Since they first entered the studio in 2009, Imagine Dragons have created music straight from the heart. “When we’re in the studio making our music, we aren’t thinking about radio play and marketability. We just try to make music that we’re proud of,” Ben McKee, the band’s bassist, explains. “It’s Time,” a track from their most recent EP Continued Silence, has turned the spotlight to these men. This newly acquired popularity has not changed their sound or coerced them into writing to appeal to the masses.
Photographer: Harper Smith
“We didn’t feel pressured to write in any particular way,” says McKee. “We are who we are and we’re going to make the music that feels right to us. It’s been a great surprise to see that so many people have been able to feel a connection to the songs like we do.”“It’s Time” has been received incredibly well and was recently featured in the trailer for the film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower .“It’s really awesome to see our music being used in the Wallflower trailer. I don’t think that we could have hoped for a more appropriate story for “It’s Time” to be paired with,” McKee says.They hope for their music to find its way into other literary works as well.“It would be amazing to see something like ‘Radioactive’ being shown against one of The Hunger Games books.” Imagine Dragons have their first full-length album, Night Visions, coming out on September 4th.
“We picked the songs on Night Visions from nearly 100 demos that we had already written. It was a matter of distilling everything down to the ideas that seemed most interesting to us and then focusing our efforts on making those songs sound as good as we could,” McKee explains. “We’ve got some songs that we’re really proud of going on to this album and I think they speak for themselves.” Not only has the band been preparing for Night Visions, they have also been touring almost constantly.
“We don’t really think of ever being done touring. Usually our ‘down’ time is spent writing and rehearsing, unless we’re in the studio. We’ve lived the past 3 years on the road and don’t really have any plans to stop,” McKee reveals. “It’s more a matter of taking breaks that are just long enough for us to catch up with our families and friends before getting back to it.” Imagine Dragons will be stopping by Philadelphia in September for Radio 104.5’s last Summer Block Party of the year. This will be the band’s second time playing the area, but it will be quite like a new experience. McKee recalls, “Last time, we were blown away by how many people came out to support us. It was a great show, but we were on a tight schedule and really didn’t get to experience much of the city at all. It will be great to have more time to see the city this time around.”
Photographer: Harper Smith
Make sure not to miss Imagine Dragons play for FREE on September 8th at the Piazza and pick up their debut album, Night Visions, on September 4th!
by Emily Meenan
