While male pop punk icons lead their bands to domination of the music scene, Hayley Williams is giving the boys a run for their money. Fronting Franklin, Tenn. quintet Paramore, the 17-year-old continues to wow sold-out audiences every night on the band’s first-ever headlining tour.
A pop punk band isn’t something you’d expect from kids who grew up in the same small town that houses country singers Alan Jackson, Amy Grant and Brad Paisley, but a punk rock scene is emerging in the town that is 22 miles south of Nashville.
“It’s grown a lot,” said Williams. “Everyone thinks ‘oh it’s country,’ but there is only a small bit of Nashville that is country anymore.”
The band formed while in high school. Ferro brothers Josh (lead guitar) and Zac (drums) started writing music, but finding a good front man proved tough. They never found one…well not a front man.
“We met Hayley at school and we were like ‘well she’s got an amazing voice,'” said Josh. “We thought it would be awkward if she came and tried out, but she did. It went so well that we asked her to join.”
On first impression it is easy to compare Paramore to wannabe pop punk star Avril Lavigne. Williams is short, cute and has fire red hair, but what sets them apart is the fact that Williams could sing circles around Lavigne. The barely-five-feet-tall Williams has a set of pipes that could challenge any diva in the business.
Her voice was so powerful that it caught the attention of John Janick, the owner of massive indie label Fueled By Ramen.
“Our manager gave him some of the demos we had been working on in Nashville and Janick was really excited about it,” said Williams. “He saw me play once acoustic, and saw our band play in a little warehouse and he wanted to put our record out. We knew it had to happen.”
So they signed to the same label that houses pop punk stars Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco and moved from their small town to Orlando, Fla. to start the recording process.
“We wanted to be away from the distractions of home like friends and school,” said Williams. “We got away and did that and the recording process was so fast. It was probably too fast. Janick really wanted us to be on Warped Tour and was like ‘I really have some great plans for you guys’ and we were excited about it. We didn’t even think about the fact that we might choke our art by rushing it.”
It was as fast as a recording process could possibly be. The band got signed in January and released the album “All We Know Is Falling” in April. The first 10 songs the band wrote were the 10 that got released, including “Conspiracy,” the first song the band ever wrote.
They were thrown on the Warped Tour that summer and Williams had to learn how to tour the country in a van with four teenage boys.
“It’s fun really,” said Williams. “I’ve always gotten along with dudes better. I grew up a big tomboy.”
She showed no tomboyish qualities when she took the stage in Hollywood last Wednesday. Looking amazing, Williams played the hour long set without smearing her makeup.
From “Emergency” to “My Heart,” Paramore uses all 10 songs to fill up its set. Its live show also shows off another quality that sets Paramore apart from Lavinge, a talented band.
Zac wailed on the drums, often playing short solos that led into a song. Bassist Jeremy Davis flung his bass around like it was weightless and jumped around the stage commanding attention. Josh did not miss a note with his backing vocals and guitar, and even rhythm guitarist Hunter Lamb got in on the action.
Even though the band played all of its material, at the end of the show, the audience did not look ready to leave.
Fans shouldn’t worry though, after a short stint in the U.K., Paramore will come back to start working on their sophomore release and Williams urges all Cal State Long Beach students to make the next tour.
“Every Paramore tour comes to this area so you have no excuses,” says Williams. “Come see us play and hang out with us!”