Panic! at the Disco is an American rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004. Since its conception, the band's line-up has included Brendon Urie (lead vocals, guitar, piano), and Spencer Smith (drums). Original and former membersRyan Ross (guitar) and Jon Walker (bass) left the group in 2009. The band has been described by critics as a variety of genres, most commonly pop punk, alternative rock, and baroque pop.
The band formed and recorded their first demos while they were all still in high school. Shortly after graduation, the band recorded and released their debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005). Bolstered by the lead single "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies", the album eventually was certified double platinum and met with much success. The group then wrote and recorded their second record, Pretty. Odd., released in 2008. Marked as a drastic change in tone from their debut, it undersold commercial expectations but met with critical success.
The band released their third album, entitled Vices & Virtues, on March 22, 2011, while the record's first single, "The Ballad of Mona Lisa", was released February 1, 2011.
The band was formed in 2004 in the suburban area of Summerlin, Las Vegas, by childhood friends Ryan Ross on vocals and guitar and Spencer Smith on drums. Both teens attended Bishop Gorman High School, and the two began playing music together in ninth grade. They invited friend Brent Wilson from nearby Palo Verde High School to join on bass, and Wilson invited classmate Brendon Urie to try out on guitar.] The quartet soon began rehearsing in Smith's grandmother's living room. Urie grew up in a Mormon family in Las Vegas and early on skipped rehearsals to go to church. Ross initially was the lead vocalist for the group, but after frequent late-night visits with Urie, they unanimously decided to move him to lead. The teens initially worked solely as a Blink-182 cover band.
The monotonous nature of local Las Vegas bands influenced the members of the band to be different and creative, and they soon began laying down experimental demos. The band had not even performed a single live show when they were signed. "We never went out and played shows before we got signed because the music scene in Las Vegas is so bad. There's not a lot going on," Smith said. "In our practice space, there were something like 30 bands, and every day we'd walk into that room and hear the exact same death-metal bands. So it kind of influenced us to be different. And to get out of Las Vegas. Urie began working at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Summerlin to afford rent for the band's new practice space. The four left their education behind to concentrate on music, with Ross falling out with his father for leaving college after his first year.Upon telling his parents of their intentions to quit high school in favor of being in a band, Urie was kicked out, forced to stay at friend's homes and eventually affording a one-bedroom apartment.
Ross and Urie soon began to commit to their laptops the demos they had been developing, and posted three early demos ("Time to Dance," "Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks" and "Camisado") on PureVolume. On a whim, they sent a link to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz via aLiveJournal account. Wentz, who was in Los Angeles at the time with the rest of Fall Out Boy working on their major-label debut, From Under the Cork Tree, drove down to Las Vegas to meet with the young, unsigned band.] Upon hearing "two to three" songs during band practice, Wentz was impressed and immediately wanted the band to sign to his Fueled by Ramen imprint label Decaydance Records, which made them the first on the new label. Around December 2004, the group signed to the label. As news broke that Wentz had signed Panic! (who had yet to perform a single live show), fans on the Internet began to bash the group. "Almost right away we knew what was going to happen," Ross explained in a 2006 interview. "We had two songs online and people were already making assumptions on what kind of band we were and what we were going to sound like."
In spring 2009, the band began recording material for their then-untitled third studio album. However, on July 6, 2009, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker announced via the band's official website that the two were leaving the band. The statement, in part, read: "Ryan Ross and Jon Walker will be leaving Panic at the Disco to embark on a musical excursion of their own. Though the four of us have made music together in the past, we've creatively evolved in different directions which has compromised what each of us want to personally achieve. Over the years, we have remained close and honest with each other, which helped us to realize that our goals were different and that parting ways is truly what is best for each of us." In an interview following the split, Ross explained that he first brought the idea to Smith in late June 2009 over lunch: "Spencer and I had lunch and caught up for a while, and then the big question came up, like, 'Well, what do you want to do?' and I said, 'Well, I think it might be best if we kind of do our own thing for a while', and he said, 'I'm glad you said that, because I was going to say the same thing'", Ross recalled. "And there was really no argument, which is really the best way that could've worked out." Ross said the split was largely due to creative differences between him and Urie. Urie wanted the band to explore a more polished pop sound, while Ross — and, by extension, Walker — was interested in making retro-inspired rock.
The news asserted that both tour plans with Blink-182 in August 2009 and new album production "will continue as previously announced," and the announcement ended with the teaser for a "surprise" soon to come. The following day, Alternative Press broke the news that "New Perspective", the first song recorded without Ross and Walker, would debut the following month on radio and as a part of the soundtrack to the film Jennifer's Body. On July 10, 2009, Alternative Press also reported that the band had regained the exclamation point, becoming, once again, Panic! at the Disco. "New Perspective" was released on July 28, 2009. Former The Cab member Ian Crawford filled in for Ross on their tour during the Blink-182 Summer Tour in August 2009, and Dallon Weekes, singer/songwriter of the indie band The Brobecks, filled in for Walker on bass.
The band re-entered the studio during early 2010 and spent much of the year recording their third studio album. On January 18, 2011, the band revealed that their new album, Vices & Virtues, would officially be released on March 22, 2011. The album was produced by Butch Walker and John Feldmann. The record's first single, "The Ballad of Mona Lisa", was released digitally on February 1, 2011, with the music video being released February 8, 2011. Vices & Virtues was officially released March 22, 2011 to relatively positive critical reviews.
The band began touring in support of the album, christened the Vices & Virtues Tour, in earnest beginning in February 2011. The tour has sported the same electric, over-the-top theatricality the band was known for during the Fever era. "I really miss wearing costumes and makeup," Urie told Spin. "I love throwing a big production. I've recently been reading about Tesla coils and I'm trying to figure out how I can get one that sits on the stage and shoots sparks without hurting anybody."
On May 12, 2011, the band collaborated with indie pop band Fun., releasing a new single named "C'mon". It is currently streaming on Spin.com and will be released on iTunes on May 18.[citation needed