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| Pep-Rock: Hey, could you please state your name and role in the band for the recording? |
| Brendon: Hi, my name is Brendon Urie and I’m the lead vocalist in Panic! At The Disco |
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| Pep-Rock: Lets start with the name of the band. Taken from a Name Taken song I do believe. Anymore to it than that? |
| Brendon: Nah. We had been toying with several different names for a while. At The Disco had always been kicking about then being Name Taken fans it suddenly just hit home for us that Panic! At The Disco simply worked. |
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| (Bassist Brent enters the interview) |
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| Pep-Rock: How did your sound come about considering it has always been said that your favourite bands have always been Counting Crows and Third Eye Blind? |
| Brendon: Well we simply don’t have a sound. The obvious is that the album is split into two pieces anyway which shows a versatility to us anyway but we took influences from the aforementioned and branded the great song writing they produce and moulded that to the other influences we harbour as a band and then we came to the songs and sounds you know as Panic! At The Disco. |
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| Pep-Rock: It was Pete Wentz who got you guys signed to Decaydance. How did that situation come about? |
| Brendon: Well we were demoing tracks for the album and then we decided to get these tracks online for some feedback regarding it. As a thought we posted the link to these tracks onto Pete's live journal page. |
| Brett: Yeah from there Pete was in contact with us. He drove all the way to Las Vegas to see us practice. After seeing this he just decided he really had the desire to sign us and we were the band he'd been looking for. |
| Pep-Rock: I guess that was almost like the rock dream come true then? |
| Brendon: Oh yeah definitely. You Certainly do not get any closer to the dream than that. |
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| Pep-Rock: The producer chosen for the album was Matt Squire. Was this a conscious decision for any particular reason? |
| Brendon: Yeah we love his stuff he did with Northstar and The Receiving End Of Sirens. |
| Brett: Yeah the drums are what drive’s our sound. It was important we got someone who could bring this idea out and incorporate our ideas to this. |
| Brendon: So true. So going on all that we pursued the idea of having him at the helm and went from there onwards. |
| Pep-Rock: Did Matt help take your songs to different levels? I.e. time to dance demo being very different to actual album version. |
| Brendon: For sure. If had own way first half of album may not have made the album but we only had 5 and 1/2 weeks to record "A Fever..." so had to work with some of songs. Time to Dance we were sure wouldn’t make it on the record but after working' with it hard in studio and now you can see what that song has mutated into. |
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| Pep-Rock: Minus music stuff what else inspires P!ATD as a whole and steers the direction of what you create as a band? |
| Brendon: Well firstly I come from a musical background. All my family are involved in the school choir so that’s certainly the way I found my way into singing. Also Ryan (guitar) is a big music fan. So on the second half of the album you can see this really shine through. He really wanted a sound which showed his theatrical side and I feel certain songs, especially “There’s A Reason…” show this shining through very brightly. |
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| Pep-Rock: Sales wise "A Fever..." has done 150,000 units in US alone. Has this taken you by surprise? |
| Brendon: *nods* It’s insane. In no way could we have seen that this could have happened. I know it sounds totally clichéd but I do just wake up in the morning feeling around a bit to make sure this isn’t a dream. It’s simply stunning how this has all fallen into place for us. |
| Pep-Rock: Has this came to fast for you? |
| Brett: Not necessarily too fast but we have no doubts in our minds that it is much faster than we anticipated. |
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| Pep-Rock: TRL - Much debate went on regarding the P!ATD appearance on the show. What’s the explanation behind it? |
| Brendon: *laughs* ah the popular question. Well essentially it was MTV who approached us regarding the appearance. They simply liked the video and wanted to play. Even that required a discussion within the band as to whether we thought that it was right to have our video on TRL. |
| Brett: Yeah they then asked whether we would like to appear on the show to introduce the video before it being. This prompted a meet up between us all. In the end we decided getting our music out to as many people possible was the best idea so we went with the idea. |
| Brendon: Although even saying that we were always aware that for the fans that had been there since the start this was never going to be a popular move but in the long run we just hoped that they would understand that it wasn’t a decision taken lightly and it was definitely done for all the right reasons in our eyes. |
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| Pep-Rock: The subject now shifts to touring. Compared to touring in the US, How have you found the last few days in the UK |
| Brendon: Basically over whelming. It’s simply been like playing a hometown show every night so far and each night has got gradually better. |
| Brett: At home the kids obviously know the words but its odd over here. Being so far away from home. The album hasn’t had a proper UK release yet and still the kids manage to sing the words as loud as the kids back home, maybe even louder. |
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| Pep-Rock: One common complaint from US based bands when they come to the UK is they hate the food with a passion. How have you found it so far? |
| Brendon: No complaints from me at all so far I must admit. |
| Brett: Your coke maybe tastes a little flat but minus that it’s all good. |
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| Pep-Rock: You Guys have already been asked to play “Give It A Name” in April. How much of an achievement is that to P!ATD? |
| Brett: It’s huge. The fact we have been asked to play something of that outside our homeland means so much. The line-up is so strong so to say we are stoked would be an understatement |
| Brendon: We aren’t normally a fan of festivals due to the outdoor factor but this was too big an opportunity for us to turn down. |
| Pep-Rock: You are aware the (Give It A Name) shows over here are indoor yeah? They're the biggest indoor shows in Europe as a matter of fact. |
| Brett: No way man. Not something we were aware of at all. We just presumed that with the stature of the bill that it was definitely outdoors. WOW! |
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| Pep-Rock: Is there much else planned for the return in April? |
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| (Both Brendon and Scott look over at tour manager Scott who is present) |
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| Scott: Yeah 18th till 30th (of April) the band are over here with obviously the GIAN shows being the finale to the tour. |
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| Pep-Rock: Lastly, What is the ambition of the band for the rest of 2006? |
| Brendon: Well we are bursting with ideas musically from the last album so hopefully just keep touring this record hard and letting those ideas grow with us and with any luck we will have been in the studio by the end of the year. |
| Pep-Rock: Ideally would the album be recorded and ready to go by the end of the year? |
| Brendon: Yeah totally man. We’d be over the moon if that could happen. |
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Pep-Rock: Thanks for your time. |
| Brett: Yeah man. Thanks for your time also. |
| Brendon: Yeah totally man. Thank you. |
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| To find out more about Panic! At The Disco - Click Here |
