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.

New album ‘is’ out NOW & tour tickets on sale! 💟🎉☮️

The Revolution 
  
  A three-piece indie/punk rock outfit hailing from Lowther, a rural district south of Penrith in Cumbria, comprising of Jeeves, Seamus and Benj, started out as a five-piece in February 2008 when singer/songwriter Jeeves teamed up with young drummer Ben Cuthbertson (ex-member of local punk band ‘The Scabs’) and began to pull together the bare bones of a rock band. By April that year they made their first appearance as a five-piece at The Board &amp; Elbow Room in Penrith to a packed out pub supporting local punk legends ‘No Thrills’. 
  
  They began making headway in the local music scene and were spreading throughout the northwest of England by late summer 2008. With a scheduled TV appearance on the books and a single release deal with Diffusion Records on the table, disaster struck as guitarists, ‘Swedish’ Paul Crompton and Rick ‘McFlurry’ Trowbridge, both parted company with the band in August of that year. To everyone, from their loyal fans to the band itself, fear was rife that The Revolution could be over. True grit, determination and strong friendships, combined by an overwhelming passion for the music they create, kept the band together despite the difficulties. Frontman Jeeves strapped a guitar round his neck and the band went underground, locking themselves into their Penrith rehearsal room and not emerging again until October, when Cockermouth’s The Globe was smashed away by a new, fresh, high energy three-piece sound. 
  
  The hard work had paid off - they were back and better than ever. Things moved from strength to strength from then; they received a nomination for ‘Best Live Gig in Cumbria &amp; South West Scotland 2008’ for one of their performances at Carlisle’s The Brickyard, and have also gone on to support ‘The Detroit Social Club’ and ‘The Airborne Toxic Event’, helping to harness an ever growing fan base. Their long-awaited debut Demo EP, “The Revolution – Made In Penrith”, a DIY EP (available now by contacting the band on this site or by e-mail) was well received by fans and critics alike, but it was a self-confessed fact that the band were not yet the finished article and were searching hard for a lead guitarist to complete the line-up. 
  
  After a promising start to 2009 the air of expectation surrounding the band and the relative success and acclaim gained in the media, to all it seemed things were just gonna get better and better. Then, unexpectedly, problems began to develop within in the band. Gigging up and down the country two or three nights a week playing to one man and his dog began to takes its toll. The lads had given everything just to tread water and when news came that all the major summer events had rejected there applications to perform, it was no secret that moral had hit a new low. Left bewildered at what more they could do, the band disbanded for a while. Frontman Jeeves played out a large amount of the remaining gigs acoustically and Ex-Bassist Ox stepped in temporarily until matters could be resolved, but with a fresh enthusiasm and perspective on the music, the band started to pull together again and managed to play a select few appearances, mostly for charity events, in late summer, providing great hope to the loyal and dedicated fans of the band. 
  
  In early September 2009, The Revolution announced perhaps there biggest gig to date, supporting The Towers Of London at The Brickyard Carlisle on the 20th November of that year. The gig fell amongst some devastating times for Cumbria. Right in the middle of the catastrophic Cumbrian floods it was feared by some that the gig, if it were able to take place at all would be a total wash-out but The Revolution and there loyal Penrithian fans did not let Cumbria down as the band outsold all others with there ticket sales for the event, gaining new fans from all over the flood stricken county and with the Towers Of London publicly declaring them the best support band they had ever had. Frontman Donny Tourette spent The Revolutions set in the mosh pit dancing with the Penrith bands fans. 
  
  The same night saw the launch of there second demo E.P. The Revolution – From The Middle Of Nowhere, as can be heard on the bands myspace, and the E.P. packed with new demo’s recorded at Newcastle’s First Avenue Studio of favourites from the live set, blended with bonus tracks of home-made recordings, previously recorded demo’s and an original demo of the anthemic Sundown Feeling, showing the growth of the band from a pipe dream to the present day, and portraying real depth and great lyrical strength to the bands song-writing. 
  
  Also on the 20th November 2009 voting opened for the annual TGM Music Awards covering Cumbria and Southwest Scotland. The Revolution received nominations for Best North Cumbrian Act, Best Punk/Ska Act, Best E.P. For the debut demo E.P. The Revolution – Made In Penrith , and have been re-nominated for Best Live Gig In Cumbria &amp; Southwest Scotland 2009 for there appearance at The University Of Cumbria’s Gig On The Grass ’09 held at their Newton Rigg Campus and when results were anounced in December they walked away with Best North Cumbrian Act, a massive accolade which meant a lot to everyone involved with the band. 
  
  In January 2010, Drummer Ben Cuthbertson left the band to be replaced by Ed Crocker and the new line-up are currently rehearsing for up and coming gigs. 
  

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