Who the Hell are Vampire Weekend?

Gerard McGarry — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:17:42 +0000

Vampire Weekend are hot property at the moment. Any serious music publication is talking about them – but who are they and are they any good? This guide will tell you (mostly) everything you need to know about the band, who are not real vampires by the way. Shame, because that would be a great gimmick…

OK, who are they?

Vampire Weekend are an interesting proposition. All the intelligence we can gather promptly points out that the foursome formed at Columbia, an Ivy League university. So these kids aren’t dumbasses, right?

And while their MySpace page describes their musical style as Punk/New Wave/Classical, they are unique among their peers by citing African pop music as a major influence in their sound. Another word freely thrown around in celebration of Vampire Weekend is ‘preppy’. Not hard to see why – the up-tempo tunes and clean, crisp guitar comps are an interesting combination.

Another unique factor in their sound is the inclusion of classical and ethnic instruments – the songs are embellished with cello and flute and African percussion in places.

The band have only been together since 2006, and to date have released only one album, the eponymous Vampire Weekend.

Vampire Weekend Line-up

The members of the band are:

Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitar)
Rostam Batmanglij (keyboard, guitar, vocals)
Chris Tomson (drums)
Chris Baio (bass guitar )

The band got their name from a movie they made with the members of another band, Ra Ra Riot. Apparently their song Walcott tells the story of the movie.

Want To Hear Some Songs?

OK, you want to hear some VW tunes? Let’s start with A-Punk, a short 2:20 tune that’ll give you an idea of Vampire Weekend’s sound.

Here’s a live performance of Oxford Comma – watch out for them there expletives…

You can find more live performances by searching YouTube and other great Internet video stockists.

Who The Hell Are…Paramore?

Gerard McGarry — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:21:35 +0000

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.

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