Panic! at the Disco
 | The music genre of this band is currently in MEDIATION. Do not change at this time. See Talk Page for details. |
Panic! at the Disco | |
|---|---|
| File:PanicAtTheDisco promo 2006.jpg From left to right: Ross, Urie, Walker, Smith | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Members | Brendon Urie Ryan Ross Jon Walker Spencer Smith |
| Past members | Brent Wilson |
Panic! at the Disco is an alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The band has successfully created a fusion sound that combines elements of pop punk, emo, electronica, dance, and indie rock.[1]
Their 2005 debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out charted the Billboard 200. The album 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, Nevada 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 friend Brent Wilson, on bass, and his classmate Brendon Urie, on vocals and guitar, to complete a permanent line-up. The band name was taken from a line in the song Panic by Name Taken.
In order to get their music heard, the band contacted Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz through LiveJournal, sending 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. At this point most of the band were still high school seniors.
After graduation they focused fully on the band and recorded their debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out in College Park, Maryland with producer Matt Squire, noted producer of Thrice fame.
Success
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 Brendon 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 root, 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, stating that their appearance was not meant to happen, that they were against the idea, and apologized, 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.
Panic! at the Disco'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 an illegal club in 1930's America. Brendon 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.
In July 2006 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.
In May 2006, Panic! at the Disco 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. Afterwards, 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 early August 2006 their debut album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, went Platinum selling over one million albums in under one year from its original release.
Departure Of Brent Wilson
On May 17, 2006, Panic! At the Disco made an official announcement via their website announcing the departure of their bassist Brent Wilson. 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 this summer's tour as a temporary bassist while the band searched for a permanent replacement. However on July 3, 2006, the band's Myspace was edited to list Jon as bassist/vocals. Walker is now considered a member of P!ATD.
MTV News[3] reports the band and Wilson have now engaged in a war of words, with Wilson stating in a Spin interview[4] that he was fired without warning, opposed to the band's official statement that his departure was a decision reached by the entire band. In response to Wilson's comment, Panic! at the Disco alleged that Wilson did not write the bass parts on their debut album or even play bass on the recording. He is currently demanding a cut of royalties from the band's debut album based on his work. If an agreement cannot be reached, he is threatening to take his former band-mates to court.[5]
Notable Events
On August 25th, 2006 at the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival, during the opening song, The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage, an unknown audience member threw a bottle and hit lead singer frontman, Brendon Urie on the right side on the face. Urie immediately collapsed to the ground, forcing the band to stop playing. After some minutes, he got back up, shouting to the crowd, "You can’t take me out! Let's see how well you guys do with my left side," and continued with another song. [6]
At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" won the coveted Video of the Year award, beating out artists such as Christina Aguilera and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While heading on stage to accept the award, Panic! was interrupted by a man named Sixx. He promoted himself for about 5 seconds before he was pulled off stage by security. The camera then zoomed back to Panic!. Their bassist Jon Walker jokingly said, "That was totally planned", and the band accepted their award with lead singer Brendon Urie commenting, "He stole our thunder". Panic! also performed "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" during the award show.
In 2006, the band will embark on a large world tour, 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.
In October 2006 Panic! At The Disco will join acts such as Fall Out Boy, Marilyn Manson, and other bands on the soundtrack of the 3D Halloween re-release of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Members
- Brendon Urie – vocals, guitar, keyboard
- Ryan Ross – guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
- Jon Walker – bass, backing vocals
- Spencer Smith – drums
Former members
- Brent Wilson – bass (2005–2006)
Discography
Albums
| Date of release | Title | Label | U.S. Album Charts Peak | U.S. Sales | U.K. Album Chart Peak | U.K. Sales |
| September 27 2005 | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out | Decaydance Records Fueled by Ramen | #13 Billboard 200,#2 Top Rock Albums, #3 iTunes, #1 Billboard Top Independent Albums, #1 Billboard Top HeatSeekers | 1,099,349 Platinum | #17 | |
| June 13 2006 | Live Session EP (iTunes Music Store exclusive) | 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 | "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" | 7 | 12 | 5 | 8 | - | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
| 2006 | "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" | 77 | 5 | 63 | 64 | - | A Fever You Can't Sweat Out |
| 2006 | "But It's Better If You Do" | - | - | 100 | - | 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 |
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 August 10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ 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 August 14.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Carsten (2006-08-25). "Panic! At The Disco Frontman Collapse On Stage". PunkBands.com. Retrieved 2006-08-27.