In a dark kitchen in the middle of a sweaty night in Las Vegas, all 6’4” of Dan Reynolds is hunched over a laptop, slapping beats on the table and crooning lyrics into a tiny microphone. Before long, he and the other three members of indie rock band Imagine Dragons would be playing “It’s Time,” that same laptop-demo-turned-supersized-anthem, from the roof of a parking garage to a wave of thousands of screaming fans. This song title to the single from their 2012 debut KidInaKorner/Interscope release “Continued Silence EP” is an all too apt descriptor of the band’s hard-earned success—but it’s also emblematic of the deep-seated anxiety Reynolds and the rest of the band experienced leaving behind any realistic expectation of a normal job to do the thing they love most.

A third-generation Las Vegas native, Reynolds is no stranger to the adage “the house always wins,” choosing to pave his musical career with a near obsessive work ethic and hundreds of unused demos rather than roll the dice with the first songs that sprung from his mouth. It’s no surprise, then, that he was drawn to guitarist Wayne Sermon, another founding member of Imagine Dragons. Having practically grown up in a recording studio and graduated Berklee College of Music, Wayne had been practicing his guitar through meals and other socially inappropriate situations as long as he could remember; he challenged Dan in a way that was both uncomfortable and exactly what they both needed. When they began writing songs together and recognized something special was happening, Wayne called up his Berklee friend Ben McKee, who promptly dropped out of school with only a few credits left, moving across the country to play bass for the band. This sort of reckless/genius behavior is typical for Ben, who has an uncanny penchant for spicy food and a suitcase full of unbelievable road stories. More recently, the band was joined by drummer Daniel Platzman, another Bostonian schoolmate who seems way too nice to be playing rock and roll until you actually see him in action.

Several tours and three self-released EPs later, Imagine Dragons had made a serious name for itself, particularly in the west coast circuit. Although their songs vary from nearly whimsical and light to brooding and powerful, listeners are drawn to the inherent honesty in the music. The only rule of thumb for the band, it seems, is to write from a true place; the result is songs that literally run the spectrum of human emotion. Attend a concert, and it becomes clear that the live performance of deeply personal songs has a real effect on people. And the band itself is not immune, as demonstrated when Dan literally passed out into the drum set during a finale song, sending cymbals and drum stands crashing while the rest of the band played on until the close.

Great songwriting is bound to be noticed eventually. As proof that the harder you work, the luckier you get, one of those people who noticed was Grammy winning producer Alex da Kid (Eminem, Rihanna). Alex and Dan began collaborating on projects, and soon the band had developed a relationship with Alex and his team. The alchemy resulting from Alex’s hip hop sensibilities and Imagine Dragons’ anthemic rock is nothing short of explosive. The byproduct of this creative collision is “Continued Silence,” a six song in-your-face sonic grenade that breaks musical boundaries and yet is strangely relatable by its improbably diverse audience.

Despite it all, on any given day when they aren’t on the road playing shows, you can still find Imagine Dragons huddled away in a rehearsal room somewhere, banging out song after song in search of the next perfect track. Like most things in Vegas, the band is angled at going big or going bust. For the sake of those who love great music, we hope it’s the former.

frontwoman of The Scientific Endeavour with @divyamp. author of poetry collection Wanderers, Witch-Talkers

BECAUSE WE PASSED THE 1010 FOLLOWERS THE MEISTER !0 MIX AND THE MEISTER !0 MASH-UP MIX WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD!!!
Each month a Meister !0 episode is released. Every episode includes 10 Dance tracks, chosen by Jochemeister. You are able to vote on a track each episode (so you've got one month to vote). After 10 episodes we've got 10 winning tracks, so then we've got the Meister !0 of the year. There will be an extra episode with all the winning tracks and you can download all the winning tracks on iTunes and of course they will appear in Spotify as an album!

Flutist, poet.
Not a very good one, for both.

Singer when nobody's listening.

Interested in finding some talented people out there, I may be on and off in search of them. And if you are talented, I'll let you know. :)

i feel personally victimized by plant life

Throw Me Off The Bridge – Laval, France, 2011-present

(EN) : A bridge hanging over a torrent of raw emotions, where the purity of folk meets the intensity of post-hardcore. Goosebumps rushing down your spine, emotions clutching your stomach and tears lurking in the corner of your eyes: Throw Me Of The Bridge’s live shows will not leave you unaffected, as if you had just born witness to somebody’s life in fast forward. The fragility of fingerpicked melodies and of vocal chords on the brink of snapping only magnifies the punch packed by the simple formula of man standing in front of you with nothing but a guitar and his voice. Starting in his very childhood, Quentin Sauvé draws his fervor from 15 years of involvement in the heavy music scene, and manages to strip it down expertly to the six strings of a folk guitar. Equally serene in the intimacy of a dimly lit house show or standing alone on stage in front of 500 festival-goers, the French songwriter and strong believer in the DIY way of life already boasts over 150 shows in Europe. From Italy to Edinburgh, from Berlin to the Czech Republic, his torrent of emo-folk will take you to the edge to experience salutary vertigo.

(FR) : Pont suspendu sur un torrent d'émotions brutes, lorsque la pureté du folk atteint l'impact du post-hardcore. Des frissons dans la nuque, les poils qui se hérissent, les larmes qui guettent : chaque prestation live de Throw Me Off The Bridge éveille le sens et l'émoi, comme si un concentré de vie se jouait là sous nos yeux. L'incroyable puissance déchargée par une simple formule guitare/voix parvient toujours à conserver, intact, la fragilité d'arpèges tourmentés, d'une voix prête à rompre en éclats. De ses 15 années d'activisme dans la sphère hardcore-métal, attaquées dès l'enfance, Quentin Sauvé emprunte une même intensité. Mise à nu, dépouillée, il la transcrit ici de ses doigts virtuose sur les six cordes d'une guitare folk. Aussi à l'aise dans l'intimité feutrée d'un house-show que seul devant 500 festivaliers, le songwriter lavallois, combattant quotidien du DIY, compte déjà plus de 150 dates en Europe. De l'Italie à Edimbourg, de Berlin à la République tchèque, partout son torrent emo-folk emporte l'auditeur au bord d'un précipice, vers un vertige salvateur.

The Docs are a group of friends with the collective goal of creating a self identifiable rock sound. Since its inception, the Docs have emerged out of College Station/Bryan, Texas blending sounds and styles in an effort to re-envision rock and roll. 

Formed in 2010, The Docs have released a self-titled demo, a self produced EP "Seasons", and a debut LP “Audacious” overseen by Grammy nominated producer Chris "Frenchie" Smith.

The Docs have accrued accolades over the years, sharing stages with Bob Schneider, Black Pistol Fire, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Whiskey Myers, the Weeks, Leopold and His Fiction, Sol Cat and countless other nationally-acclaimed acts while also rocking huge festivals such as the Pecan Street Festival, Rock The Republic, Firefest, Chilifest, and SXSW.

In short, The Docs are continuing to create a sound recognizable in its own right and providing a live show that leaves everything on the stage.

Lena is following