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Right Where They Want to Be
Imagine Dragons on Writing Songs, Ass-Kicking Pink Puppets and Their Rise to Top
After a few years of grinding out lives as working musicians, i.e. playing covers in Las Vegas casino lounges—the members of Imagine Dragons were seriously considering hanging it up. Then they wrote a song that perfectly described what was happening in their lives and ca
Imagine Dragons on Writing Songs, Ass-Kicking Pink Puppets and Their Rise to Top
After a few years of grinding out lives as working musicians, i.e. playing covers in Las Vegas casino lounges—the members of Imagine Dragons were seriously considering hanging it up. Then they wrote a song that perfectly described what was happening in their lives and careers, which resonated with others struggling to make it. “It’s Time” may have been written about a moment in the life of Imagine Dragons but it described what was going on with a whole lot of other artistic folks in this age of austerity. When the world is kicking your ass, an anthem about clawing your way back from the edge of the abyss turned out to be a timely soundtrack for a beaten up planet, yearning for a comeback.
“That song was started on Dan’s laptop,” says guitarist Wayne Sermon. “I think he was just at his kitchen table. It was late one night and he just started stomping and clapping and singing a simple melody. And that was really the birth of it.”
Now that “It’s Time” has gone platinum, its debut album Night Visions has been released and the band has embarked on its first headlining tour (supported by Atlas Genius), success seems like it was only a matter of time for Imagine Dragons. But early on, the band wasn’t confident about the inevitability of their ascension.
“I think he [Dan Reynolds] was going through some tough times on a personal level and the band had been together for a couple years. And we were sort of at a crossroads,” Sermon explains. “Do we keep doing this or do we try something else? And ultimately the decision was made to keep going and to keep writing and to keep playing as a band. And that song was written right at that time.”
“Radioactive,” the second single from Night Visions—anchored by a dark, analog-textured synth bassline—is already getting solid airplay on modern rock radio stations.
The video for “Radioactive” is far more lighthearted than their first but describing it would take a whole other article. A longer article too. All I’ll say is that at one point Lou Diamond Phillips gets his ass kicked by a pink puppet with glowing eyes and a killer left hook. “We sort of wanted to do something a little off-the-wall with the video,” says Sermon. “I think everyone was sort of expecting another post-apocalyptic thing but we didn’t want people to think we take ourselves so seriously all the time, and it kind seemed like a fun idea.”
Following the lead of other bands who find success in Sin City, Imagine Dragons have decamped to Los Angeles. “I have some friends there and I’ve been there sporadically throughout my life and I actually haven’t spent that much time there yet,” Sermon says. “But living there has been pretty incredible.”
Despite his enthusiasm for the many wonders that await him back in the Golden State, Sermon says the band is right where they want to be right now—on tour and loving every minute of it. “To be in the headlining spot—there’s nothing like it,” he says. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for, for years. And it’s everything it’s cracked up to be. It’s incredible.”
Sin Win
Imagine Dragons axe-man Wayne Sermon can’t seem to stop gushing about Las Vegas: Even though the guitarist declined to offer up his personal views on medical-grade cannabis (“You know, I don’t’ really have an opinion on that,” Sermon tells CULTURE.), the guitarist sure isn’t shy about how Sin City inspires bands. “I know Vegas has definitely had an effect on us and who we are as a band,” Sermon told Diffuser.fm last year.
