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My interview with Jeremy Davis of Paramore
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Posted by Jen1180 Wed Mar 26, 2008 22:48:02 MDT
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0 responses 0 comments    So by now most people who would be interested know that Jimmy Eat World and Paramore are going to be performing at the Holt Arena on April 12. I was fortunate enough to be able to do interviews with both Jim or Jimmy Eat World and Jeremy of Paramore. Unfortunately my recorder malfunctioned during the interview with Jim, so all of it was lost.

BUT, I did however, record my interesting interview with Jeremy Davis. He was a t his home in Tennessee taking care of his sick girlfriend while I asked him about rodeos, the break-up rumors and the future of the band.

This was a fun one!



Jenny: Have you ever been to this part of the country before?
Jeremy: Where are you?
(laughs)
Jenny: Pocatello, Idaho.
Jeremy: Oh, ya, I’ve been in Idaho a couple times. We played some smaller shows there a really long time ago. I remember me and Zac were, we were like outside trying to pay people to come see us play. I think that was where we had the smallest show we’ve ever had in our lives. Ya, I think there was no more than 30 people there, so me and Zac were outside trying to get people to come in and watch us but no one would come hear us play.
(laughs)
Jenny: Well there’s gonna be plenty of people at this show, I promise!
Jeremy: Well, good!
(laughs)
Jenny: This is a little college town . . .
Jeremy: What’s it called?
Jenny: Pocatello.
Jeremy: See I think that’s where we actually played because it was a college town and it was kind of a cool little town.
Jenny: There’s Boise too, Boise has a college also.
Jeremy: Ya, I’m not sure where it was, but it was sweet.
Jenny: It’s kind of funny because the arena that you guys are playing in, right now we’ve got this huge regional rodeo going on, so there’s cows and dirt and all sorts of fun stuff in there!
Jeremy: Oh, that’s rad! That’s awesome. I’ll bring my overalls!
(laughs)

Jenny: Ok, so Josh and Zac are brothers, and they knew Hayley in school, is that right?
Jeremy: Well, Zac met Hayley at school one day cause they went to this, like a home school, tutorial kind of school, they went to school like three times a week and then they were home schooled. Hayley was new to the school and Zac and Josh had been going there for a few years, so Zac met Hayley and started talking to her and went up stairs and told Josh ‘Come down and meet this girl, you’ve gotta meet her, she’s new and she said she sings,’ so Josh came down and met her and at the same time me and Hayley were in a funk cover band together. We did like Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan and all kinds of stuff. So basically for about, I guess uh, a year and a half, probably almost two years she was friends with them and friends with me but me and Zac and Josh never met each other.
    So then randomly the band that me and Hayley were in broke up and every one in their ways kind of went their separate ways with music and I played in a bunch of different bands and did a lot of studio work with some country artists and then one day I got a call from Hayley and she was like, ‘Hey, we’re trying to start this band and we want you to be in it,’ so I was like, ‘Cool,” and I go over to Josh and Zac’s house and that was it!

Jenny: Cool, it’s weird how things work out.
Jeremy: Ya, it’s real weird!

Jenny: You guys seem to have come out of no where, especially over the last few months I’ve noticed that there has been a lot more talk about you guys, nominated for a Grammy, voted best new artist, and all that stuff, do you ever get overwhelmed, especially since you are all so young?
Jeremy: Ya, ya know, we’ve done a pretty good job of . . . well, I guess we just really don’t see where this is going. I mean, there’s time’s like, ‘how are we going to do it?’ And I guess we don’t see how big this is getting because we are constantly touring. I just think that we don’t really understand so I guess it’s kind of not that hard to stay grounded and to not get a big head I guess because we really don’t see it happening. This is all just fun, we’re still the same kids that we’ve been forever ya know, we’re just enjoying what we’re doing. So it really hasn’t been that bad, it’s kind of weird at times ya know, some of the stuff you get to do, but it’s pretty cool.

Jenny: Ya, and you get to do interviews daily, huh?
Jeremy: Ya, but interviews are fun.
Jenny: Ya know, I interviewed Jim from Jimmy Eat World and my recorder wasn’t working so I didn’t get any of it.
Jeremy: Ohh, that sucks!
Jenny: Ya, but I checked it again, so this one should work.
(laughs)

Jenny: Speaking of Jimmy Eat World, you guys list them as one of your biggest influences. What is it like touring with them?
Jeremy: Wow, well, as far as like, touring, we haven’t started that tour yet, it starts on, uh, I think April first is the first day. But we have gotten to play a few shows with them and it was ridiculous, you have no idea! Like, most of the time if we go on the road with a band it really takes a pretty awesome band to get every single one for us out on the stage singing all the songs and stuff, and we haven’t opened for a whole lot of bands that we really, really, really like and were inspired by them, so we played like three shows with them, regular shows, and at the first radio show we played with them we were so stoked to even just watch them. And Jim told our tour manager that he wanted to meet us and we were freaking out!
(laughs)
    Ya, I know! So he came on the bus and basically pulled out a guitar and asked Hayley if she would sing on one of their songs with them, and of course, we were so stoked. So she went on stage with them for the next three nights and sang with them and it was amazing.

Jenny: So, where are you, just out of curiosity.
Jeremy: I’m at home, I just bought a house in Franklin, Tennessee where we live. And right now I am just being lazy.
Jenny: I have never been to that side of the country.
Jeremy: Oh, it’s beautiful, Franklin, Tennessee is the most beautiful place on the planet.

Jenny: So you guys took some time off recently to work out some personal issues, and there were rumors that you guys were going to break up. Is there any truth to that?
Jeremy: No, it’s funny to just kind of watch rumors fly. I heard it from the beginning, you know, ‘Paramore’s gonna break,” and then literally an hour later I hear that we’re breaking up and then like a couple hours later I hear that Hayley’s pregnant, and then I hear, you know, I guess that’s just something that we wanted to do is just kind of . . . you can’t really affect what people are going to say, so just sit back and just kind of laugh it off because obviously I know what the truth so why let it get me bummed out? People are gonna talk whether you want them to or not. There’s absolutely no truth to that at all, not even close, ya know after three and a half years of touring straight, and touring takes a big toll on your body and your mind and everything and there’s just a time when you cross that point when you need to get home, so that was the time for us. It’s just hard to explain what touring, like, the pull it has on your life and there’s a breaking point and we hit that and needed to come home. It’s been one of the best things that has happened to us in a long time.
Jenny: Well you need a break every once in awhile, everybody does.
Jeremy: Ya.

Jenny: It seems like the music industry is very male-dominated, especially rock. Has Hayley been met with very much opposition, being a  female lead-singer?
Jeremy: As far as Hayley goes, she’s kind of always hated the fact when people compare a girl . . . they compare them to anyone who has a girl in the band. Avril Lavigne, Hillary Duff, all those people, ya know? And it’s like they aren’t even close to the kind of music we are where as if say, like I was a lead singer and they were compare me to someone, they would compare me to someone in my genre, ya know? So, as far as with Hayley, she’s always hated that, but ya know what, people always accept girls, especially girls that can sing, so that’s a good thing. But when we started, us guys, we didn’t want everyone to think we’re Avril Lavigne or Evanescence just because they have a girl lead singer. So if anyone was worried about it at first it was us guys because we didn’t want everyone to start comparing us to people that we don’t sound like, ya know?
Jenny: Ya, that makes sense, especially with Hilary Duff because you guys are not even close to what you guys are.
Jerey: Ya.
(laughs)

Jenny: You sound like you have a cold.
Jeremy: Ya, I kind of do. I’m kind of taking care of my girlfriend cause she’s in town and she just got sick and she’s been sick for the last few days so I’m just taking care of her.
Jenny: Oh, that’s sweet! How cute.
(laughs)

Jenny: So what does the future hold for you guys?
Jeremy: We have our own goals for the future and stuff like that but uhhm, I don’t really like to, actually, you know what? I have no idea where it could lead because a year ago when we released this record I had no idea what would happen since the release of “Riot!” Like, I never could have imagined everything that has happened within that time perios, so you know what, you never really know. I think the best thing to do is just sit back and let it happen and enjoy the ride and don’t take it for granted. I think that’s the best way to do it, you have your own goals and things that you’d like to do and placed you’d like to see and even things  like you want to get a platnium record. I think it’s best to just sit back and wait and see what happens, ya know? I can’t wait ‘til we get a platnium record maybe one day, that’d be sweet! All that’s pretty much all I can think about for that.

Jenny: So what’s your live show like?
Jeremy: Very energetic. We are, the crowd is, there’s a lot of that flying around. It’s just fun because of the interaction between us and the crowd and is very unique, it’s different from a lot of shows. I feel like we need the crowd to pump us up and they need us to pump them up. It’s a unique relationship that goes on at our shows. It’s definetly fun, even if you don’t know our music. So come out to the show and watch us play!
Jenny: Ya, I’m gonna be there, right in the front!
Jeremy: Alright!
Jenny: Ya, I’m gonna take my best friend and we are gonna be right in front.
Jeremy: Good! I might give ya the rock and roll fingers, ya!
Jenny: The arena that I was telling you about, this is the first big show we’ve had there in a really long time. So you guys playing there is a huge deal.
Jeremy: Wow, that’s awesome, so there’s still a lot of shows there though?Jenny: No, there’s the rodeo, and then they have a lot of agricultural type shows there but they don’t have concerts there anymore.
Jeremy: Oh, that’s rad! I’ll come there to just watch the rodeo, we’re a bunch of hillbillies, we’re a bunch of southerners!
(laughs)

Jenny: Ok, well, is there anything you want to add?
Jeremy: Ummm, no except for  I’m stoke to go there and not have to fight for more than two people to be at the show, cause I’m pretty positive there will be more than two or three people at the show. Cause I know you and your friend are going, so that makes me feel good!
(laughs)

Jenny: Ok, well, I hope you get better and I hope your girlfreind gets better and I’ll see you at the show. Thanks for your time!
Jeremy: Thanks so much!

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