, Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While heading on stage to accept the award, Panic! was interrupted by a man named Sixx, who promoted himself for about five seconds before he was pulled off stage by security. The camera then zoomed back to the band. Walker jokingly said, "That was totally planned," and the band accepted their award with Urie commenting, "He stole our thunder." Panic! also performed "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" during the award show.
The band will embark on a world tour later in 2006, including dates in Australia, New Zealand, and mainland Europe, and later will embark on their first-ever stadium tour with Bloc Party and Jack's Mannequin, although they state they have been having trouble finding opening acts. The band will appear with Fall Out Boy, Marilyn Manson, and other bands on the soundtrack of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, to be re-released in 3D on October 20.
Discography
Albums
| Album cover | Title and Release date |
Label | U.S. Album Charts Peak | U.S. Sales | U.K. Album Chart Peak | U.K. Sales |
|
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out September 27 2005 |
Decaydance Records Fueled by Ramen | #13 Billboard 200 #2 Top Rock Albums #3 iTunes #1 Billboard Top Independent Albums #1 Billboard Top HeatSeekers |
1,197,643 [1] Platinum | 17 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:PanicAtTheDisco-LiveSessionEP.jpg | Live Session EP (iTunes Music Store exclusive) June 13 2006 |
Decaydance Records Fueled by Ramen |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Pop 100 | US Digital | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2006 | "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" | 77 | 5 | 63 | 64 | - | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
| 2006 | "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" | 7 | 12 | 5 | 8 | - | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
| 2006 | "But It's Better If You Do" | 104 | - | 81 | - | 23 | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
| 2006 | "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" | - | - | 98 | - | 39 | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
| 2006 | "Build God, Then We'll Talk" | - | - | - | - | - | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
Awards
- Won: Video of the Year (2006) for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
- Nominated: Best Group Video (2006) for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
- Nominated: Best Rock Video (2006) for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
- Nominated: Best New Artist in a Video (2006) for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
- Nominated: Best Art Direction in a Video (2006) for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
References
- ^ http://music.aol.com/artist/panic-at-the-disco/741835/main
- ^ "Billboard 200 w/SoundScan #'s 8/19/06". Pulse Music Board. Retrieved 2006-08-10.
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1534131/20060612/panic_at_the_disco.jhtml?headlines=true
- ^ http://www.spin.com/features/news/2006/06/060614_panicatthedisco/
- ^ "Panic! at the Disco Sued by Former Bassist". Altpress.com. Retrieved 2006-08-14.
- ^ Carsten (2006-08-25). "Panic! At The Disco Frontman Collapse On Stage". PunkBands.com. Retrieved 2006-08-27.