1. 12/02/2016Ellie Cobbett – ParamoreBehind Closed Doors
Since the release of their 2016 album ‘We Don’t Need To Whisper’, Paramore have become a hot topic across
the world which isn’t a shock as the American duo work hard to give you inspirational music. The album is
bigger than any album they’ve released before including previous singles such as ‘These Streets’, ‘Oblivion’ and
‘What Went Wrong’.
When did you guys first meet?
S: “Whenever we get this question I always get tempted to make up some interestingstory, but in reality we
justmet at a littlegigthrough a mutual friend. I was never going to go to the gig because the followingday I
was meant to be leavingto go to Alabama so it’s justweird to think what I would be doing rightnow if I never
went.”
A: “We justclicked and from then on I knew we’d be best friends for life”
What were things like before the band?
A: Well I never went to college so I was workingin a small café.I did littlegigs every now and then but
realistically itwas getting me nowhere. I remember askingmy mum if she was disappointed how I was working
on minimum wage and her responsehas stuck with me ever since.She said ‘It’s not about how much money
you earn, it’s about the person you are and I’m so proud of who you’ve become’. That motivated me to pursue
my musical career further. Not long after, I met Sophia and things have been going uphill fromthen on.
So how did the band actually form?
A: At firstwe justdeveloped a good friendship and then everything started fallinginto place.Westarted
getting opportunities where we were both playingmusic together and people started to tell us how uniquewe
were as a duo. Then one night we were in my basement and Sophia turned round to me and said ‘Maybe this
could be more than justa hobby’
S: I think it’s cool that we juststarted out as friends for a year or so and developed that trust that you have to
have. Looking back now it’s pretty importantthat we did that because it’s one of the main things that made us
feel comfortable writingtogether and expressingboth of our feelings in the music.I remember the firsttime
we played livetogether in the local community;itall seemed to make sense to me. I justknew I wanted to play
music with Ana and be creativeand see where ittook us. Now here we are.
What kind of genres and artists influence the kind of music you produce?
A: I’d say the kind of music we make all comes down to the type of music that Sophia and I listen to, which is
all kinds of genres. I think we justtake bits and pieces from loads of different genres to create our own style.
S: A lot of our music is influenced by our fans,especially as westarted to meet more whilsttravellingthe
world. I think we both learnt that everyone feels the same and everyone has the same issues.Westarted to
have people tellingus how they relate to our music and how much it helps them through their problems so we
started to do more to try to tell them we understand what they’re going through.
What do you think it is about you two that draws people in?
S: I mean, well, I hope it’s mostly the music that people are drawn to. But not justthe sound of the music,I
think the lyricsand the messages the songs create arewhy people are attracted to us.Most i mportantly, we’re
justhonest in our music and we talk about things that aremore important than stupid stuff that’s on the radio
nowadays.
A: Also I think when we play liveshows,we try to be as energetic as possibleinstead of juststandingthere
playing.It’s all aboutthe way the music makes us feel so by Sophia and I being energetic on stage, itgives the
audiencea reason to join in with us and it justmakes the atmosphere ten times better.
Is there any song that’s especially meaningful to you on the new album?
2. A: I think ‘Kitchen Sink’ is one of the songs that holds the most meaning for both us and our fans.It’s a
message to the fans tellingthem how to cope with the problems they’re goingthrough regardless of who else
understands their struggles.