| Derived from the French term “paramour,” meaning “secret love,” the love for Paramore is secret no longer; rounding out its second Tour Warped, the five-piece, pop-punk band from Tennessee is growing up and growing. Hayley Williams (vocalist), Josh Farro (lead guitarist), Hunter Lamb (guitarist), Jeremy Davis (bassist) and Zac Farro (drummer), make up Paramore with their ages ranging from 15-21. A cheerful and engaging line-up of talented young people, the band takes adolescent adventures and its career seriously while still having a good time. The story begins in Franklin, TN., where femme fatale Hayley is 13 and has recently moved into town with her family. Listening to her collection of funk and rock, she spots an ad for a local band called The Factory that is looking for a lead singer. She calls to audition and gets the part. It’s in The Factory that she meets Jeremy. A few years later, she switches from a public to a once-a-week tutorial high school, where on her first day she meets brothers Zac and Josh who share their interest in music with Hayley. They quickly enlist her vocal skills for their punkadelic trio. In need of a bassist, they put in a call to Jeremy and the line-up is complete. Within months they begin writing and performing in talent shows and local gigs and quickly catch the eye of Fueled By Ramen Records and decorated producers James Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, Underoath) and Mike Green (Yellowcard). Hayley and Josh take a breather from the fast-paced schedule of Warped for a brief interview with The Music Edge. The Music Edge: How did you get your start in music? Hayley: I grew up with everyone in my family listening to music, and I was very heavily influenced by funk music as a kid. I liked the way it sounded, and when I actually started singing, I could mimic all these people I was listening to, and I really got interested in it. I had stage fright like crazy when I was a little kid, and I had a friend who also sang and she’d get me up on stage, and we’d sing together, so eventually I grew out of it. Then I went to Nashville and met these guys and we became a band and we started writing. That’s when we got serious. That’s when it became more artistry, rather than singing and karaoke-type goofing around. TME: What’s the song-writing process like for Paramore? Josh: Generally I’ll write some music, and I’ll give it to Hayley, maybe a few lyrics and some melody, and then she’ll write the rest of the lyrics and the rest of the melody. We’ll both help each other out, and then we bring it to the band and work out the dynamics and make it Paramore. TME: Where do you guys get inspiration? Hayley: Oh my gosh, everywhere. Josh: Just wherever. I guess from my favorite bands, like Jimmy Eat World or Death Cab for Cutie. But even though we don’t sound like Death Cab for Cutie, I still love their music. Hayley: Some days [Josh will] just wake me up and be like, “I HAVE A SONG!” and he’ll jump on me and start playing the music for me. … Like lyrically, I get inspiration just from life. Being young, as young as we are, that’s inspiration in itself because we’re learning everyday and just trying to figure things out. I think people can really relate to that. Especially when it comes to love. Because there are different types of love, and growing up you experience all different forms of love, and have to go through a lot to figure it all out. So I would definitely say life. TME: You guys have so much energy on stage; how do get pumped up for a show? Are there certain things you do before every show? Hayley: (Laughs.) Josh: Well, Hunter drinks Monster beforehand. Sometimes I’ll drink Monster. Hayley: I don’t know. Josh: It’s just like once we get on there, we see all the kids, and the adrenaline rush is so amazing! Hayley: Actually, it’s funny because we were just talking about this! We were listening to some live stuff that the John Lennon Bus recorded—they’re really cool—and I was listening to it, listening to us, and me and the way I talk, and I don’t even know who that person is on stage! It kind of just comes out of you, when you get excited and are on stage. I guess that’s just what music does. TME: What does being on Warped mean for you guys? Hayley: Well, we are going home after the 11th in Ventura, and we’ll be home for two weeks, and basically we’re just going to write. Write the next record, hopefully be able to demo some stuff. Also, we’re gonna go to our rehearsal space we have in Nashville and just try to jam it out and work on some stuff because we’re going out on a headlining tour after that, and we really want to give kids something to talk about. I mean, if they’re going to pay $10 or whatever it is for the show, I want it to be good. So we’re going to get something good going for that. TME: What’s the biggest challenge you guys have experienced being in a band? Hayley: I would say five people can be a lot. We’ve been told this a lot—and I think it’s perfect—but just how with two people a marriage is hard, we have a five-person marriage. It’s really a five-way marriage, and there are different personalities and styles, and you have to learn to communicate and work together, and it’s a challenge because you can get tired and you can want to be selfish. It can be really tough, but you have to think about the other person. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices and sometimes you have to show tough love, and that can be challenging. TME: What do you guys hope listeners take away from your music? Josh: I just hope they enjoy it. I know when I listen to songs, I want to get something out of it and I try and relate to it. I hope it can be like, “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m going through,” and that it can help them understand they’re not alone. Hayley: We want to give people what they want. If it’s hope they want, then we want to give them that. If it’s just a fun time and a show, then that’s what we want to give them. I don’t know, that’s a good question, because when you ask that, we really just want them to take away anything from it. TME: How do you feel about the current state of the music industry, like with MySpace and tunes and the changing dynamic of the consumer and listener? Hayley: I personally just like CDs. I got an iPod for Christmas, and I still haven’t opened it. I like records and CDs better. It makes the music more personal and tangible. We’re all addicted to MySpace, too, like every other kid in the world. It’s great for us, too, for being a band on the road to keep in touch with our friends, but it’s also awesome to meet fans and meet people we’ve never met who listen to our music. It’s awesome. TME: What do you guys have planned for the upcoming year? Josh: We’re writing new songs right now. We definitely love being on the Warped Tour right now; we have a few more days on it. There’s always something going on or to do on tour; if not, we get to sleep. But we’re writing for a new record, and we’re planning on recording anytime from November to January, but we’re not sure when the record will come out. It’s all up in the air right now. We’ll just wait until we have all the songs ready. TME: Anything else you want to add? Josh: Thanks for listening to us! Hayley: (Leans in close to speak directly into the recorder.) We love you guys! |