Nobody is in a band to be miserable (except maybe the Ramones). So it should come to no surprise that Paramore’s collective effervescent attitude has rubbed off onto a legion of fans stoked by frontwoman Hayley Williams’ unbridled exuberance. Beginning in 2004 in Franklin, Tennessee, the band—Williams, guitarists Josh Farro and Jason Bynum, bassist Jeremy Davis and drummer Zac Farro—began playing together after bonding over a shared appreciation of everything from Sunny Day Real Estate to Jimmy Eat World to Failure. It wasn’t long before their tight pop-punk melodies—coupled with Williams’ vocal prowess—were gaining traction in a scene where only boys with flat-ironed hair need apply. After several rounds of extensive touring, the band were signed by Fueled By Ramen, who issued their debut album, All We Know Is Falling, in 2005.
The success of that record gave the band the chance to upstream to Atlantic Records for their follow-up disc, 2007’s Riot!. Things started to derail a bit when Bynum’s replacement, Hunter Lamb, left the band in the early stages of the recording, forcing Paramore to make the album as a quartet. Yet Riot! achieved gold-sales status, buoyed by the success of the single “Misery Business.” For the follow-up, 2009’s brand new eyes, Paramore enlisted producer Rob Cavallo and recorded some of their most revealing songs yet, touching on everything from romance (Williams and guitarist Farro kept a relationship hidden from both fans and press for several years) to the working dynamics of the band. After playing with the band as a hired gun for two years, guitarist Taylor York was officially enlisted as a full-time member in June of that year, just as the band were enjoying their opening slot for No Doubt’s reunion tour. “I really think where we are as a band is a result of everything we’ve gone through,” Williams told AP in 2009. “Everything we have gone through has taught us a lot.”
