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.

Carmen Rizzo- Producer, Artist, Electronic Musician, Composer, Remixer, & two-time GRAMMY Nominee has had a very eclectic career. From writing, engineering & programming on Seal’s classic Seal 2 album to producing, & writing for Paul Oakenfold’s Bunka album, remixing BT, Tiesto, collaborating with Tuvan Throat singers Huun Huur Tu, to co founding the ground breaking World Music act Niyaz. Carmen is also a frequent fixture on album credits working with artist such as Coldplay, Alanis Morissette, Dido, AR Rahman, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Khaled to Pete Townshend to contributing original music to the David Lynch Foundation album alongside Moby & Peter Gabriel. His composing has ranged from scoring 2 films for acclaimed Director Michael Apted (Power of the game & Party Guest) David Sabbath (Gods don’t make the laws staring Paul Sorvino) to composing the end title for the Sony PlayStation Video game Un Charted 2. As a member of The Grammys, Carmen has served as a Governor, Trustee & wrote the category’s Best Electronic Album & Technical Grammys for Apple & Roger Linn (Inventor of the Drum Machine).

Teaching and training on the prophetic and fivefold ministry, bringing all people into their destiny and purpose

Jordana is a South African-born singer/songwriter with strong writing skills and an undeniably beautiful voice. Her talent has garnered recognition and collaboration requests from an assortment of cutting-edge writers and producers in the dance/pop world. Her latest collaboration with two-time Grammy nominated producer/mixer Carmen Rizzo resulted in a five track, self-titled debut EP. In addition to dropping her album last summer, Jordana was recently featured on a track with Bizzy Bone from the Grammy winning group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, as well as a new song with Grammy nominated artist, Paul Wall.

Jordana has performed all over the country - from music festivals and colleges to sporting events and large-scale charity events. Recently she performed at the Albertsons All-Star Gala hosted by Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys) and Mike Modano (Dallas Stars), a star-studded event benefitting The Salvation Army, The North Texas Food Bank, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Jordana is currently working on a follow-up album.

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