Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, IVACON 2015 Guest Speaker - Institute for Vocal Advancement Institute for Vocal Advancement You are here: Home IVACON Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, IVACON 2015 Guest Speaker Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, IVACON 2015 Guest Speaker September 3, 2014 Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, IVACON 2015 Guest Speaker Dan Reynolds is singer/songwriter, best known as the frontman of Las Vegas indie-rock band, Imagine Dragons. Reynolds, a third generation Las Vegan, formed Imagine Dragons in Las Vegas in 2008. The band independently released three EPs before making their major label debut in 2012 with the release of their Continued Silence EP, which included the breakthrough single “It’s Time”. The band released their first LP Night Visions under Grammy award winning producer Alex Da Kid’s (Eminem, Rihanna) label, KIDinaKORNER. The album went on to sell more than 7 million copies worldwide (the biggest debut since Lady Gaga’s “The Fame”) and produced three top ten singles (It’s Time, Radioactive, Demons).

In February 2014, the band won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance for Radioactive — the track holds the record for longest charting song on the Billboard hot 100 (87 weeks), and to date, is the top-selling rock song in digital history having sold 22 million copies. On June 12, 2014, Reynolds was recognized with the prestigious Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, past recipients include Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, and Taylor Swift. Reynolds resides in Las Vegas with his wife Aja Volkman and their two-year-old daughter, Arrow. Imagine Dragons - Biography - IMDb Imagine Dragons Jump to: Overview (1) | Mini Bio (1) | Trivia (28) | Personal Quotes (7) Overview (1) ID Mini Bio (1) Imagine Dragons is an alternative-rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Band members include frontman Dan Reynolds, bassist Ben McKee, guitarist Wayne Sermon, and drummer Daniel Platzman. As of 2015, they have released two studio albums.

Their first, "Night Visions", was released in September of 2012 and their sophomore studio album "Smoke + Mirrors" was released in February of 2015. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous Trivia (28) Fans call themselves "fire breathers". According to the band, the name "Imagine Dragons" is actually an anagram. Artist Tim Cantor provided the artwork for their second album "Smoke + Mirrors". Lead singer Dan Reynolds' brother, Mac Reynolds, is the manager for the band. Band members are Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, and Daniel Platzman. Won a Grammy for best rock performance for their song "Radioactive" in 2014. They were also nominated for another Grammy for record of the year for the song "Radioactive" that same year. Are big fans of The Beatles. They even did an acoustic cover of The Beatles' song "Revolution" at the 50th Anniversary Show for The Beatles. Second album "Smoke + Mirrors" was released on February 17th of 2015. Signed with Interscope Records in 2011.

The music video for the song "Demons" is in memory of Tyler Robinson who inspired the Tyler Robinson Foundation. Was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live (1975) when Melissa McCarthy hosted in 2014. Released the "Continued Silence" EP on February 14th, 2012. Have a documentary titled "Imagine Dragons: The Making of Night Visions" that goes behind the scenes of the making of their first album. Out of the four members of the band, three of them are named Daniel. They are Daniel (Dan) Reynolds, Daniel Platzman, and Daniel Wayne Sermon. Released their first album "Night Visions" on September 4th, 2012. Was the first musical guest to appear on the show The Muppets (2015). They appeared on the first episode titled "Pig Girls Don't Cry" which aired on September 22, 2015 where they performed their song "Roots".

One of their big breaks was when Pat Monahan, the lead singer of the band Train, got sick and Imagine Dragons were called to take their place and performed in front of more than 20,000 people at the Bite of Las Vegas Festival 2009. Performed a live ad for Target during a Grammys commercial break on February 8, 2015. For the whole four minute commercial break, Imagine Dragons performed their song "Shots" live in Las Vegas. Started "The Tyler Robinson Foundation" with the Robinson family to help provide financial support to families with children fighting cancer. On December 18, 2015, Imagine Dragons were one of many artists who released a special cover of the song "I Love You All the Time" by Eagles of Death Metal in response to the November 13, 2015 attacks in Paris. All the proceeds from each sale of the song was donated to Friends of Fondation de France. The band X Ambassadors was noticed by Imagine Dragons when Dan Reynolds heard an acoustic version of one of their songs titled "Unconsolable" on the radio. Dan then asked producer Alex da Kid to sign them.

Imagine Dragons was later featured on the song "Fear" on the X Ambassadors album "VHS". Imagine Dragons also brought X Ambassadors on tour with them. If their song "Cha-Ching (Till We Grow Older)" is played backwards, you can hear lead singer Dan Reynolds sing the words "there is no anagram". Wayne Sermon (guitarist), Ben McKee (bassist), and Daniel Platzman (drummer) all attended Berklee College of Music. Both Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon are Mormon. Genre is considered alternative. Frontman Dan Reynolds is the seventh of nine kids. Billboard listed them as one of "2012's Brightest New Stars" and also called them "The Breakout Band of 2013". Covered the song "Stand By Me" in a tribute to Ben E. King at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. Personal Quotes (7) [frontman Dan Reynolds on his depression] It would be awful if I was happy all the time. I might lose my passion.

[frontman Dan Reynolds on feeling at home while on stage] There's always a moment where I can look at every one of the guys and know that all the other problems, whatever it is, we're not thinking about them in that moment. That's a pretty magical thing. I don't think there's anything else that provides me with that kind of escape. [guitarist Wayne Sermon on his love for vinyl] I think it's cool. Unfortunately, a lot of music on vinyl isn't recorded analog, but some of it's magical. I grew up listening to it. The first time I heard a Tom Scholz guitar solo was on vinyl with my dad, on an audiophile-grade tube receiver. I'd just sit there and listen to [The Beatles'] Abbey Road, Iron Butterfly, Boston, Badfinger; all kinds of stuff. That's how I got into music and playing guitar - hearing it and listening to it on vinyl. To me, it has a special place in my heart. It's such a snobby thing for people to say, but it really is true - nothing sounds as good as old vinyl on a tube receiver with an amp. There's something that's just magical about that.

Hearing a saxophone solo on vinyl - you can hear the breathing. You just can't hear that anywhere else. [guitarist Wayne Sermon on second album "Smoke + Mirrors"] It's a very dynamic record, because the lows are very low and the highs are very high. Dynamically speaking, it needs to be played in a high-resolution form, which is the way I'd much prefer it be listened to. [guitarist Wayne Sermon on second album "Smoke + Mirrors] We wanted the album to have some of the warmth of the vinyl we grew up listening to. As important as radio is to what we do - and we do love that part of the music industry - it's really frustrating to hear this record on radio, just because it gets so smashed. Everyone is competing with everything else, but we have this very dynamic record that we put a lot of thought into, and radio just smashes the hell out of it. There's not much left after that happens, just one level. There's no loud, there's no quiet. It's just smashed. [drummer Daniel Platzman on his reaction to Weird Al's parody of "Radioactive"] I lost my mind! I'm a huge Weird Al fan.

My family's reaction to winning a Grammy was proud, but when I told them Weird Al was parodying one of my songs, they freaked out way worse. It was one of the most real moments of my life. I actually got in touch with Al and the guys, they're gonna be coming through Vegas soon. We're gonna hopefully meet up with them. [drummer Daniel Platzman on the "Shots" music video] The concept was bringing in artist Tim Cantor, who came up with all the magical realism based art that we felt a connection. We worked with an amazing director, Robert Hales, and took all the artwork we made and incorporated it into the video.. we're all happy and proud of it, Tim's art surely helped bring it to life. I hope you all like it. See also Imagine Dragons – Band from Utah Imagine Dragons – Band from Utah by Keith L. Brown | Nov 20, 2013 | Famous Mormons | 1 comment When a person hears the words “Imagine Dragons,” what might be the first thing that comes to mind?

Perhaps they think of a mythological tale of a knight in shining armor defending a beautiful maiden in distress, or an entire village, from fire-breathing, man-eating dragons. That might be the case in a fairy tale adventure, but what about in reality? Imagine Dragons is an alternative rock band that may at times claim Las Vegas, Nevada, to be their home; however, their real beginnings are in Utah. Guitarist Wayne “Wing” Sermon was born in American Fork, Utah, and lead singer Dan Reynolds attended Brigham Young University. Both are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others). The other members of the band are Ben McKee (bass) and Daniel Platzman (drummer). The revolutionary sound of Imagine Dragons utilizes electric guitars, a cellist, and a violinist.

In a Deseret News article dated 10 September 2012, Sermon commented, “the band feels free to pull in a violin or a cello or an ensemble of acoustic guitars, even a synthesizer, if the song calls for something different.” In a documentary made by BYU about the band’s beginnings, the members talk about how they met, how the name Imagine Dragons was chosen, and their purpose for performing their music. The Sweet Taste of Success “Following its release, the single “ It’s Time ” had airplay on select major stations. The music video debuted on April 17, 2012, on all MTV affiliates and the band was named MTV PUSH Artist of the Week.” [1] The single was nominated for the Best Rock Video award during the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. After the release of their debut studio album, Night Visions, on 4 September 2012, the band gained immense recognition and popularity. The album ranked number 2 on the weekly Billboard 200 chart, and following its successful release, the band launched a world tour.

They have performed live on several late night shows including: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with David Letterman, and Conan. The band has been named “The Breakthrough Band of 2013” by Billboard, and Rolling Stone named their single “ Radioactive ” “the biggest rock hit of the year.” The single was nominated for the Best Rock Video award during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and won the 2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice Rock Song award. The band’s debut album, Night Visions is currently certified at Platinum in the United States, Austria, Canada, Portugal, and Sweden, having sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone. The album is also certified gold in multiple countries, including Australia, Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Philippines, and Switzerland.

Imagine Dragons has released multiple EPs, including 2009’s “Imagine Dragons,” 2010’s “Hell and Silence,” 2011’s “It’s Time,” and 2012’s “Continued Silence” and “Hear Me.” The band released a live album, Live at Independent Records, in April 2013. [2] The band was nominated for three awards at the 2013 American Music Awards – New Artist of the Year, Favorite Band, Duo or Group – Pop/Rock, and Favorite Artist – Alternative Rock. Sermon further commented, “We try to match sound to song. We like to explore but still be true to our sound. It’s a balancing act. We want to be recognizable . . . the band’s main goal is to reach people with music that is beautiful at the core in melody, lyrics and structure. . . .We’re very much a rhythm kind of band with epic sounds. “In our case, we got a lot of little starts,” Sermon said. But it doesn’t matter if we’re playing to four or five people in a lounge or in a concert hall, we want to use our music to uplift people.

[1] Lead singer Dan Reynolds states that he “writes song lyrics from a very personal place.” He further remarked, I think we try to write music that takes the listener through a whole range of emotions. Some songs are sad, some are uplifting, some are introspective,” he said. “Above all, we try to write music that helps people cope with what can be a very hard life at times. We want to connect with the listener through the only means of communication we understand — art. Being a Mormon in the Rock Music World A person might think that being actively involved in a culture such as the rock music world would be extremely difficult for a member of The Church of Jesus Christ. However, Imagine Dragons’ guitarist, Wayne Sermon, has said that he does not find it difficult at all. In fact it is his faith and living by the precepts of the gospel of Jesus Christ that help to keep him focused and grounded. In the Deseret News article he commented, We’re different individuals but our band has always been about the music. One thing we all share is we are committed to making music and being a positive force in the world. Our goal is and has always been the same. We want to reach as many people as possible.

We want to go to Europe, to South America, all over the world, bring our music to as many people as we can. Lead singer, Dan Reynolds, commented, Our focus is on the music. We didn’t choose this career path for fame or parties, but rather to create something that we are all proud of that fulfills our desire to be an artist and to create. We aren’t the most eloquent or perfect people, but we just do our best to present something to society that hopefully makes someone’s hard day a little bit better. We have always just had the goal of making a living out of doing what we love. That has been the hope since the very beginning. [1] The Dream Continues Reynolds further stated that music is all that he has ever known, and all that he has ever wanted to do. He began writing music at the age of 13, and believed then, as he does now, that music can take him to places that he would not otherwise be able to go. This year the band returned to Europe and North America with the Night Visions Tour, announced 13 additional U.S. summer tour dates which also sold out, and then announced a North America Amphitheatre tour.

On 10 November 2013, the band will perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards. On Sunday, 24 November 2013, the band will perform at the American Music Awards Show. In addition to performing their music, members of Imagine Dragons also take time out to help others in need. For example, they have joined with the family of Tyler Robinson to start a charity named The Tyler Robinson Foundation which helps young people battling cancer. The Tyler Robinson Foundation In an email to the Deseret News, Shannon and Brent Robinson, parents of Tyler Robinson, wrote, “Tyler was an ordinary 16-year-old faced with an extraordinary challenge of being diagnosed with a rare soft tissue cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma — stage 4.” [3] Tyler knew that the diagnosis would change his life, but perhaps what he did not know, is that his story and legacy would touch the lives of many others as well. At the young age of 12, Tyler had a staff infection that became septic, causing him to spend several weeks in a Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Fortunately for him, at this young age he had begun developing “the resilience that would help him cope with near-death experiences.” [3] Four years later he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma which is a rare type of cancer most often found in children. At the time of the diagnosis, he was a junior at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. His treatment required 20 rounds of chemotherapy, an operation, and six weeks of radiation. With such an intense treatment, he would miss his junior year and some of his senior year of high school. Tyler is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others). In a letter which he shares on the Tyler Robinson Foundation website, he shares some of his feelings about how being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ has strengthened him. I remember going home and feeling so mad and depressed. I told my mom that I didn’t want to go through it — not a whole year of it. My bishop came over that night and gave me a blessing. He told me that people who go through hard things either become bitter and angry, or they learn from it and become stronger.

He told me that I had a choice to make. From that night on I chose to be the bigger man. This year I’ve learned to be patient, and no matter how bad I felt, I pushed through the pain,” he wrote in his letter online. “I found that there is no use complaining or feeling sorry for myself — it doesn’t help anything. Always try to stay positive and have faith.” [3] One of the things that helped Tyler get through his arduous treatments was his love for music. Imagine Dragons was just starting to become popular in Provo, Utah and a line from the song “It’s Time” which says, “the road to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell” took on a special meaning for him. According to his brother, Cole Robinson, the song became Tyler’s theme song. Not long after Tyler’s diagnosis, Tyler’s older brother Jesse Robinson let the band know he was bringing Tyler to their concert at the Velour in Provo, Utah. The band dedicated “It’s Time” to Tyler. While the band played it, Tyler’s brother Jesse lifted Tyler on his shoulders. As Tyler sang along intensely, the band’s frontman Dan Reynolds reached out to him, embracing him as they sang together.

In that moment, a bond was forged between Tyler and the band. [3] Tyler’s brother captured the moment on his cellphone and shared the video on YouTube , and the official Imagine Dragons “Demons” music video features the footage. After the concert and throughout Tyler’s treatments, he and the band stayed in contact with one another. Once the treatments were over, he was declared cancer free, but unbeknown to his doctors, the cancer had spread to Tyler’s brain, and in early 2013 he unexpectedly slipped into a coma and passed away on 4 March 2013. He was 17 years old. After Tyler’s death, the band contacted the family and told them that they wanted to create a foundation in honor of Tyler that became known as the Tyler Robinson Foundation. From Small Concerts to Grammy Awards Performance On Sunday, 26 January 2014, Imagine Dragons performed with Kendrick Lamar at the 56th annual Grammy Awards. E! Online commented: With Kendrick’s phenomenal stage presence and Imagine Dragons’ energy, this pair gave one of the best showings of the night (maybe ever?!). … Thank you, Kendrick and Imagine Dragons. This is what the Grammys is all about!

[2] The band won a Grammy in Best Rock Performance with “Radioactive,” and was also nominated for Record Of The Year with Daft Punk, Lorde, Bruno Mars and Robin Thicke. The award may have come as somewhat of a surprise to the band members, as according to a Rolling Stone magazine article, the band was not confident of winning any awards even though “Radioactive” was the third-biggest-selling track of 2013. “Let me just say we are definitely not going into this thinking we’re going to win a Grammy,” lead singer Dan Reynolds said in the article. “We’re up for Record of the Year, and ‘Radioactive’ was a big song. But songs like ‘Blurred Lines’ were huge. If I were a voter, I’d be like, ‘Robin Thicke was at the VMAs with his pin-striped suit, and Lorde is cute — and who are Imagine Dragons?

I have no idea what those dudes even look like!’ When that’s the take, you know you’re not going to win that award.” [2] The band members are ever mindful of the people that have helped them to get where they are today, and paid tribute to all of their loyal fans on their Facebook page. The band recently performed for the Beatles 50-year tribute on CBS television. Additional Resource: Imagine Dragons New Album 2016 Unlikely; Band To Continue With 'Smoke + Mirrors' Album Tour : TRENDING : Youth Health Magzine TRENDING Published February1, 2016 By Peter Ferrer Imagine Dragons New Album 2016 Unlikely; Band To Continue With 'Smoke + Mirrors' Album Tour Sign up to get the latest news delivered to your inbox every week! Please enter the valid email address. (Photo : Kevin Winter | Staff/Getty Images) American band Imagine Dragons, will show a cinematic recap of their massive Toronto show on March 2, 2016, where they performed in front of 15,000 people, in support of their new album "Smoke + Mirrors," which came out last year, according to Rolling Stone .

The concert was visually stunning and was directed by Dick Carruthers, who also worked with Beyoncé, Led Zepplin, The Killers and Oasis. Bringing the Toronto concert to cinemas will allow fans to relive that night, revealed Music News . Frontman Dan Reynolds spoke to pop culture magazine Rolling Stone about the film and the band's tight-knit fan community. Advertisement "We put out an album that hit hard, and I really feel like we have a community now from touring pretty relentlessly for eight years," said Reynolds. "I honestly feel like social media has been really important to us to help us really feel close to our fans, even though we haven't met." Imagine Dragons' singer was asked if the band will come up with a new album for 2016. The frontman laughed and said that they are always working on new music but he said that they are going to take some serious time off. Within the last year, the band has been to Europe, Asia, Australia and North and South America. He also added that they don't have plans to go into the studio anytime soon and he does not even know when.

The band has enjoyed the success of "Smoke + Mirrors," which was a special record for all the members of the group. For Reynolds, the album was dynamic and translated so well when played live. Advertisement "It's just a really emotional album and vulnerable," said the frontman. "For me, it made it more real every night to be able to get on stage. I didn't feel like I had to perform. It came easier 'cause I was able to get behind the songs and the lyrics because they were real things that I was going through." The singer shared in an interview, that he wrote their first album "Night Visions" over four years and sometimes when he performed the songs, it did not feel relevant anymore. Imagine Dragons will not be coming out with a new album for 2016. They recently had a concert at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland, reported FreeMagazine . Advertisement Imagine Dragons Frontman Dan Reynolds Gets an Iconic Mustang Fastback on American Restoration - Power & Performance News Imagine Dragons Frontman Dan Reynolds Gets an Iconic Mustang Fastback on American Restoration Share !

tweet Los Angeles-based car builder Bodie Stroud will customize a 1967 Ford Mustang for Dan Reynolds, lead singer of multi-platinum GRAMMY award-winning band Imagine Dragons, on the season finale of “American Restoration,” airing Friday, April 1 at 10/9c on HISTORY. Bodie Stroud has established himself as the premier car builder on the west coast and has also become the go-to custom car builder to the stars. Over the span of his career, Bodie has built cars for comedian Tim Allen, “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville, and A-list actor Johnny Depp. So it comes as no surprise that when Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds was looking to commission a custom built 1967 Ford Mustang, his first choice was Bodie. The Mustang will be revealed to Reynolds on the season seven finale of “American Restoration” Friday, April 1 at 10/9 p.m. CDT on HISTORY. Dan Reynolds came to Bodie with the idea of having a custom, handmade Eleanor-esque 1967 Mustang fastback built, but left the rest in Bodie’s capable hands.

His only other real requirement was that he wanted a car that he would be able to use as a daily driver and show off in-between gigs in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada or anywhere else in the world. “Bodie Stroud is hands down one of the most inventive and talented car builders in the industry today,” said Dan Reynolds. “I’ve dreamt of having a ‘67 Mustang since I was young and Bodie was absolutely the best man for the job – he is really good at keeping the classic integrity of the car while bringing his own creative modern twists to it. I can’t wait to see what he does with this project. I feel like a little boy on Christmas Eve.” In true BSI fashion, the changes on this car will be understated, but impactful on the overall appearance and ride of the Mustang. For its get-up-and-go, Bodie will put a Roush Performance supercharged 5.0 liter Coyote engine in the car and equip it with modern brakes from Wilwood. To make it sound like a real “Monster,” the car will have a custom-made exhaust from MagnaFlow.

Bodie will also equip the Mustang with custom BSI suspension to give it the handling of a modern sports car for the best ride in a classic car. “Building this Mustang for Dan was a great project,” said Bodie Stroud. “He was a great customer and I liked that he had a basic idea of what he wanted built, but let me build the car my way. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we reveal it to him on ‘American Restoration’ – he’s going to love this car.” The seventh season of “American Restoration” features five new shops across the country. Representing the west coast is Bodie Stroud Industries – the only shop to appear on all 13 episodes of the new series. For more information on Bodie Stroud Industries, visit and follow BSI on Instagram , Facebook and Twitter . Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds Says Band is Shocked by Success of ‘Radioactive’ | Audio Ink Radio Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds Says Band is Shocked by Success of ‘Radioactive’ Review by Charles Ken Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds on the band’s success: ‘We’re a little flabbergasted’ Imagine Dragons are something of a crossover success story.

After the band broke out with the alternative radio hit “It’s Time” last year, the guys have found themselves hitting the Top 40 chart with their new single, “ Radioactive ,” and being played alongside some of the biggest names in pop music. According to frontman Dan Reynolds, reaching Top 40 radio wasn’t the plan. “We had no idea that would happen. We’re a little flabbergasted,” he told Rolling Stone . Reynolds also says he believes Top 40 is more diverse these days. “There’s a lot of artists that opened the door for us,” he said. “We wouldn’t be where we are if not for groups like Foster the People, Mumford & Sons. [Pop] radio has changed a bit in recent years and allowed in these bands that are a little more alternative-leaning.” Reynolds says “Radioactive” was written about his “struggle with anxiety and depression.” He added, “It’s about becoming self-empowered and rising above that.

I wanted to write a masculine and primal song about conjuring and rising above human weakness.” Imagine Dragons are currently on the road is supported of their debut full-length, “Night Visions.” Check out the band’s full tour roster via the group’s official website . Dan Reynolds - Biography - IMDb Dan Reynolds Jump to: Overview (2) | Mini Bio (1) | Trivia (3) | Personal Quotes (3) Overview (2) 6' 4" (1.93 m) Mini Bio (1) Daniel Coulter Reynolds is best known for being the lead singer and frontman of the Grammy award winning band Imagine Dragons. Dan Reynolds was born on July 14, 1987. He is the seventh of nine children. He went to school at Brigham Young University but decided he wanted to pursue music as a career. He started the band Imagine Dragons with Wayne Sermon and the two of them later recruited both Ben McKee and Daniel Platzman. As of 2015, Imagine Dragons have released two studio albums. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Thomas Fulkerson Trivia (3) Married to Aja Volkman, the lead singer of the band Nico Vega. Lead singer of the band Imagine Dragons.

Is the seventh of nine children. Personal Quotes (3) [on how albums "Night Visions" and "Smoke + Mirrors" compare] The (new) record is very different than "Night Visions". I think "Night Visions", when I listen to it, sounds like Imagine Dragons five years ago, which was when we wrote that record. I think "Smoke + Mirrors" is definitely a more raw record. There are a lot of imperfections in it, which we kind of accepted about ourselves and embraced. Lyrically, it's a much more introverted record for me. With "Smoke + Mirrors", I really tried to just open up a little more -- and kind of go places that I've been afraid of going. The whole record is really a raw record, which I'm really proud of, you know? But it was scary for me. [on if he knew "Radioactive" would be such a hit] I honestly can tell you that we had no idea what people would think. I knew that it was a reactionary song. That's why we put it first on the record, because we wanted you to turn on this record and be like, "Whoa, this is really strange.

I haven't heard anything that sounds like this." For all I knew, people would hate it -- and some people do hate it. It's a divisive song. As a band, I'd rather be that than be kind of boring or just create something that just all sounds the same. [on how he found time to write new material for a new album while on tour for "Night Visions"] Fortunately for me, since I was young, my favorite hobby and pastime has always been writing. Even before I was in a band, I would come home from school, sit down on my computer and record. When I'm out on the road, I'm not much of a party animal. So when a show finishes, typically, I'm back at my hotel room. Opposed to going out to a bar or something like that, I typically sit in my room and pull out my laptop and record. That's always been kind of a therapeutic thing for me. It's like at the end of the day, some people read their book. I just love to write -- it's kind of like my journal entry at the end of each night.

See also Imagine Dragons on Fame, Depression and Conflicts With Mormon Faith Billboard | Billboard Austin Hargrave Imagine Dragons photographed on Feb. 3, 2015 at Milk Studios in Los Angeles, Calif. At this year's Grammys, during which artists from Katy Perry to Beyoncé sang earnest devotionals, Imagine Dragons staged a bold experiment in how to promote an album: They performed live in a four-minute TV ad for Target. Using 22 cameras, music video director Jonas Akerlund dramatically captured the band playing its soaring new single "Shots" in its entirety downtown in Las Vegas, the band's hometown. THIS COVER STORY FIRST APPEARED IN BILLBOARD MAGAZINE GET THIS WEEK'S ISSUE HERE OR SUBSCRIBE TO BILLBOARD HERE Put off by the overt, well, commercialism of the clip (which cost about $8 million in airtime), critics sniped at the group online. But Imagine Dragons -- which memorably mashed up "Radioactive," its breakthrough mega-hit and 2014's best rock performance Grammy winner, with Kendrick Lamar 's "M.a.a.d. City" on the 2014 telecast -- saw "Shots" leap from No. 99 to No.

26 on iTunes the next day. Interscope Geffen A&M vice chairman Steve Berman says, "We saw a big spike in preorders and awareness" for the group's new album, Smoke + Mirrors (out Feb. 17). Grammys 2015: Target's Imagine Dragons Commercial Break "We're an atypical band," says lead singer/ songwriter and founder Dan Reynolds, 27, a week before the Grammys. "We're not tatted-up, trying to make a statement. The spirit of rock'n'roll is not that you're living on the edge, that you're a cokehead -- those are just lifestyle choices." The most atypical thing about Imagine Dragons may be their towering success in an era where rock music struggles for a mass audience. (The name is an anagram of another name the group rejected, and now coyly refuse to divulge.) "Radioactive" sat on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-shattering 87 weeks, and the band's 2012 debut, Night Visions, went double-platinum in the United States. Rock radio no longer makes careers.

New bands that don't appeal to a specific segment of fans -- metalheads, say -- need top 40 radio to truly blow up. Only one other rock band has produced as many top 40 hits (three) since 2010: Fun (who, as Billboard recently reported , may be disbanding). "We have guitars and drums and bass, so people call us a rock band," says Reynolds. "But I love big, poppy melodies. And I'm not going to apologize for that." Imagine Dragons: The Billboard Cover Shoot Its label's savvy strategy (Interscope persuaded -- yes -- Target to carry the unproven band's debut album) and some lucky timing ("EDM was starting to be big, and 'Radioactive' was an alternative song with dubstep," says Reynolds) helped fueled an explosive start for the band. But now Imagine Dragons must strike a balance between rock and pop while attempting to match an unexpected smash of a first album. The Grammys-ad gambit could have triggered backlash (think: U2 's ill-fated freebie iTunes release). The response to, and sales of, Smoke + Mirrors will prove whether the band can truly help rock forge a new path.

Imagine Dragons consists of two pairs: the brooding duo of Reynolds and guitarist Daniel Wayne Sermon, 30, who can spend hours agonizing over a song mix through text messages; and the boisterous rhythm section of drummer Dan Platzman and bassist Ben McKee, both 28, who share a rented apartment. On Twitter, Reynolds tends to share broadly philosophical musings -- "I could spend a lifetime worrying about tmrw and yesterday. or I could live right now in the present moment-enjoying the feeling of now," he wrote on Feb. 11 -- that could appeal to virtually anyone. Indeed, Imagine Dragons fans, as he observes, come from all walks of life: "First it was college kids, then high school kids, then older people coming to our shows with their kids. Once you play on mainstream radio, you really get a lot of mainstream followers." 'My Entire Life, I've Been the Black Sheep in My Family': Imagine Dragons' Dan Reynolds on the Story Behind the Hit Single 'I Bet My Life' The guys have an easygoing camaraderie.

Over lunch one afternoon at Las Vegas restaurant Skinny Fats, Reynolds brings up the time McKee had to get bailed out of jail to make a concert. "Being naked on the Strip at night is not legal," Reynolds reminds him. "There were some bad choices being made," concedes McKee. "Vegas is a crazy place." The group kept craziness at bay during the recording of Smoke + Mirrors. It bought a house in a sketchy section of Las Vegas -- multiple drug stash houses populate the block, reportedly -- and built a recording studio within. (When the bandmembers drained the hot tub in a corner of the studio they discovered that it produced an excellent ambient sound for the drums if they put a microphone inside of it.) The band spent six months plugging away from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., tracking its progress on a whiteboard. The banker's hours allowed Reynolds and Sermon to go home to their families at night; Reynolds has a 2-year-old daughter, Arrow, and Sermon is father to a 6-month-old boy, River. "I don't like to go out; I don't like afterparties," says Reynolds.

"I don't live a typical rock-star life." Imagine Dragons' 'Radioactive' Ends Record Billboard Hot 100 Run As a kid in Las Vegas, Reynolds wanted to be an FBI agent. When he heard police sirens, he would follow them to the scene of the crime. (Cops remains one of his favorite shows.) He also grew up loving masters of rock melody like Elton John and Harry Nilsson. When he sang, his brothers would tease him about his guttural voice. But he learned the drums, and at around 12 years old, stole his older brother Mac's microphone and began recording a cappella songs of his own invention. "He was just a kid making videotapes with his brothers," says Branden Campbell, who plays bass for the band Neon Trees and grew up near the Reynolds family. "It was a very creative family. They would deflate a soccer ball, cut it in half and put it on their heads." After high school, Reynolds, who was raised Mormon, went on a two-year mission in Nebraska, proselytizing for the church and helping drug addicts. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, only to drop out and form Imagine Dragons.

"It was an extremely hard decision for me to make -- I come from a family where academia is priority one," says Reynolds. After the lineup solidified, the band relocated to Las Vegas. The other three members all attended the Berklee School of Music; until he quit, McKee paid his tuition with financial assistance from a California state scholarship for talented chemistry students. Hear Anthemic New Imagine Dragons Song 'Warriors' The band took any gig it could find, even opening for a mime at a local mall. They also played six-hour sets three nights a week at a casino's bar and grill, mixing originals with covers of The Cure , Rush and The Beatles . "We picked bands we loved and studied the songwriting," says Reynolds. One of the three EPs the band recorded got into the hands of British hip-hop producer Alex Da Kid (the man behind Eminem 's "Love the Way You Lie"), who wanted to collaborate with Reynolds -- writing songs for other people. "I didn't realize it was just one band," he says of the EP. "I thought it was the best songs from different bands." Instead, Alex Da Kid signed the band to KIDinaKORNER, his Interscope imprint, and executive-produced its debut.

The group toured relentlessly, made a video for "Radioactive" starring actor Lou Diamond Phillips and a bunch of stuffed animals, and saw Night Visions debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 . It remains on the chart after 127 weeks. Reynolds acknowledges that the last couple of years have brought many wonderful things. But he has been "depressed as hell" for a while, and sees a therapist. "It's lonely when your life changes like this," he says. "I've lost all my friends. It's not like we had some blowout arguments or that I feel I'm too cool -- the relationships feel false. Anytime I'm talking to someone, I feel they're just thinking about Imagine Dragons." He sighs. "Probably a lot of them aren't treating me differently. I just can't get over it." Reynolds' relationship with his wife, Aja Volkman, and their daughter grounds him. He met Volkman five years ago, when Imagine Dragons were opening up for her band, Nico Vega . He was immediately smitten when he saw her onstage, and waited hours after the show for a chance to talk to her. "We're both really weird people, but really open," he says.

"Our first question was, 'What do you believe?' " Volkman had recently left Scientology; Reynolds was full of doubts about Mormonism. They became best friends who talked daily on the phone and secretly wrote songs together telling the story of their relationship. A year later, they were in love. "The experience was magical," says Reynolds. Imagine Dragons Return with 'I Bet My Life' Single: Listen Although he was raised Mormon, Reynolds doesn't subscribe to all the church's tenets. "I don't necessarily agree with a lot of the culture that comes with it, but I still identify as Mormon," he says. "I like to think of myself more as a spiritual person." Reynolds has harbored these doubts since childhood; he used to write songs about them to play for his conservative parents, letting them know indirectly about his internal struggles. He comes from a large family, with seven brothers and one sister. "He suffered from some of the woes of being the seventh son," says Mac, who now manages Imagine Dragons. (Another brother, Robert, is the band's lawyer.) "That brought some insecurities -- it was difficult having older brothers who were valedictorians in high school." The religious mission proved to be the most difficult work Reynolds would ever do.

"I lived in the projects and would help mothers who were abused to get out of the situation or clean their houses before child services would come to take away their kids," he recalls. "It's super-heavy stuff for a 19-year-old." While he was never comfortable knocking on strangers' doors, being onstage has always felt natural to him. "A lot of time during the day I'll feel nervous, or have anxiety about talking to people," he says. "On-stage, I just don't." 'Radioactive' Explosion: How Imagine Dragons' Hit Has Conquered Multiple Radio Formats Backstage at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, three days before the Grammys, Imagine Dragons wait to play a short set and announce their North American tour of arenas: 39 dates with Metric and Halsey , kicking off June 3 in Portland, Ore. The band meets a group of Southwest Airlines representatives: six women, mostly blondes. Imagine Dragons will play live on a Southwest flight; other partners on this album include Jeep, Riot Games and the "What Happens in Vegas" campaign. Two of basketball superstar LeBron James' commercials, for Beats and Sprite, feature the band's music.

James recently retweeted a photo of himself wearing one of its T-shirts with the message, "Yes Sir my boys!! Keep being amazing!!" Imagine Dragons first partnered with Target last July, for the brand's All-Star Concert in Minneapolis, pegged to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. "We studied the Grammys, and people want more music," says Target vp marketing William White. "Everything about 'Shots' felt right for us." (Neither Target nor Interscope would say whether the band was paid for the ad.) "It never feels like an artistic compromise as long as it's about spreading the music," says Reynolds of the commercial tie-ins. He points out that cross-promotion exists everywhere: a song in a movie promotes the film, while a Grammys appearance helps the Grammys and CBS brands. Imagine Dragons Billboard Music Awards Q&A: On Future Islands, Twerking Selfies & More Back in its dressing room, the band eats lunch. "Why do they say green apples are better for you?" asks Platzman. "They have lower sugar content," McKee immediately answers. This inspires him to share his recipe for gluten-free peanut-butter cookies.

Platzman is gluten-intolerant; Reynolds has an autoimmune disease, and starch inflames his system. The band hits the stage, hypes its tour and answers questions tweeted by fans. Asked where he keeps his Grammy, Reynolds says he put it in his daughter's room. The audience swoons. "I see my baby girl," he then cracks, "and tell her that she's second place to my Grammy." The band plays for a half hour, and Reynolds visibly unstiffens. When he spots two fans whom he recognizes from gigs at The Viper Room five years ago, he thanks them by name. By the time the band finishes, with "Radioactive," Reynolds is howling and beating an enormous bass drum with a mallet. Offstage, Reynolds is sweaty, but not completely satisfied. "I pushed too hard on 'Radioactive,' " he says. "Stupid." Still he says, toweling off, "I love a song that makes you feel like an explosion." If he feels comfortable onstage, maybe it's because it's the only place he can truly erupt.

Imagine Dragons Band Bio Imagine Dragons Band Bio Hate 16 Rock band Imagine Dragons hails from Las Vegas, Nevada, and they shot to the top of the charts with their single "Radioactive" in 2012. Find out more in their Kidzworld Bio! Wayne Sermon, Dan Reynolds, Ben McKee and Daniel Platzman make up Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons are based out of Las Vegas "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons Utah University Imagine Dragons got started back in 2008 when lead singer Dan Reynolds discovered their guitarist Wayne Sermon while they were both at university, although Sermon was at a different school studying music . They started out as just another college band, little did they know they were gonna make it big one day! Las Vegas EPs Imagine Dragons recorded their first two EPs, the Imagine Dragons EP and Hell and Silence EP at Battle Born Studios in Las Vegas in 2010, and came back the next year to record another one, It's Time before signing a record deal. The group got their first big break when the frontman for rock heavyweights Train fell sick right before a festival in Las Vegas, and they got the opportunity to perform for 26, 000 plus people.

The crowds when wild, and they got lots of critical praise, and were called the "best local indie band" in Vegas by local press. Night Visions A couple of the original members of the band left before they really caught on, and now the lineup is Wayne Sermon, Dan Reynolds, Ben McKee and Daniel Platzman. The band finished recording their official debut album Night Visions in the summer of 2012, but they had already released a couple of their older songs with success before the "Radioactive" swept the airwaves at the end of 2012. Imagine Dragons on Trippy New Arena Show, Paul Simon Obsession - Rolling Stone Imagine Dragons on Trippy New Arena Show, Paul Simon Obsession 50 Most Anticipated Movies of 2017: 'Blade Runner,'...

Imagine Dragons on Trippy New Arena Show, Paul Simon Obsession "It’s not the greatest for having a life or a family, but onstage is where we like to be," says singer Dan Reynolds of touring Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds says the high-tech production of the band's summer arena tour will make fans "have to look twice at things to understand what’s going on." Credit: Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty All Stories Imagine Dragons weren't completely satisfied with their last arena tour, which was launched hastily in 2014 after "Radioactive" became a huge hit. "The first record blew up so fast that we didn't have any time to really get creative," frontman Dan Reynolds says of the shows in support of 2012's Night Visions. For their summer tour kicking off tonight in Portland, Oregon, Imagine Dragons worked with Nine Inch Nails' production team for a high-tech show that will reflect their new album, Smoke + Mirrors . "We're going to be playing with people's perspectives a lot and make them have to look twice at things to understand what's going on," says Reynolds, who also spoke to Rolling Stone about why touring is hard, his list of dream covers and why the band can play pretty much anything.

More News Exclusive photos from the band's performance inside a jet on their Destination Dragons tour You guys never really stopped touring since Night Visions. We started seven years ago by playing four times a week. We weren't a band doing one show a month. Since we were in Vegas, we could play all the lounges, so our lifeblood has always been the road. That's what keeps us happy as people. As human beings, we feel like we're most comfortable on the stage. It's not the greatest for having a life, a family, or steady things, but it's great for people who want to constantly be onstage and that's where we like to be. On the last tour you had a giant oval screen behind you. What will the production be like this time? We wanted to change it up. The first record blew up so fast that . . . it was, "Wow, suddenly we're playing theaters, amphitheaters and now arenas." It was a quick process. For this one, we had a year before we knew we were gonna play these arenas. We're working with a good company that did the Nine Inch Nails tour. They're just really tasteful and great artists that understood our vision. The production is completely different.

We did a very stripped-down version of it in South America, but in North America there's all these moving parts. It's going to be a full-scale arena production and we're really excited about it. How will it be different from the Night Visions tour? The title Smoke + Mirrors really runs well. We didn't want to create a magic show, but we wanted to play off visual confusion. The record is all about self conflict. It's an introspective record that's really trying to peel apart my life and see what's real and what's not real, so we wanted to display that onstage visually. There's a lot of playing with perspectives. There's a lot of really groundbreaking production that these guys are doing. They're really on the edge of what can be done with projection mapping and things like that and we haven't done that yet anywhere. From a songwriting standpoint, we're gonna be playing the entire new record as well as a bunch of the old record, which is refreshing because it was aggravating as a band to play festival headlining spots with only one record.

When you're the headliner and you're going on after a bunch of acts that have been around for years and have a huge repertoire, it doesn't feel good to play one record. It's just a difficult position to be in. It's tricky, but we're still figuring it out. Can you explain how you're going to use "projection mapping"? I don't want give away too much but it uses projection to create almost 3-D imaging. You project onto things you wouldn't normally project on. It plays with your sense of perception and your depth of perception and makes you take a second look at things. The main thing we wanted to do was for people to walk into the arena and enter the world of Smoke + Mirrors. We also worked with Tim Cantor, whose art will be incorporated throughout the live show. We wanted them to enter Smoke + Mirrors. We've really expanded everything, both sonically and visually, beyond watching just the band play onstage. Are you used to playing arenas at this point? I feel pretty comfortable. We did a whole arena tour at the end of the last record. Before that tour we did a full amphitheater tour and before that we did a full theater tour. We did a full U.S.

tour for Night Visions like three or four times. It was pretty ridiculous – even though this is our second record, it feels like our fifth tour in the U.S. But I feel pretty comfortable on a big stage now; in fact, I feel more comfortable on a big stage than a small stage. We did a small club tour and it totally brought me back to those venues from seven years ago and I realized I felt more accustomed to playing bigger rooms. You're known for playing left-field covers. You recently covered "Blank Space." Will you break that out on tour? I think we'll change it up, honestly. We always like to make ourselves a little uncomfortable. When we started, we had to learn over a hundred covers because in Vegas we were doing 50 percent covers, 50 percent originals. When you have to learn that many, it's nice to change it up. Every day we will be driving and something will come on and we'll say, "Let's figure that out." The musicianship of the guys is just great. They went to Berklee and are great musicians. I'm personally just trying to push them to their limit.

Before we even started the band, they were in this jazz-fusion guitar ensemble the Eclectic Electric. It was just as nerdy as you can get as a musician. Once you can play jazz, it's really the most difficult form of musicianship, so I'm just trying to get them to push themselves. I'm sure we'll play some weird things. I'm sure we'll pull out some things to push them. What will you suggest? I really want to do "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. I think that's actually a selfish choice, because Paul Simon is such an interesting melody writer. He fits in so many words but it doesn't feel clunky. It's totally his own thing that nobody else does. I'd love to cover that on tour, plus the vibe of it just feels so good. I've been listening to Graceland like crazy so I'm sure we'll pull a Paul Simon out. I've been listening to a lot of Brazilian music and world music. We love the Rolling Stones. Honestly, I haven't put much thought into it yet. We did "Toxic" by Britney Spears back in the day and it's just so difficult to do.

It's a really cool song, the production is super awesome, but it's really hard to do. Don’t Miss a Story Sign up for our newsletter to receive breaking news directly in your inbox. We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy How we use your email address Trending Ranked on a scale from 1 to 10, the trending score reflects the number of users reading a story in real time. What is this?

Question: Singer Dan Reynolds is the frontman of US band ‘Imagine’ what’?
Answer: Dragons