Biography

Vocals, keyboards: Hayley Williams
Bass: Jeremy
Lead Guitar: Taylor York
Record label: Fueled By Ramen & Atlantic Records

Energetic pop-rock band Paramore comes from the state of Tennessee in the United States. Today the band consists of three members and is known for their energetic live performances and charismatic lead singer, Hayley Williams. Taylor York, who picked up guitar in a very young age, and a bass-player Jeremy Davis are also part of the band. Paramore has released three full-length albums and the latest, “brand new eyes”, was released in the fall of 2009. The two previous albums “All We Know Is Falling” and “RIOT!” have been highly acclaimed by both critics and the fans.

Paramore’s story began when Hayley, the singer, moved from Mississippi to Tennessee with her mom when she was just 13 years old. Hayley had trouble adjusting to school so she switched over to private education, where she met her future (now former) band members: brothers Josh Farro, who played guitar, and Zac Farro, who was a drummer. The Farros had their own band projects going on during those times and they didn’t think that having a girl in the band would work. However, when the boys heard Hayley sing, she was in. Hunter Lamb, who was friend of the Farros, was also in the band playing guitar. Hayley had already previously met Jeremy Davis, when he was auditioning for his former the punk band, The Factory. Hayley wanted Jeremy in their band and the Farros brought in their friend, Taylor York. There are contradictory stories about the band’s first steps, and other members were also included in the band. The real assembly started coming together in 2005.

In 2004 the band performed for small audiences in their home state Tennessee. When Fueled By Ramen’s manager John Janick saw them play in Florida, Paramore finally got a chance to play for bigger audiences. Janick was so impressed by their performance which was full of energy that he offered them a record deal. Even though the band members were young and big labels made bad and good decisions for them, Paramore was officially formed.

After their first album All We Know Is Falling (2005)  the band started touring across the world. Many big music magazines wrote about them, such as The New York Times and SPIN. During their sold out tour the bass player Jeremy decided to leave the band for personal reasons. Jason Bynum replaced him, after he’d been playing guitar in the band for a while.

Jeremy decided to return to Paramore when they started writing their second album RIOT! in 2007. Before RIOT! Jason and Hunter Lamb left the band for personal reasons. Hunter got married and wanted to focus on his family. RIOT! made the band known everywhere, all across the world, and the crowds were bigger than ever. The biggest song of the album, Misery Business is still their encore song at every show. In 2007-2008 Paramore was in the center of attention in media; they were nominated from MTV Video Awards to Grammys. At the same time the band was having some internal difficulties and problems. Now the band consisted of the Farro brothers, Hayley, Jeremy and Taylor (who wasn’t an official member at the time). Hayley and Josh Farro had been dating for years before RIOT! came out, but they broke up in late 2007, which caused disputes in the band. Paramore even had to cancel one of their European tours in 2007, to sort out all their internal problems.

After the air was cleaned they started touring in Europe as well as other parts of the world. They also started writing new material for RIOT!’s follow-up. The task wasn’t going to be easy, since RIOT! was a huge success and the band had differences of their own. In fall 2009 the band came out with their third album brand new eyes, which debuted in Billboard’s Top 100-list in the second place. The album was highly acclaimed by critics and fans. According to Hayley, this album was supposed to save the band and solve the internal problems they’d been having. The album’s themes were maturing, anger and especially the relationship between Josh and Hayley. Before BNE, Taylor York was announced as an official band member and he was very welcomed by the fans.

In 2010 the band was again nominated for a Grammy award and they were touring across the world from Australia to Europe. The band seemed to enjoy their success, but there were signs of exhaustion as well, especially on Josh and Zac. The boys started appearing less and less on interviews, promo tours and when Josh announced he would get married in spring 2010, he left out of the Australian tour. Taylor’s brother Justin York replaced him and then rumors of Josh leaving the band started appearing on the internet.

On December 18th, 2010, the band announced on their official website that Josh and Zac would be leaving the band, but Paramore would continue as a three-piece band. The break-up was not amicable and sides were formed. They aren’t on good terms with each other but wish each other well. The Farros formed a band called Novel American, but they haven’t released any material yet.

According to the Farros the reason between the break-up was Hayley’s attitude and the attention she was receiving. Other reasons were possible the band’s religious disputes and differences in music. Hayley, Jeremy and Taylor have described the break-up as a relief, but also as a difficult thing to comprehend. After two of the official members left the band had new challenges to face and even in summer 2011 Hayley admitted on her blog that she’s still grieving. Paramore’s five-piece assembly was nominated for another Grammy in 2011, but they didn’t win.

In 2011 they started working on new material again, and they toured in South-America as well as Europe, but the Farros departure didn’t seem to affect the band’s fame. Josh was replaced by Taylor’s brother Justin and Zac by Josh Freese, and later by a Canadian, Jason Pierce. In May 2011 Paramore released a single called “Monster” for “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon” soundtrack. The song was a success and the music video was highly praised, too. The song deals with the Farros leaving the band and their future and feelings. After wrapping up their fall Pacific Rim Tour Paramore spent the holidays of 2011 with their families.

At the moment Paramore is focusing on their fourth album, which is set to be released in 2012. The band is hoping to start touring in the summer of 2012.