Panic! At The Disco
In most cases when a kid gets a musical instrument as a gift it is only a matter of time before it's stowed in the far reaches of the closet. Still, there times when the youngster finds a new passion. Such was the case for Ryan Ross. The 12 year old Vegas resident asked his parents for a guitar as a Christmas present. Down the street, Ross' friend Spencer Smith worked on his mom and dad for a drum kit. The pair got their Christmas wishes fulfilled and were soon jamming and learning Blink 182 songs. It wasn't long before they recruited classmates, bassist Brent Wilson and vocalist/guitarist Brendan Urie. Urie, raised a Mormon, fell in love with his parent's Classic Rock albums, including a fair dose of Queen.
Lifting their name from a line in Name Taken's song "Panic" ("panic at the disco, sat back and took it so slow") the group began practicing in Smith's grandmother's living room.
Having written three songs, Panic! At The Disco recorded two of them and sent the demos to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz who decided to sign them to his relatively new Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen label. This forced some serious decisions. To spend the time required for a band, Wilson and Smith used distance learning to complete high school. Urie took classes during the day, practicing at night. He barely made it through his senior year. The older Ross told his parents he was going to drop out of college after his freshman year. To say that didn't go over very well would be an understatement. With education issues either resolved or decided, the group headed to College Park, Maryland, to record their debut album, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," with producer Matt Squire. When Panic! At The Disco returned to Vegas they played their first live concert. From there, they toured with the Fall Out Boy.
"A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," was hugely popular resulting in another national trek, this time as the headlining act. But amid this success, all was not well. Wilson became unhappy, often missing practices. Eventually, he left and was replaced by Jon Walker.
Success can bring out envy or just plain resentment. When a member of a group criticizes another group it's usually for one of two reasons. Either the group is really bad (as in "awful") or too popular (in the musician's opinion). The Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers was quoted has saying he thought Panic! At The Disco was "dangerous" (to Rock music, the music community and probably fans). Flowers later apologized saying he'd never even listened to Panic! At The Disco.
| Name the Panic! At The Disco Song Title | |
| 1. Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued | |
| 2. It's Not A Side Effect Of The Cocaine, It Must Be Love | |
| 3. Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off | |
| * See the botom of the page for the answer. | |
Imagine Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" played by bohemians. That's the best way to listen to the frantic, over-emoting that is Panic! At The Disco. They throw in Fall Out Boy lite, '80s Synth-Rock, ala Modern English, dance beats and quirky breaks to round things out. The elongated and often humorous song titles, are straight out of the Fall Out Boy handbook. "Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" is a perfect example. The title says it all. The group powers through the song making it one of the set's best. "Camisado" with synth beds and falsetto vocals is another stand out. "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" shows off the group's inventive arrangements.
* It's #3. The other two songs are by Fall Out Boy.
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