Interview with Panic at the Disco

Dawn.Casserly

Description

Following their successful UK debut tour in January 2006 with The Academy Is, Panic!
At The Disco has returned, and this time it’s their time to steal the spotlight.

Sujets

• Panic at the disco
• Rock
• Music
• Press release

Informations

• Publié par: MarieRocks
• Publié le: 07 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 52
• Langue: English

Extrait

Interview with Panic at the Disco


Following their successful UK debut tour in January 2006 with The Academy Is, Panic!
At The Disco has returned, and this time it’s their time to steal the spotlight.


It’s hardly surprising that all dates were sold out within hours of going on sale, given their track
history. At just 18 years old, the band caught the attention of Pete Wentz in 2005 and were signed
by Fall Out Boy’s very own label, Fueled By Ramen, while still in High school.


To date, more than 40,000 copies of their debut Album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, have been
sold. In addition to this, the band’s popularity has dominated the PureVolume and MySpace charts
and are currently the #1 spot on the MySpace indie chart.


High Voltage met with Panic’s Ryan Ross in Manchester to have a chat about their UK tour, the
band’s immediate success and the Las Vegas scene.


Ryan is pleased with the response the band has received on returning to the UK for a second time.
“It’s going really well,” says Ryan. “It’s our first headlining tour, and all the shows have been
amazing. We’ve had an overwhelming response from the fans and it’s the first time we’re
headlining, so we’ve been pretty excited ever since we got here.”


Ryan is particularly excited about playing his favorite track from the album. “Our personal favorite is
Build God, Then We’ll Talk. That’s the most fun one for us to play.” When High Voltage makes a
passing comment in regards to the lyrics of “Virgins and Lawyers”, Ryan gives us more insight. “It’s a
pretty big scene in Vegas, and I see that stuff all the time. It was something I wanted to write about
for a long time. The lyrics were purely fictional and was done out of my imagination.”


In April 2006, Panic! at the Disco released their second single, But It’s Better If You Do; a song with
references lap dances, strip joints, and burlesque queens. The music video, directed by Shane Drake
(who had previously directed videos for bands such as Fall Out Boy and Armor For Sleep), portrays
the theme perfectly.


“It’s definitely a step up from our last video.” Ryan reveals. “We had a more of a budget to work
with this time around, and had a lot of ideas between us. We were worried we weren’t going to be
able to do some of that stuff, but Shane did a great job on it and he organised all the extras.” Ryan
laughs, in reference to the scantily clad burlesque girls in the video. The guys have been on the road for eight months, touring from state to state, and to Europe and
back. So what affect does this have on Ryan?


“For the first couple of months of touring, it was pretty hard. But we’ve gotten used to it now. But
you find yourself ways to keep yourself happy.” He says. “We still live at home. At least when we are
home.“


Ryan may spend consecutive months in the company of his fellow band mates, but when asked if he
could deal with the band living together on a permanent level, he is unsure. “I used to think I could
live with the guys, but now we’ve been touring for about eight months, I don’t know. When we go
home we have our own space, which is cool.”


Does he keep a separate social life from his friendship with the guys? “No, that’s the weird thing. All
of us pretty much know the same people, and when we go home we spend time with our friends.”
On the subject of girlfriends, Ryan gets tongue-tied. “I don’t have a girlfriend right now. It’s hard to
find somebody to understand the importance of my job, how I can’t be at home all the time.” He
gives a nod when asked if the other guys have girlfriends. “Spencer and Brent have girlfriends back
home.” We can only assume Brendon remains true to his love for the music.


With such an overwhelming fanbase, what does Ryan have to say about it all?


“The fans are really great. This one time, we got given a huge leather-bound scrapbook with photos
and stuff inside, which was made from our fans from all over. That was back when we were still
putting together our first tour, so it was really cool to see that.” Despite being constantly on the
road, Ryan continues to show his support for the fans. “I check out what’s happening on our forums
and fan sites, and I post a couple of things from time to time. The UK fans have gave us amazing
support so far, and we’re having a great time. I’m pretty hopeful that we’ll eventually get at some
time to ourselves to check out the city.”


And with that Ryan heads back to prepare for their headlining show at the Academy. Fellow Fueled
By Ramen band Forgive Durden will open the bill, followed by New York’s Men Women and Children,
who are a treat to the naked eye. But tonight Panic! at the Disco are taking the limelight and they
deserve every second of it.