Panic at the Disco (formerly known as
Panic! at the Disco) is a
rock band that originated in
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Their 2005
debut album,
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, reached #13 on the
US Billboard 200, and has sold over 2.2 million copies
[Fueled By Ramen, Panic at the Disco Biography Retrieved March 12, 2008] since its September 2005 release. The band's second album,
Pretty. Odd., was released on March 25, 2008 and debuted at #2 in the US.
History
2004: Origins and signing
The band was formed in the suburban area of
Summerlin, Las Vegas, by two childhood friends—Ryan Ross on the
guitar and Spencer Smith on the
drums. Since the age of thirteen, the two played
Blink-182 covers in bands of different formations, according to an interview with Walker and Ross. Ross and Smith then created a band under the name of "Summer League" with two other friends, including Brent Wilson and a guitarist who would later leave the band.
Wilson met Brendon Urie at
Palo Verde High School. Wilson asked Urie to try out as guitarist for the fledgling band, as they were looking for a replacement guitarist at the time. Originally, Urie was not the band's lead singer. Rather, the position belonged to current guitarist and lyricist Ross. However, when they heard him sing backup vocals during a rehearsal, they were impressed with his backup vocal abilities and unanimously decided to make him the singer. The band then settled on the name 'Panic! at the Disco.' They lifted the name from the lyrics of a song called "Panic," by
Name Taken: Panic at the disco / Sat back and took it so slow / Are you nervous? Are you shaking? / Save compliments to praise compilation / We don't have to feel we fit in / We can move back / We can leave them.
[PATD Online [dot] COM | Panic At The Disco Online] Although the band often says that the name comes from the song
Panic by
The Smiths, it was revealed by them that the Name Taken song did also lend inspiration to the band, but that the song by The Smiths is sometimes easier to explain to those unaware of Name Taken.
