What, you don’t know who Paramore are? Well, we’re here to help.

Paramore are a four piece rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. They’re fronted by a distinctively red-headed young lady called Hayley Williams, and the most appropriate description for their music is a kind of emo-infused pop/rock.

The band officially formed back in 2004, but had been friends before that roughly since Williams moved to Tennessee. However, the other founding members, Josh and Zac Farro can probably lay claim to knowing each other the longest.

So, who’s in Paramore?

The significant front-person in Paramore is Hayley Williams. She’s the flame haired, feisty lead singer. Williams was born on 27 December 1988, making her 19 years old at the moment, but a tender 15 when the band started.

Lead guitarist Josh Farro is another significant member of the group. Between him and Hayley, they handle most of the songwriting for the band.

Farro first writes the music, afterwards taking it to Williams for a melody and lyrics, and from that point the song worked out between the two. Once the foundation is laid out, the remaining band members help to work on sound and arrangement.

Josh’s brother Zac plays drums for Paramore, and Jeremy Davis is the bassist. Jeremy took roughly a six-month break from the band back in 2005, but rejoined when invited and has been with the band ever since.

Paramore and God

All the members of Paramore are fairly open about being Christians, so we shouldn’t hold that against them :) In an interview with the BBC, Josh Farro said “We’re not out here to preach to kids, we’re out here because we love music. We do believe that God has blessed us with an opportunity to be in a band and tour the world and we’re going to use this gift to the full potential.”

Hayley, Avril and The No Doubt Effect

Like many female rock singers, Hayley’s had to put up with comparisons to other singers – mostly Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. Needless to say, she doesn’t take kindly to being compared with people who can’t even write their own songs.

“Well, we don’t like comparisons to Avril Lavigne or Kelly Clarkson,” bristles Josh.

“First of all, they’re both solo artists and, secondly, they don’t write their own songs. And Hayley is not like them and doesn’t want to be in pictures by herself and doesn’t want to be seen by herself.

Which leads me on to the next issue the band face – what I call the No Doubt effect – remember in the Don’t Speak video, how Gwen was in the forefront and the rest of the band were visibly irritated about this?

Paramore make a really big deal about how they’re a band and as you can see from the quote above, they get pretty agitated about the focus on Hayley rather than on the whole band.

While the guys in the band appreciate that Hayley’s not courting the attention – and that it’s the press looking for an angle on the band – it’s a source of annoyance for them nonetheless.

What Paramore songs do you recommend?

Their second album, RIOT! is fantastic from end to end. But if you want some good introductory tracks, check out some of the singles they’ve released to date. CrushCrushCrush is an absolutely essential song, and follow up with Misery Business for a satisfyingly aggressive track. Hallelujah and That’s What You Get are also worth a look. Here’s CrushCrushCrush:

If you want to recommend a Paramore song, let us know about it in the comments.

Where can I find out more about Paramore?

The best places to start looking for more Paramore information are their official website, MySpace page and their entry on Wikipedia. They also blog fairly regularly on LiveJournal.

There’s a comprehensive review of RIOT! on Stylus Magazine, if you want more on their music. There’s also a good fan site at ParamoreFans.com.

What about interviews with the band?

• Interview with Paramore, July 2005
• Talking about their Grammy nomination in the Tennessian. 
• On Rolling Stone Website
• An article about Paramore on sing365
• Band interview from 2006 on Emotional Punk (or is that just Emo?)
• Another circa-2005 interview in which they explain how they came up with the Paramore name.
• Hayley takes a swipe at Avril Lavigne in an interview with MTV, saying her music lacks honesty and emotional depth.
• Anothern band interview on Europunk.net. And another one with the BBC.

There’s also some news on the rescheduled UK concert dates:

The new shows will take place around their headlining appeareance at the Give It A Name festival (May 10-11) in London and Sheffield.

The rescheduled shows are:

• Glasgow Academy (May 12)
• Dublin RDS Simmions Court (June 2)
• Portsmouth Guildhall (4)
• Nottingham Rock City (5)

I’m sure you all know Paramore are perhaps my favourite band of the year. I’m glad to see them back on the road and releasing music again. If you haven’t heard their Riot album yet, go out and get a copy. You won’t regret it.

Dammit. Two of the most aggressive females in rawk, mark my words. These two ladies will steal your boyfriend, have their wicked way with him, then eat him and throw away the bones.

But how would they fare against each other? That’s the question we’ve been asking all through March, and though both girls were neck and neck for a couple of weeks, Paramore’s Hayley Williams came out tops. Guess the people chose substance over style in the end…

n

You know how hard it is being in the public eye? Well, try to imagine. You’re got the press constantly making up shit about you and taking your quotes out of context.

What’s worse, in this age of Web 2.0 and bands being able to communicate directly with their fans, it seems you can still send out mixed messages that confuse the hell out of everybody.

And so Hayley Williams from Paramore managed to put her foot in her mouth (blogophorically speaking) when she posted a blog entry recently stating that the band were cancelling their European tour due to ‘internal issues’. Stuff that includes “a lot of internal issues that have been going on in this band for quite a while now. A lot of it started right around the time we were gearing up for the RIOT Tour”.

Now, speculatively speaking, you imagine that with a girl in the band, perhaps there’s been some ill-advised backstage shagging which has left things a bit strained. Well, think I’m joking? Try Blondie and No Doubt. Not forgetting The White Stripes, but those crazies managed to work through their marital issues by getting divorced.

Anyway, Hayley’s been forced to go and post some clarification (including a note about her not being pregnant (they should make that a widget in the sidebar of their blog).

Personally, they’re a bloody good band, and I can testify to a massive grin breaking on my face every time I hear Misery Business on the radio. I seriously hope they manage to hold the band together, because what they do is loud, intensely passionate rock music. And there’s very little quality rock music around right now.

Hayley Williams and her emo/punk outfit are back with Misery Business, one of those nasty, angry songs that is soooo satisfying to listen to.

Miss Williams delivers her lyrics with amazing venom. Suffice to say, after a few verses of this song, she’s pretty much gained ‘ballbreaker’ status in my book. Which I like, by the way…

The rhythm section of Jeremy Davis and Zac Farro is energetic and they pound their way through the song. Guitarist Josh Farro delivers a punchy aggressive stabs, completing the vicious aural assault.

The video’s awesome, too. Williams cements her position as the anti-Avril. She manages to spit fire and look cute at the same time. Here you go…

Misery Business was originally released in June 2007 as the lead single from Paramore’s RIOT! album. It’s being re-released in the UK on 11 February 2008.

Still wondering who Paramore are? Read Who the hell are Paramore?

However, given Avril’s recent leanings toward pure pop, Williams beats her hands down for rawk authenticity. She’s got a more punk-rock look, and there’s more conviction in her delivery when she sings.

Hallelujah is a triumphant rock anthem, delivered in the style of contemporaries like Fall Out Boy – driving distorted rhythm track with a simple underlying melody.

The lyrics are clumsy in places – you get the impression that they’re being crammed in – “we gotta make it fly faster than I’m falling in love” at the end of the first verse is an example.

Hallelujah – The Video

The video is actually quite a well conceived piece of work – designed to look like a scrapbook or a set of candid pictures of the band. The pictures obviously move in the Daily Prophet style and we’re transported between various pieces of Paramore performing onstage and larking around off-stage.

In between photos, scribbles of writing appear as they do on the cover of the RIOT! album

Hallelujah is from Paramore’s current album, RIOT! Still wondering who Paramore are? Read Who the hell are Paramore.