Paramore

Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York. The group released its debut album All We Know Is Falling in 2005, and its second album Riot! in 2007, which was certified Platinum in the US and Gold in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. Brand New Eyes, Paramore's third album, was released in 2009 and is the band's highest charting album to date.[1]

2002–2004: Formation

In 2002, at age 13, vocalist Hayley Williams moved from her hometown Meridian, Mississippi to Franklin, Tennessee where she met brothers Josh Farro and Zac Farro while she was attending a private school.[2][3] Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning.[4] Prior to forming Paramore, Williams and bassist Jeremy Davis, along with friend Kimee Read, took part in a funk cover band called The Factory, while Josh and Zac Farro had practiced together after school.[2][5] 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.[6] Williams 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."[7] The band was officially formed by Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Zac Farro (drums), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar) and Hayley Williams (lead vocals) in 2004,[8] with the later addition of Williams' neighbor[2] Jason Bynum (rhythm guitar). When Davis showed up, he was stunned to find out the drummer was only twelve years old. He admitted "I had very, very, very, little faith in everyone in the band because of their age. I remember thinking, 'This is not going to work because this kid is way too young,' but that first day of practice was amazing. I knew we were on to something."[7] According to Williams, the name "Paramore" came from the maiden name of the mother of one of their first bass players.[9] Once the group learned the meaning of the homophone "paramour" ("secret lover"), they decided to adopt the name, using the Paramore spelling.[6]

Williams was originally signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist in 2003.[10] She had been introduced to Atlantic A&R Tom Storms through Kent Marcus and Jim Zumwalt, lawyers of managers Dave Steunebrink and Richard Williams, and then eventually signed to Atlantic by Jason Flom. Steunebrink and Richard Williams had originally discovered and signed her to a production deal that was later bought out by Atlantic. The original plan of the label was to turn her into a pop singer, but Williams resisted, saying that she wanted to play alternative rock music and wanted a band behind her. In an interview with HitQuarters the band's A&R at Atlantic, Steve Robertson, said, "She wanted to make sure that we didn’t look at her as some straight to Top 40 pop princess. 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."[11] Label president Julie Greenwald and the label staff decided to go with her wishes. The original management team for the band was Dave Steunebrink, Creed manager Jeff Hanson, and Hanson's assistant Mark Mercado.[10]

Paramore were originally supposed to come out on Atlantic Records but the label's marketing department decided it would be better for the image of the band to not have them attached to a major label. They instead released their music through a cooler niche label in Fueled by Ramen.[10] Head of Warner Music Group, Lyor Cohen had already identified Fueled by Ramen as a label they should partner with and it was decided the rock label would make an ideal match for Paramore.[11] According to Robertson, when the band were presented to Fueled by Ramen's CEO John Janick, "he got the vision of the band immediately."[11] Janick went to a Taste of Chaos performance in Orlando, Florida to see the band perform live. In April 2005, after a smaller private performance at a warehouse, the band was signed to Atlantic Records and Fueled By Ramen.[11][12]

The band's first song written together was "Conspiracy", which was later used on their debut album. In 2004, they were a featured band in Purple Door. At this time, they were touring the southeast, usually being driven by Williams' parents. She commented that "Back then, I guess we were all thinking, after school we'll go to the house and practice. It was what we loved to do for fun, and still do! I don't think any of us really knew this would turn out to be what it's become."[7]
2005–2006: All We Know Is Falling

Paramore was featured on the cover of February 2008 issue of Alternative Press magazine and voted "Best Band Of 2007" by the readers.[32] The band was nominated for "Best New Artist" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards presented on February 10, 2008 but lost to Amy Winehouse.[33] Early 2008 saw Paramore touring the United Kingdom, supporting their album Riot!, along with New Found Glory, Kids in Glass Houses and Conditions.[34] In early February 2008, the band began a tour in Europe,[35] however on February 21, 2008, the band announced that they had canceled six 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 rumors of trouble had begun earlier in the month when Josh Farro expressed his anger against the media's focus on Hayley Williams.[36] 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 played their first Ireland show at the RDS in Dublin on June 2, 2008, followed by the 2008 Vans Warped Tour from July 1–6.

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 Williams says she and the band have been practicing the new songs during the sound checks on tour.[citation needed] In an Alternative Press cover story, Zac Farro speculated on a forthcoming album, saying that it would sound like bands Mew, Thrice, and Arcade Fire.[2]

On May 19, 2008, Paramore announced on their website that they will be going on tour again, the tour being named "The Final Riot!", starting July 25 and ending September 1. On this tour, the band performed part of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".[37] On September 2, 2008, Paramore released a collaboration hoodie along with Hurley Clothing based on the album Riot!. All proceeds went to the Love146 foundation.[38]

Paramore's song "Decode" was the lead single for the novel-based Twilight film. Another song called "I Caught Myself"[39] is also featured on the film's soundtrack. "Decode" was released on October 1, 2008 on the Paramore Fan Club site as well as Stephenie Meyer's website.[40][41] The band began shooting the video October 13 and it premiered on November 3. Hot Topic hosted listening parties for the soundtrack on October 24, 2008, and the album was released on November 4, 2008. Borders released an exclusive version of the soundtrack that features an acoustic version of "Decode."

The band released a live album named The Final Riot! on November 25, 2008. The album includes a bonus DVD with a full concert recorded in Chicago, as well as a behind the scenes documentary. As of the 9 of April 2009, The Final Riot! is certified gold in the United States.

Current members

Jeremy Davis – bass guitar[88] (2004, since 2005)
Hayley Williams – lead vocals, keyboards, piano[89] (since 2004)
Taylor York – guitars, glockenspiel, percussion [88] (since 2007)

Current touring members

Josh Freese – drums (since 2010)[90]
Jon Howard – rhythm guitar, keyboards, piano backing vocals (since 2010)
Justin York – guitars, backing vocals (since 2010)[91]

Former members

Josh Farro – lead guitar, backing vocals[88] (2004–2010)
Zac Farro – drums, percussion[88] (2004–2010)
Hunter Lamb – rhythm guitar (2005–2007)
Jason Bynum – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
John Hembree – bass guitar (2005)