'Panic' thriving as duo

[afeveryoucantsweatout]

Two heads are better than four for Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie.

Nearly two years after his emo-rock outfit downsized from a quartet to a duo -- a shift that would have derailed many bands -- the frontman insists it was the best move they could have made.

"Definitely," says the 23-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist. "I'm glad we did it. We wanted to do different things. If we had stayed together and tried to force a record out now, we probably wouldn't be happy with it. And we probably would have broken up anyway.

"Instead, it's kind of a new start for us. There are fewer options to work through, fewer cooks in the kitchen. Now it's whatever the two of us decide."

Shortly after parting ways with guitarist/chief songwriter Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker in 2009, Urie and drummer Spencer Smith decided a) to retain their name; b) remain a duo; c) reclaim the exclamation point that vanished from their name between their first two albums.

More importantly, they've also reconnected with their musical heritage on their new Vices & Virtues, balancing the energized emo of their 2005 debut A Fever You Can't Sweat Out with the dramatic retro-pop of 2008's sophomore CD Pretty. Odd.

A few days before previewing Vices & Virtues (and introducing new touring guitarist Ian Crawford and bassist Dallon Weekes) during an energized, well-received set at South by Southwest, the affably motor-mouthed Urie talked my ear off about closing doors, writing songs instead of tragedies, and his musical douchiness.

I see the exclamation point is back. What should we read into that?

It is back. But I wouldn't read too much into that. We never did. Maybe that was the problem. We kind of shrugged it off and didn't think it really mattered, then all of a sudden it became this thing people were talking about. It was kind of funny.

This is your third different lineup in three albums. What's the deal? Are you and Spencer impossible to deal with?

Ha! Maybe that's what it is! That's what I needed to hear! Nah, with Ryan and Jon, we were just heading in different directions. They wanted to do something else musically and we wanted to stay more in line with what we had done in the past. At first it was kind of difficult. When we first started talking about splitting up, it seemed personal because music is so personal to us. So we actually didn't talk to Ryan and Jon for a month. That was just really immature, looking back on it. But it didn't take long for us to contact each other and say, 'This is stupid.' We're still friends.

Did you think about calling it a day or changing the name?

We kind of humoured the idea of starting a new band with a different name, but that didn't last too long. We quickly decided to stick with Panic, because it's more in line with what we want to do and what we've done. And we're still very proud of the name.

Was it intimidating making the album with just the two of you?

It was definitely different. As a four-piece, we'd always bounced ideas around, so you didn't really have to come with a lot. You could throw out a minute-long idea and somebody else would add 30 seconds. But this time, I had to write a three-minute idea. That was tough, because my ADHD gets the best of me. I tend to jump from idea to idea. So I had to focus my attention. But the most intimidating thing was lyrics. I never considered myself a lyricist, but I had to step up to the plate. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to voice the emotion or the message I was trying to convey, and the best way to do that was with the music. But when it came to recording, I love playing all the instruments. It tickles my ego to play everything but the drums. That was such a treat.

Yeah, you play all the guitars and keyboards here, along with accordion and strings. How can you be proficient at so many instruments?

I don't know if this sounds douchey, but it's always been kind of easy for me. Ever since I was a little kid, I've had this natural ability to look at something, fiddle around with it for a few minutes, and pick it up pretty quickly. I'm very fortunate in that sense. To this day, if I see something new, I have to try it. I saw an accordion five years ago and went, 'Oh my God, I have to try that.'

What's the strangest instrument you play?

I tried didgeridoo one time but I wasn't too good. You really have to get that lip buzz going. It's not easy. I've tried bagpipes too and that's hard, man! Your cheeks have to be superstrong. It's all in the cheek power.

Are you going to continue as a duo or do you want to find permanent members?

That's a difficult process, finding people that you can not only live with on the road but also work with creatively. It's always a struggle. We lucked out on our first record when we found each other. Right now, our friends Dallon and Ian have agreed to tour with us. But we haven't really talked about bringing them on as permanent members, to be honest. It's just been up in the air because we've been so busy. Maybe we should talk about it soon, though. I wouldn't mind.

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