June 14, 2010 was a big day for six high school/ college students in Vermil… Read Full Bio ↴June 14, 2010 was a big day for six high school/ college students in Vermillion, South Dakota.

June 14, 2011 will be a bigger day.

On the former, they decided to put off the next year of college, giving themselves 365 days to make a career out of rock n' roll.

On the latter, Paradise Fears will release "Yours Truly," their debut full-length album, as one of the most potent and rapidly-growing young pop rock acts in the country.

In July 2010, just months after the majority of the band's high school graduation, they released Make Them Believe EP, produced by Jordan Schmidt (All Time Low, Sing it Loud). In just 8 months, the album has sold several thousand copies nation-wide, and the band's career has taken off. They've completed nation-wide tours with Quietdrive and Floral Terrace across 32 different states, and have shared the stage with acts like Stereo Skyline, The Audition, and You, Me, and Everyone We Know.

Coming from a town of 3,000 year round residents in a state noted for its lack of a music scene, nothing has come easy. But these six kids grew up fast. "It's been an entirely self taught process...with a very steep learning curve. We've had to teach ourselves how to promote, how to book shows, how to tour, how to record, everythingâ€¦but it gives us a very unique approach, because in our area, what we're doing is so unprecedented that we haven't fallen victim the generic, cookie-cutter career path, and instead we've received a tremendous amount of support from our home town." explained lead singer Sam Miller.

Though they may be young, Paradise Fears has several things going for them:

First, an incredibly energetic and engaging live show that can win over even the most uninterested bystander, described by one Battle of the Bands judge as "N'Sync meets a UFC cage match." They were crowned champions of a 65-band, Midwest-wide Battle of the Bands in October, sponsored by Rawkzilla magazine, scoring them $14,000 in endorsements, equipment, and cash. Their performance, described by Paul Pederson (Prince, Steve Miller band), was "absolutely spectacular, one in a million, and completely breath-taking."

Second, an arsenal of infectiously catchy and musically developed rock-pop songs, some of which received airplay on top 40 radio stations throughout the Midwest. David Hooper of Music Business Radio described Make Them Believe as "catchy and remarkably polished, particularly given the age [of the members.]"

Third, an incredibly loyal internet following of all different ages. In just 8 months, their Facebook, Twitter, and social networking profiles have acquired tens of thousands of fans/ followers, and are still rapidly expanding by hundreds daily. "One of the best parts about our style of music has always been that it's not limited - it's the kind of music that someone can appreciate with their 12-year-old sister or their 70-year-old grandmother," said keyboard-player Michael Walker.

Finally, and most importantly, an insatiable drive for success. Paradise Fears is constantly touring or recording, and when they aren't, they're exploring new and creative ways of expanding their fan base. Most recently, the band split into three teams, racing around the country following large tours in a competition to meet the most potential listeners. 50,000 miles, 10,000 demos, and 5,000 CDs later, their "Amazing Race" has created both hundreds of fans and a Paradise Fears buzz in every major market in the United States.

The large-scale release of a full-length album will be a huge step forward in the band's career. Recording time for "Yours Truly" was split between Schmidt and Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (Mayday Parade, Cartel). It will feature 11 new songs, tremendously evolved in music and lyrics. "It's a new found maturity for us...these songs are real. We wrote songs about people we love, songs about people we hate, songs that tell storiesâ€¦it's an album full of songs we really love," described guitarist Cole Andre.

But why so independent? Says Miller, "That's the way we want to do it, and the dream we've always envisioned. We're financing it, we're writing it, we're releasing it, we're promoting it. It started out as just the six of us, and come good or come bad, we've still always got that. We're committed to being able to make it ourselves."

Advice
Paradise Fears Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm taking advice on love and how to make it
And I'm trying not to break it
Before it even starts
My favorite distraction
She's making failure fashion
The cameras roll, we lose control
Of where tonight will end
We trade our confidences

And lower our defenses
But in the final scene
I leave the screen to leave me wondering
Why do I get so bored,
Why can't I just find a love that's worth the wait
Instead of wasting time
With every line rehearsed and every smile so fake
And in the end I leave much more than I take
And now I see that we can never be
I was breaking hearts and you were dashing dreams
Now I learned one thing:
That we don't believe the promises we keep (the promises we keep)
Here's what sins are made of
She cannot be persuaded
I missed her heart a million times
And God knows I have tried
To shoot her with an arrow
Of Cupid's own design
The problem is I always miss and hit a passerby
Why do I get so bored,
Why can't I just find a love that's worth the wait
Instead of wasting time
With every line rehearsed and every smile so fake
And in the end I leave much more than I take
And now I see that we can never be
I was breaking hearts and you were dashing dreams
Now I learned one thing:
That we don't believe the promises we keep
She's so alone
She's so alone
It's taking everything in me to leave
It's taking everything in me just to say your name
It's a constant reminder to me
That I will never be whole again
I'm taking advice on love and how to make it (make it)
And I'm trying not to break it (break it)
Before it even starts
Why do I get so bored,
Why can't I just find a love that's worth the wait
Instead of wasting time
With every line rehearsed and every smile so fake
And in the end I leave much more than I take
And now I see that we can never be
I was breaking hearts and you were dashing dreams

Now I learned one thing:
That we don't believe the promises we keep (the promises we keep)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Paradise Fears's song "Advice" are about the struggles of finding true love and maintaining a relationship. The singer expresses his desire to seek advice on how to make love work, but he fears breaking it before it even starts. He is distracted by a girl who makes "failure fashion," implying that she has a history of failed relationships. They lower their defenses and trade confidences, but eventually, the relationship comes to an end. The singer wonders why he gets so bored and why he cannot find a love that is worth the wait instead of wasting time with fake lines and smiles.

The second verse talks about the singer's attempts to win the girl's heart through various methods, including shooting her with Cupid's arrow. Despite his efforts, he always misses and hits a passerby. The singer acknowledges that the girl is so alone, but leaving her is taking everything in him. He realizes that he needs advice on how to make love work and not break it before it even has a chance to start. In the end, he learns that promises are not always believed, and relationships are not always worth the wait.

Overall, the song's message is about the difficulties of finding and maintaining a fulfilling relationship, the consequences of fake lines and false smiles along the way, and the need for advice that can help us achieve real love.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm taking advice on love and how to make it
I'm seeking out guidance on how to maintain a successful relationship

And I'm trying not to break it
I'm attempting to avoid damaging the relationship before it even begins

Before it even starts
I'm concerned that the relationship may not work out before anything significant has even occurred

My favorite distraction
The girl I'm interested in is the main thing that occupies my thoughts and time

She's making failure fashion
She seems to be embracing and celebrating relationship failures

The cameras roll, we lose control
When we're in the spotlight, we tend to forget ourselves and behave differently

Of where tonight will end
We're unsure of how this night and our relationship will progress

We trade our confidences
We share our personal secrets and stories with one another

And lower our defenses
We allow ourselves to be vulnerable and open with each other

But in the final scene
At the end of it all, when everything is said and done

I leave the screen to leave me wondering
I'm left with unanswered questions and doubts about our relationship

Why do I get so bored,
I'm easily uninterested in and dissatisfied with relationships

Why can't I just find a love that's worth the wait
I'm struggling to find a meaningful and fulfilling relationship that is worth the effort and time invested

Instead of wasting time
Rather than investing time in a false or unsuccessful relationship

With every line rehearsed and every smile so fake
The conversations and emotions shared are insincere and planned out in advance

And in the end I leave much more than I take
I leave behind a trail of disappointed and unhappy partners

And now I see that we can never be
I've come to realize that our relationship is simply not meant to work out

I was breaking hearts and you were dashing dreams
I caused emotional pain and disappointment while she built up a false hope for a successful relationship

Now I learned one thing:
I've gained a valuable lesson

That we don't believe the promises we keep
We often make false promises of love and commitment that we struggle to uphold

She's so alone
She exists in a state of loneliness and isolation

It's taking everything in me to leave
I feel a strong urge to stay despite the knowledge that it's best to go

It's taking everything in me just to say your name
I'm struggling to even vocalize her name because of the emotional attachment and conflict

It's a constant reminder to me
The thought of her is a continuous and painful reminder of a lost opportunity

That I will never be whole again
I feel like a part of me is missing and that the relationship has left an emptiness within me

I'm taking advice on love and how to make it (make it)
I'm willing to listen to and actively pursue guidance to create a lasting and meaningful relationship

And I'm trying not to break it (break it)
I'm making an effort to not let my own flaws or past experiences damage the relationship

Before it even starts
I'm committed to building a solid foundation for a successful relationship from the very beginning

Contributed by Adrian W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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