New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Alternative pop rockers PARADISE FEARS have an astoundingly dedicated fanbase, and in support of their new full-length album LIFE IN REAL TIME out today (12/4) on DigSin Records, the band decided to load up the tour bus and hit the road to thank them face-to-face. Fans who pre-ordered a physical copy of the album were eligible to win a private show and hang time with the band in their hometown. Over 500 entries came flooding in, with many including personal messages to the band. Some fans shared intimate details of their life and personal stories; many explained why PARADISE FEARS means so much to them, sent in photos of the song lyrics they have tattooed and more.
"We've spent four years making all different kinds of music, in all different kinds of ways, and the only thing holding it together has been these people surrounding us," the band shares of their decision to personally visit fans. "They let us into their lives, they took us into their homes-often literally-and they grew up with us. This album is important to us and it felt important to share it first with the people who are the most important to us."
The private bus shows kicked off earlier this week in Charleston, WV on Tuesday (12/1) and
Silver Spring, MD on Wednesday (12/2), followed with three separate performances and visits yesterday (12/3) in Sewell, NJ, Wilkes-Barre, PA and Scranton, PA. Today (12/4), the band stops in Boston, MA before hitting New York City December 5, both Sayreville, NJ and West Chester, PA December 6, Pittsburgh, PA December 7, Sterling Heights, MI December 8 and Glenview, IL December 9. The tour will conclude in Nashville, TN next Friday, December 11. All said, PARADISE FEARS will cover over 2600 miles in 11 days.
Originating in a small town in South Dakota, and without the help of management or label support, PARADISE FEARS built a remarkably widespread and loyal following, with hundreds of thousands of fans subscribed online and millions of streams on Spotify and YouTube (over 12 million views). Their impressive touring and online audiences serve as a testament to the band's tireless ethic and complete control of their own creative process.
PARADISE FEARS—Sam Miller (vocals), Cole Andre (vocals, rhythm guitar, samples, mandolin), Jordan Merrigan (lead guitar, trumpet), Michael Walker (keys, vocals), Marcus Sand (bass)-released their independent debut Yours Truly in 2011 followed by 2013's "8-song mini-album"
Battle Scars and the 2014 single "Who We Were With" which has garnered over 4.7 million streams and counting.
The 12 songs on LIFE IN REAL TIME echo the experiences and events the band lived through in the past two years, with their vivid, cinematic storytelling driving the album. That makes the stories on tracks like "Reunion" all the more tangible. A stark piano resounds as Sam relays a night in a bar with old friends with stirring conviction and heartfelt delivery of the line, "I'm so lonely, at least I'm not alone." Elsewhere, "
Back To Life" tempers handclaps and bristling electronics with a theatrical swing and anthemic refrain.
"We often write in first person," Sam shares. "It's intended to be personal, and the author is the character the lyrics are about. The songs are little snapshots of experience. People can translate these stories to their own lives and viewpoints and interpret them personally."
Early album reviews indicate the media is taking notice. Jim Villanueva of All
Access Music writes, "…the songs that appear on Life In Real Time are sonic landscapes that often take your breath away due to the sheer majesty of the music and the complexity of composition. Universal themes of loneliness and loss, fear and freedom are tackled head on and presented via vibrant verses and colorful choruses that in the end are designed to make the listener feel he or she knows exactly what the band is talking about, because they've been there too."
The band has also announced that their first show of the new year will take place at Webster Hall in New York City on Saturday, January 2. The headlining show will also feature appearances from special guests. Tickets are on sale now here. PARADISE FEARS has toured alongside Parachute, The Cab,
Andy Grammer and most recently The Rocket Summer.
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