Imagine Dragons Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 4th 2010 11:00AM by Marcus Rendon
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Armed only with an EP, Imagine Dragons have gathered an army of fans and followers in less than a year after relocating from Utah to Las Vegas last summer in 2009. Fronted by the enigmatic lead singer Dan Reynolds, with Wayne Sermon on guitar, bassist Ben McKee, keyboardist Brittany Tolman and drummer Andrew Tolman, the band's live shows have earned them top opening spots for artists such as Blue October and Kelly Clarkson. Critics have compared them to other Vegas natives such as the Killers and Panic at the Disco and feel they are worthy of being the next big thing from Vegas. They are set out to prove that yes, they will achieve that title, but on their own terms. Spinner recently spoke with Imagine Dragons in anticipation of their stint at SXSW.

How did the band form?

We started the band in college in Utah as more of a kind of fun, get-together kinda jam thing. There was a Battle of the Bands competition which we won and were excited and as the semester ended and summer was starting we were making plans for the summer we won another competition and decided to start getting serious, some members left and new ones came aboard and we all just decided to move to Vegas.

Imagine Dragons. What's the meaning behind the name?

It's a name we came up with in college, which is actually an anagram where you mix up the letters and make something up, but we're sorry we can't tell you what the anagram is. We're sworn to secrecy.

How would you describe your sound?

That's a hard question to answer as a musician, but we try to keep it rock 'n' roll. Some will call it synth-pop but we try to keep it poppy enough that a general audience would like it. I guess we'd be classified under the indie pop-rock genre.

What are your musical influences?

Muse, Coldplay, U2, Arcade Fire and of course being here from Las Vegas we really like the Killers.

There's lot of talk about your live shows vs. your recorded music. Is that the reason I should catch one of your showcases?

We moved to Las Vegas and recorded our EP within a month and were still a young band and trying to play as much, and a lot of the songs we recorded and have written have evolved while on the road so our live set is a bit different from what you hear on disc. We all really enjoying performing live and there is definitely a lot of energy that comes out of our live performance that we might not have captured in the EP so yeah, you should catch us!

Being a Vegas band do you find it hard to compete with the comparison to the Killer and Panic at the Disco?

Yes, the town can be brutal. They either love you or hate you--but I think we stand on our own.

How do you come up with your songs--individually or as a band?

We usually play off of an idea that one of us comes up with and go with that.

What are you most excited about playing SXSW?

We've never been to SXSW and been a part of it all. We've never been to Texas so it will be fun and interesting for us.

What's your SXSW diet: BBQ, Sushi, Hot Dogs or Tacos?

I think the band will be split between Sushi and BBQ.

What is in your survival kit for SXSW?

Just hoping all our gear is with so we can play whenever and wherever.

Marcus Rendon is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.