Dragons closing in on San Diego – Interview with the Imagine Dragons

“There was just something sexy about it, it had this appeal,” said Wayne Sermon of Imagine Dragons, referring to seeing an electric guitar in a store when he was 12. Weeks later, on Christmas morning, it was his. “That Christmas was one of the best days of my life. Right from the start, I took lessons. I had a lot of great teachers and had a very academic approach to learning the guitar. In addition to the music I got in schools, I would say i would be playing 2-4, sometimes 9 hours a day.” And so began the musical career of Imagine Dragons’ lead guitarist, Wayne Sermon.

Imagine Dragons, an alternative rock/ pop band out of Las Vegas, Nevada will be performing in San Diego on Monday March 18, 2013 at the House of Blues. The band is made up of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman. Sermon, McKee, and Platzman attended Berklee College of Music in Boston while Reynolds attended Brigham Young University. Sermon met Reynolds through a mutual friend and they began chatting and casually jamming together. Sermon recalls, “I immediately knew Wayne was someone who could be a front man; I saw that in him right away. He has that “it” factor and he’s absolutely infectious in his energy.”

In 2009, Imagine Dragons came together and began playing in Las Vegas. “That first year was crucial for us,” says Sermon, “we’d go to a bar or lounge and say, ‘hey! we’re a band and we can play this list of songs…’ We begged small venues to let us try; we did that to make ends meet. And so we were constantly playing 4-6 hour gigs for money.” Nothing was easy for the band at first, in fact, Sermon said, “Every. Possible. Thing. That could have went wrong, went wrong! Including beers in the face… there’s no replacement for those years and those hours we put in.”

Fast forward to 2012 and their hit single’s music video was nominated as the best rock video of the year by MTV. Their Night Visions tour for their album of the same name is selling out across the nation.

“We found in those early years that the energy has to start with us and it has to come from some place honest. If we bring that to the stage, the audience will react. Dan is the catalyst for that and it’s why we’re successful!” Regarding the Imagine Dragon’s shows in California and San Diego, Sermon says, “the West Coast is my jam! At the end of the day, West Coast is my home.” Asked what he likes most about San Diego, Sermon responded, “Well I really like La Jolla Cove and seeing the seals. But the biggest thing is in San Diego, the band always stops for California Burritos! It’s like comfort food, or mama’s cooking in a burrito!” Sermon concluded by saying, “Definitely look for us! We love playing live, it’s why we got into it. We bring a lot to the table and we’d like to share!”