Paramore

Paramore is a pop punk band from Franklin, Tennessee. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Josh Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis and drummer Zac Farro. Paramore released their debut All We Know Is Falling in 2005, an EP entitled The Summer Tic in 2006, and their third release Riot! in 2007.

Formation and All We Know Is Falling (2002-2005)

The Franklin, Tennessee-based band Paramore was formed by members: brothers Zac and Josh Farro, Jeremy Davis and Hayley Williams, with the addition of Jason Bynum later on. At the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown of Meridian, Mississippi to the Nashville suburb, where she met the brothers. The name Paramore had come from a friend of the band's mother's maiden name, and after finding the meaning of the word ("secret lover") the band took up the name.

Over the following years, Paramore performed at venues outside the greater Nashville area, including the concert festivals Purple Door and Warped Tour. John Janick at the label Fueled by Ramen got ahold of Paramore's demos and went to a Taste of Chaos performance in Orlando, Florida to see the band perform live. After a small performance at a warehouse, the band was signed to the label in April 2005. Shortly before they began to record their debut album All We Know Is Falling, Davis, the bassist left the band. All We Know Is Falling was released on July 24, 2005 and reached #30 on the Billboard's Heatseekers Chart. The album was, for the most part, about Davis' departure from the band. Hembree was later added to the line-up to replace Davis. Paramore was featured on the Shira Girl Stage of the 2005 Warped Tour and later that December Hunter Lamb replaced Bynum on guitar.

Riot! (2006-Present)

In January of 2006 they were a part of the Winter Go West Tour where they played alongside Seattle bands Amber Pacific and The Lashes. In the spring of 2006 they were an opening act on the headlining tours for Bayside and then The Rocket Summer. After being asked by the band, Davis returned to Paramore. They also toured the United Kingdom from October 5 to October 15, 2006, where they ended in London at The Mean Fiddler. Paramore also toured in Japan for the Punk Spring Fest and dates in Australia. During the summer of 2006, Paramore played a portion of Warped Tour again, primarily on the Volcom and Hurley Stages. Their first night on the Main Stage was at their hometown show of Nashville. Paramore's first United States headlining tour began on August 2, 2006 to a sold-out audience with support from This Providence, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Hit the Lights with the final show in Nashville, Tennessee. That year they were also voted "Best New Band" by readers of Kerrang! magazine, and Williams as #2 "Sexiest Female".

In 2007, Paramore was named by NME as one of ten bands to watch out for in their "New Noise 2007" feature. In addition to that, the band played an acoustic set for the grand opening of a Warped Tour exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that opened in January. The dress Williams wore in the video for "Emergency" was also put into the exhibit. That year Paramore recorded their second album, RIOT!, from January 2007 to March 2007, without the guitar of Hunter Lamb (who left the band early in 2007 to get married). Riot was released June 12, 2007 recorded with New Jersey producer David Bendeth. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 20, the UK charts at number 24 and sold 44,000 its first week in the United States. The first single off of the album, "Misery Business," is, according to vocalist Hayley Williams, "more honest than anything I've ever written, and the guys matched that emotion musically." Lamb has now been temporarily replaced by a guitarist Taylor York for the duration of touring. Summer of 2007 saw Paramore, yet again participating on the Warped Tour.

Recently, Paramore has been featured in spots on MTV performing acoustic versions of their songs or acting in short accompaniments to MTV program commercials. As "MTV Artists of the Week" the band filmed the spots in Queens, New York and they have a faux camping theme. Mtv.com also has a collection of short videos with the band to promote Riot as well.

Paramore covered Foo Fighters' "My Hero" for the Sound of Superman soundtrack which was released on June 26, 2006, and Williams' voice has been featured on two tracks by other bands: "Keep Dreaming Upside Down" by October Fall (released February 2006), as well as "Then Came To Kill" by The Chariot (released April 3, 2007)" Paramore's video "Misery Business" was also nominated for the Best Video award at the Kerrang! awards.