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, everything…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 stories…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."
Warrior
Paradise Fears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fighting this illusion of me
Stuck in the shadows
Of the person I'm supposed to be
And lines got blurred
Somewhere in between
My fathers son
And I felt empty
What's left of me?
There's a soul
There's a pulse
There's a warrior
There's a hole where my heart used to be
Now I'm filling it up with all the things
I always said I'd be
I always said I'd be
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
So I let you in
But I'm so scared of what you'll see
Just skin and bones
Hiding this monster inside of me
And I don't need much
I just need a little room to breathe
And I need you
But I'm not so sure you need me
And I felt empty
What's left of me?
There's a soul
There's a pulse
There's a warrior
There's a hole where my heart used to be
Now I'm filling it up with all the things
I always said I'd be
I always said I'd be
There's a soul
There's a pulse
There's a warrior
There's a hole where my heart used to be
Now I'm filling it up with all the things
I always said I'd be
I always said I'd be
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
Woah oh oh
The lyrics to "Warrior" by Paradise Fears explore the concept of personal identity and the struggles one can face in finding and accepting who they truly are. The singer of the song has spent a year fighting against the illusion of themselves, trapped in the shadow of the person they are expected to be. This struggle has caused their sense of self to become blurred as they try to reconcile being their father's son with the "twisted fantasy" of who they should be.
Despite feeling empty and unsure of what's left of them, there's a glimmer of hope in the form of a warrior inside of them. The song speaks to the importance of recognizing this inner strength and using it to fill the hole where their heart used to be. The singer acknowledges their need for someone else in their life, but fears being vulnerable and showing the monster inside of them. Ultimately, they hold onto the belief that they can become the person they always said they'd be.
The chorus of the song is powerful and uplifting, with the repetition of "there's a soul, there's a pulse, there's a warrior" emphasizing the strength that lies within us all. The lyrics also touch on the idea that our sense of self is constantly evolving and that it's okay to struggle in finding our place in the world.
Overall, "Warrior" is a song that encourages listeners to embrace their inner strength and persevere through their struggles in finding their true identity.
Line by Line Meaning
I've spent twelve months
I have spent a year
Fighting this illusion of me
Fighting the perception of myself that is not really me
Stuck in the shadows
Hidden away or feeling overshadowed
Of the person I'm supposed to be
Of the person I'm expected to become
And lines got blurred
The distinction between things became unclear
Somewhere in between
In the middle of two things
My fathers son
Being the son of my father
And their twisted fantasy
Their distorted or unrealistic idea of who I should be
And I felt empty
Feeling a lack of purpose or meaning
What's left of me?
What remains of my true self?
There's a soul
I have a soul
There's a pulse
I am alive
There's a warrior
An inner strength or bravery
There's a hole where my heart used to be
A sense of emptiness or loss of emotions
Now I'm filling it up with all the things
Now I'm finding myself and my purpose
I always said I'd be
I always knew who I wanted to become
So I let you in
I allowed someone else to see the real me
But I'm so scared of what you'll see
Scared of being vulnerable and being judged
Just skin and bones
Barely alive or just a shell of a person
Hiding this monster inside of me
Hiding my inner demons or flaws
And I don't need much
I don't need many things to be happy
I just need a little room to breathe
I just need space and time to think and be myself
And I need you
I need someone to support and care for me
But I'm not so sure you need me
Unsure if the other person truly needs or wants me
Woah oh oh
Refrain
Writer(s): Samuel Miller Copyright: Sam Miller Pf
Contributed by Josiah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
elli griffin
One of the most underrated bands in the world! incredibly inspirational with great passion and they deserve more popularity! Thank you Sammy for giving me hope when I had none <3
jayne wielder
I completely agree! I don't see why more people don't like them!
i iz a couch potato
i know and they help so many people
Rebecca Jones
"Stuck in the shadows of the person I'm supposed to be."
One of my favorite quotes now! =]
Sixth Sensory ASMR
They are true art. The lyrics, the music and the video. For a channel with less than 100k subscribers they still manage to produce the most artful videos I've ever seen.
Arina
I found them literally 10 minutes ago and they're filling my heart with hope! Oh my gosh, this is a miracle. Thank you, Paradise Fears. Thank you, so, so much. <3
Windrunner Radiant
I found this band a few days ago and it is one of the best things that has happened to me for the last month
Jtt
This band truly needs more hype. Incredible.
Pyrotechnic Edge
This video is so inspirational, and the lyrics actually have meaning. That is my favourite thing about this band, their lyrics make them so different from other bands and every time I hear this song, I know that I will always remember Paradise Fears. I have never heard any song I liked more than a Paradise Fears song.
Morgan Attwood
You know that moment when life is really shit and you've just had a really miserable day, and then you find the perfect song that you SO needed to hear? That just happened to me. What's even weirder is that I've known of Paradise Fears for years, but only just found this song. The Universe works in mysterious ways, I suppose :')