#euro2

here's a fan's translation of this Danish interview with 20-year-old Ryan from October 2006 that included an original picture.

Far From Las Vegas

Brendon, Jon, Spencer, and Ryan of Panic! At the Disco got a huge hit with ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’, and have played hundreds of concerts around the world. Tonight it’s Denmark’s turn. Outside of the concert hall sits a big group of fans waiting anxiously, even though there’s six hours til the concert even begins! Frikvarter meets with the guitarist Ryan just before the concert. “I woke up this morning, and the fans were here already – they’re crazy over here.”

Ryan misses his hometown Las Vegas, so we pretend to be at a Casino accessorised with a fox, red lipstick, high heels for me, and a Derby for Ryan, which he refuse to replace with his own. “Why is a fox Las Vegas-like?,” asks Ryan, who falls slightly out of the atmosphere with his fingerless gloves, furry(?) hat and eyeliner, even though it’s him who should be in control of the Vegas style. “Wow, it still has claws,” he mumbles, while he still thinks this is far from Las Vegas.

Too Young For The Casino

I explain to Ryan that we’re going to play Blackjack to really get into the Las Vegas mood. “It’s a bit awkward to play Blackjack when you’re only two, but let’s try,” he says while shuffling the cards.

"You must be quite the professional, seeing that you live in Las Vegas. Do you often go to Casinos at home?”

Ryan wrinkles his nose: “I’ve been there one time, but you have to be 21, and I’m only 20, so I got kicked out. I lied and said, that I had forgotten my ID, but they didn’t believe me. Then came a big bodyguard, so I walked away quietly without any arguing/causing any trouble.”

But Ryan is used to playing with the rest of the band: “We always play dice and Blackjack on our tourbus. Can you go to casinos here in Copenhagen?” “Yes, of course. And you only have to be 18.” “Cool, then Brendon can join too!” We laugh and continue playing. Ryan comments on the game, while he’s winning: “You have fifteen, and I have eight,” he gives me a card more: “And you just lost a 100 dollars!” “Hey I didn’t think we played for money. I’m dealing now!”

Gambled Their Way to Success.

“You’ve given me all the good,” Ryan practically yells. “And a bad one for you, and another one – damn, you suck at this!” “Do you always win?,” I ask, putting the cards aside. I’m going to losing any more. “The first time I played, I won a lot, but otherwise no.” “Do you have to gamble a little in the music-industry?”

“Yeah. I’ve gambled a lot with my life because of this band. I got a scholarship, so I could go to college for free, but I gave all that up so I could play music. It was hard in the beginning; we had no money, we drove around in a van, and when we performed there were never more than fifteen people in the audience. We were just lucky that we didn’t have to live like that for long. But if you don’t gamble, you end up being boring or nothing at all. And we do not want to be a safe band, neither with our songs nor our shows.”

I wished Ryan good luck with the concert, and went home – a 100 dollars poorer.

from late October 2006

the band was asked about their favorite songs or albums many times throughout the Fever era, so it was fun to see how some answers changed slightly over time. Also, Jon usually found a way to give a friend's band a shoutout (in this case, Eric Ronick).

Here's just the Panic-related parts from this amazing @emorangers episode:

here's more if you're curious

The Emo Rangers co-creator worked on Gonzo with Zane Lowe (which is where the brown couch was used). Here's part of a segment Panic was on: