Panic! at the Disco remains one of the most recognizable acts since they first broke through the mainstream music scene back in the late 2000s. First formed by childhood friends and now a solo project, a lot of changes have happened backstage, but the name remains known to all.
Facing the Panic! at their Discos
P!ATD was first formed back in 2004 by childhood friends Ryan Ross and Spencer Smith. They were later joined by Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie. They initially started out as a band covering Blink-182 songs. Looking to depart from the many death metal bands in their area, Panic! at the Disco managed to sign a recording contract without previously performing a live show.
It was at this time that Urie also started working at a cafe to afford rent, sometimes singing for tips. Also, signing on as a band meant that all four members had to leave their school behind to focus on music. Ross and his father had a falling out while Urie's parents kicked him out of the house.
They later sent a demo tape to Pete Wentz, bassist for Fall Out Boy. Wentz drove to Las Vegas from Los Angeles to meet up with Panic! at the Disco and had them sign his Decaydance Records, under the Fueled by Ramen label. When the news came out, some fans started bashing the group who has never played a live performance before.
A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and Pretty. Odd.
The band moved to Maryland to record their debut album "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," which was later released in September 2005. Their first release was divided into two sections. The first half contained a mix of electronic dance music and punk. Meanwhile, the other half contained Vaudevillian piano, accordion, and strings.
"A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" was released to mixed opinions. Billboard described it as "one of the most polarizing albums of our time" during their 10th-anniversary feature on the album. Their album release was shortly followed by Panic! at the Disco's first live show on their native Las Vegas.
A year after, the band announced that bassist and co-founder Brent Wilson left the band. He was later replaced by Jon Walker. The new line-up started working on their next album at a mountain cabin in Nevada.
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"Pretty. Odd." was later released to generally positive reviews. However, it was unable to follow-up on "Fever's" earlier success. It later became a cult classic, with fans lauding the songwriting's similarity to The Beatles and The Beach Boys.
The Last Man Standing
In the spring of 2009, Panic! at the Disco have started working on their new album. Unfortunately, a few months later, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker both announced that they were leaving the band. In an MTV exclusive, Ross described their departure from the band as "the point where there might have been too many cooks in the kitchen." Walker and Ross formed the rock band The Young Veins, releasing the album "Take A Vacation."
Panic! at the Disco was left with Urie and Smith, later joined by Dallon Weekes as the touring bassist. The band later released "Vices & Virtues" on March 22, 2011, to positive reviews. The band was promoted through a tour of the same name, performing songs musically similar to their debut album.
The trio of Urie, Smith, and Weekes started to work on what would become "Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!" Their touring guitarist, Ian Crawford, also left during this time. P!ATD's release of their fourth album was supported by the release of its single "Miss Jackson."
After the album's release, the band immediately set on its promotional tour for the album. Unfortunately, Smith had to leave the latter leg of the 2013 tour to "continue fighting addiction."
By 2015, Spencer Smith formally announced his departure from the band. In September, Urie released Panic! at the Disco's first album as his solo project, "Death of a Bachelor." It was later confirmed that Weekes was demoted to touring member status and Brendon Urie was officially the last man standing.
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