J-14 is scouting out the hottest bands around... and this week's pick is Paradise Fears.
Here are five things you need to know about Paradise Fears who's gearing up to hit the road on The Resolution Tour with Action Item this January and February!
1. South Dakota's pop-rockers Paradise Fears consists of lead vocalist Sam Miller, guitarist and vocalist Cole Andre, drummer Lucas Zimmerman, guitarist Jordan Merrigan, keyboardist Michael Walker, and bassist Marcus Sand, all who grew up together. What inspired them to make a band? "We were bored and loved Taking Back Sunday," Sam tells J-14. "We just started playing music together and it sort of just evolved from there."
2. Do they look familiar? That may be because they've been on the pop-rock tour circuit for the past few years! They have opened for the likes of The Cab, The Summer Set, The Ready Set, and even All Time Low -- who were one of the first bands to put them on a lineup after they had followed them around, giving out CDs and meeting fans at shows.
3. Originally, the band had been called Paradise Fears The Turtle. "I wish I had a reason for it but I don't attempt to understand the 15-year-old mind of myself," Sam tells J-14. "Then we were like, 'wait, no, that's dumb. People are going to think we're like a Grateful Dead or a jam band. So we dropped 'The Turtle' and became Paradise Fears."
4. The boys just finished their first debut album that is due out early next year! What's it all about? "I think it's a honest prospective on what it's like to pick up from a small home that you've known your entire life and then go and try to chase a dream in a very frustrating world and a very frustrating industry and the pressures that come along with that," Sam explains. "It's a very hopeful album." Who inspires Sam the most? "I have very inspiring parents. They're just like two walking little fortune cookies," He tells J-14. "Half of the lyrics from the album are probably pulled straight from my dad."
5. Their first single is a song called "Sanctuary" that Sam wrote when he was 16. "My dad's a pastor and he had this giant beautiful sanctuary that he preaches in and there was an incredible 25,000 dollar grand piano in that room that sounds incredible and I'm convinced no where in the world can you get a better piano sound," Sam says. "When I was frustrated as a kid writing was a very therapeutic thing I would do and I would go in there all the time when I'd get upset or scared or uncomfortable in my own skin and I'd play this piano and sing to myself."
Check out their Hanson cover of "MMMBop" below and let us know what you think!
For the full list of The Resolution tour dates click here!
Photo: Courtesy of Paradise Fears
