All right music fans, sorry Debra I just have to tell everyone this… STOP reading this, get off your butts and go to your favorite music store and pick up RIOT! By PARAMORE. No really, get out, go… I’ll wait for you to come back, I promise.
Ok so your back, cool… let me give you a little bit here… See back in November of 2007 we are in San Diego, California, my wife and I, “livin the dream”… and that dream being, welcoming our son home from Iraq, LCpl Obos, Derek J. USMC. As you may or may not know one of the first things our military men do when they get home is go to the mall and buy stuff, clothes, shoes, games and in our son’s case… music. We are walking around the Westfield, Plaza Camino Real Mall, and we stop into F.Y.E. to check out some music. As we are walking around the store, ya know how they play current music, new stuff, well we hear this familiar sound, that turns out to be Angels and Airwaves, (great cd of its own) as we are paying for that another song is playing, and to me it sounded a little like Deborah Berg, from Eye to Eye, vocally but more current, up to date, more today’s alternative or power punk, I guess. I was intrigued and Derek picked up a copy of the CD RIOT! from PARAMORE and.with influences like Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, New Found Glory, Death Cab for Cutie, and Thrice, this pop-punk quintet from Tennessee whom actually I didn’t know went into our collection
PARAMORE ‘RIOT’
This sophomore cd from this quintet is riveting to say the least. Haley’s vocals and range bring a new meaning to women in rock, she not only hit her notes she makes them explode with passion. While songs like Misery’s Business by just the name sounds down but the raw energy that PARAMORE releases just makes you want to pump your fist to the beat and jam along. 
I decided to go see, live, if they were even close to what the studio made them out to be. The Congress Theater in Chicago was the next stop on the tour and just a few weeks ago and I couldn’t have picked a better time to go see these artists from Tennessee.
The Congress Theater, an old relic from a different time (used to be a premier movie theater in its hay day. The outside, hidden behind years of change, looked like any other movie theater with its old world marquee. As you walked through the doors it was almost like stepping back in time. In the auditorium, the seats were removed so that fans can stand as close to the stage as possible and create a massive dance floor. And as PARAMORE came out on stage and opened their set the fans danced and jumped from the first note, me included. And getting back to the part about not being a better time to pick this stop on the tour, PARAMORE was videoing this set for an upcoming DVD and live release, (they didn’t say what it was for and I could not confirm)… I can’t wait for that. They were planning on filming in New York and made the decision to change to Chicago (mostly because we know how to rock in Chicago) and when the video is released you will see why. From a stage that was set for maximum band use, two levels, to a sound that generated a level of excitement I haven’t experienced anywhere else PARAMORE’s set was filled with every song from the RIOT release as well as a few from their first release; and with all the energy that a body is capable of releasing. And they did not disappoint anyone at any level, Hayley, Jeremy, Josh, and Zak gave the crowd exactly what we went there for, to hear the sound and experience them live. But this wasn’t just a live show and a band getting up to sing some songs, this was a light show orchestrated for maximum exposure, while the songs filled our ear, the lights danced to the beat to bring together a memorable experience for everyone that attended this all ages show.
The four have been playing since high school in Tennessee (2004) but have raw energy that you might think comes from a band that has been playing for more than four years, their songs relay a message that is positive and brings people together finding common problems that you can read about in Hayley’s blog on the PARAMORE webpage. One of their oldest songs, and a “true anthem” was saved for this release and will get your heart pounding and your head thinking about what can be accomplished and the road getting there and never giving up. That track is Halleluiah, where Hayley’s vocals will chill your soul.
This is a quote from www.paramore.net the band’s official website - as written in their band bio section, and this to me sums up definitively, for me, the RIOT! cd. “We all have such a love and passion for this music,” says Josh. “We’re lucky to have made such a connection with our fans that we’re making a difference in their lives.” Hayley concludes, “We want everyone to hear this album. We want to take it as far as we can. ‘RIOT!’ is everything we ever wanted to say on one album. If it all ended today, this is what we’d want to be remembered for.”
If this is the last thing this band would ever release, that would be a shame, but I can only believe that this is the next step for these artists and I look forward to their next cd release with great anticipation.
PARAMORE is
Hayley Williams – vocals – keyboards – with the range and ability to blow your socks off
Jeremy Davis – bass and acrobatics
Joshua Farro – guitar and vocals – with extreme precision
Zachary Farro – percussion – with body and soul
You can visit their web page for more information, upcoming events and fun at www.paramore.net
You can see more artists from their label at www.fueledbyramen.com
