Paramore’s Hayley Williams works to prove girls can rock

[Locomotion]

Paramore’s Hayley Williams works to prove girls can rock by Caroline Ruse

 

 

The annual Vans Warped Tour often gives up-and-coming bands the chance to get their names and music out in the open, but it can be a challenge to stand out among a lineup of more than 75 bands. Not for Paramore.

The five-piece group from Tennessee is quickly proving that it’s no cookie-cutter garage band. For starters, its lead vocalist is a girl. But don’t let the fact that Hayley Williams is female fool you — this girl can rock. Think Gwen Stefani when she was fronting No Doubt during its “Tragic Kingdom” days.

Paramore’s debut album, “All We Know is Falling,” was released Tuesday and combines Williams’ powerhouse vocals with the brilliant musicianship of her talented bandmates for a refreshingly unique brand of alternative rock music. The band transitions smoothly from heavy, powerful riffs to lighter, musing harmonies, and Williams’ voice never misses a beat. Audiences will get the chance to check out Paramore’s sound in songs such as “Pressure” and “Emergency” when the band performs Wednesday at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre.

Paramore, which means “for love” in Latin, came together a little more than three years ago, when Williams moved to Franklin, Tenn., and met brothers Josh (guitar) and Zac Farro (drums).

“I was the new kid at school,” Williams said. “I finally went over to [the Farros’] house one day to hang out and they introduced me to all different kinds of music.”

It wasn’t long before the hanging out turned into jam sessions. Williams, who’d been writing songs since she was 12 years old, was quickly enlisted as the singer for the brothers’ band.

“It worked out really well because when I started really getting serious about writing songs, that’s when I met Josh and Zac,” Williams said.

She later invited next-door neighbor Jason Bynum to join the group as a second guitarist, and when the band members relocated to Orlando, they found John Hembree to play bass.

The passion and honesty in Paramore’s lyrics meshes well with Williams’ emotion-packed voice, and it’s little wonder: The 16-year-old has a hand in penning all of the group’s pieces.

“Josh and I write all the songs,” Williams said. “He’ll usually come up with the basic idea for the music and then show me what he’s got. We’ll start throwing lyrics around, and when it’s about 75 percent completed, we’ll take it to the band and finish composing it.”

Paramore joined the Warped Tour on July 20 and is hoping to continue traveling with the festival through Aug. 15, Williams said.

“The best thing about touring is that I get to do it with my best friends,” Williams said of her bandmates. “We stay up late in the van laughing and talking about what we would be doing if we were still at home, which would probably be wishing we were sitting in a van laughing and talking.”

Paramore is one of seven bands playing on the tour’s Shira stage, which is dedicated to bands that feature female members.

“It was weird the first day because we didn’t know anybody,” Williams said. “We were skeptical at first about being grouped into the ‘girl bands’ on the Shira stage. We didn’t want to be limited by that.”

Still, Williams said, the stage doesn’t determine the music.

“We feel that if we’re good, if we do it right, people won’t care if we’re playing on the girl stage or not,” Williams said. “We’re gonna put on a great show and have a good time.”

 

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[EasyTarget]

Awesome.

[CaughtInTheRiot]

Why the hell did you revive this? It's nearly 3 years old!

[EasyTarget]

Because I wanted to, it's not hurting anybody.