Some bands spend their whole careers just hoping to produce
an album as complex, cohesive and creative as A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Not Panic! At The Disco: They managed to get it
right on the first try.
Before you grab a cold washcloth, let's diagnose what caused
A Fever.
It all started in the suburbs of Las Vegas when 12-year-old Ryan Ross asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas.
Not to be outdone, neighborhood pal Spencer Smith begged his parents for a drum set so the duo could start jamming. "Really,
from that first year [playing instruments], all we really did was cover Blink 182 songs," remembers Spencer, laughing. The
band eventually matured, moved on from all the small things and recruited classmates Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie on bass
and vocals, respectively.
With the final lineup now in place, the newly christened
Panic! At The Disco (from a line in the Name Taken song "Panic") 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. "We really clicked with
[Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen] and they understood what we wanted to do as a band," Ryan explains. "They gave us a lot of freedom
to do what would make us happy with our music."
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).
"We didn't want to write a record that had 11 of the same
songs on it," explains Ryan. In order to make sure that didn't happen, the band came up with the concept to divide the album
in two halves: the first being futuristic, complete with drum machines and synthesizers, and the second being nostalgic, complete
with Vaudevillian piano and accordion. "It was too extremes of influence being put next to each other: the most electronic
music we have on the record and the most old, out-of-style music we have on the record." The band took pointers from some
of their biggest—although not overt—influences: Third Eye Blind's melodic song structures (on "But It's Better
When We Do"), Queen's theatric instrumentation (on "Build God, Then We'll Talk") and Counting Crows' vivid and narrative lyrics
(on "There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet"). "You wouldn't hear our record
and say, 'Hmmm, these guys are influenced by Fleetwood Mac or Counting Crows, 'but those are our favorite bands," insists
Spencer.
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.
Now, Panic! are trying to live like normal teenagers, eschewing
the beer their dressing rooms are mistakenly stocked with, playing Xbox and splitting the driving of their van, which they
sheepishly park next to their tourmates' buses each night. "I remember buying Fall Out Boy records not too long ago," Smith
says. "We get to talk to them every day now. That's really weird, but it's awesome at the same time."
Warning: Panic! At The Disco is not a trend. Prepare
accordingly.
Thanks to fueledbyramen.com