PANIC! at The Disco History
Panic! At The Disco comes from the suburbs of Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004. The band formed when friends Spencer Smith and Ryan Ross became tired of covering the blink-182 tunes and recruited classmates Brendon Urie and Brent Wilson. They started practicing in Spencer's grandmother's living room and began crafting the songs that would eventually make their way onto A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. With their flair for experimental instrumentation and intimately observant lyrics, it wasn't long before the band sparked the interest of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who brought the band to Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen, a label with a green thumb for new talent.They were still in high school when this all happened. Soon after signing, things got serious and started moving forward at a rapid pace. Spencer and Brent finished high school through distance education; Brendon was taking classes during the day, practicing at night and barely scraping by his senior year; and Ryan decided to leave college at the end of his freshman year, causing a huge rift between him and his family. "When I told my dad I wanted to drop out and write music, he definitely flipped out. It was a battle between me being happy and doing what would make him happy." So minus the blessing of one father, the four friends packed up, left home for the first time and headed east to College Park, Maryland, to record their debut album with famed producer Matt Squire (Thrice, Northstar, The Receiving End Of Sirens). Their debut "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" was released in September 2005, and soon they hit the road on the successful Nintendo Fusion Tour with bands Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Boys Night Out, and the Starting Line. As their single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" found its way into TRL hearts (and the Top 40) by the early months of 2006, the band kept the momentum going on the road with the Academy Is..., Acceptance, and Hellogoodbye. Proving to be a popular lineup, the tour consistently sold out venues across the country. Wilson was fired from the group mid-year; Panic! pressed on with their friend Jon Walker on board for a full summer of headlining dates around the country that culminated with appearances in Chicago at Lollapalooza and overseas at the U.K.'s Reading and Leeds festivals. It's this split-brain approach to songwriting that has resonated with listeners young and old. The band has scored big with PureVolume (continually being on the site's Top 10 Signed Bands chart) and MySpace (reaching #1 on the indie charts), and when they returned to Las Vegas after recording, they played a hometown show (actually, the band's first live concert ever) and over two hundred people showed up. The boys' parents, especially Ryan's father, realized the band was more than just a fleeting hobby and eventually became card-carrying members of Panic! At The Disco's fan club. Their second single from Fever, "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage," also began making waves on radio and TV, as the guys picked up Video of the Year at MTV's yearly VMA ceremony, beating out heavy hitters like Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A collector's boxset version of Fever, full of random Panic paraphernalia and a DVD, came out just in time for the 2006 holiday season. Panic! found great success, but in 2006, some changes were made. Panic! bassist Brent Wilson was kicked out and replaced with the band's friend Jon Walker, who they met while he was working with The Academy Is.... Brent seeked legal action against his ex-band mates, but Panic! successfully continued on, headlining their first tour in summer 2006, winning an MTV VMA, and heading out on a successful tour in fall of 2006. After their tour, the guys in Panic! decided to take some time off in early 2007 to work on their sophomore album.Sources: music.aol.com, starpulse.com, tv.com.