Dallon Weekes

Dallon Weekes
Dallon Weekes in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Dallon James Weekes
Born	(1981-05-04) May 4, 1981
Origin	Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Genres	Pop rock, alternative rock, indie rock, pop punk, synthpop, punk
Instruments	Vocals, bass guitar
Years active	2002–present
Associated acts	Panic! at the Disco, The Brobecks

Dallon James Weekes (born May 4, 1981) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his roles as bass guitarist, backup vocalist, and songwriter for Panic! At the Disco. He is also the lead vocalist, bass guitarist, and songwriter for his independent band, the Brobecks.

Early life

Weekes was born in a small town in southern Missouri near a large Amish community. He is the second of four children and was raised in a Mormon family in Clearfield, Utah, where his parents moved shortly after he was born. Weekes attended Clearfield High School, where he met most of his former Brobecks bandmates. After graduating with honors in 1999, Weekes served as a full-time Mormon Missionary in Oklahoma for two years. After returning home he shortly attended Weber State University before dropping out to pursue music full-time.

Music career

The Brobecks

The band began as a weekend hobby for Weekes shortly after he returned to Utah after living in Oklahoma for two years. The group's name was inspired by a person from Dallon's school days. The original line-up consisted of Weekes, photographer/producer Matt Glass and another friend from high school. After a few years of recording basement demos, touring and line-up changes, the band was offered a contract from an imprint of Drive-Thru Records, and Weekes was offered solo record contracts by Sony BMG, Interscope Records, and a smaller indie label if he would drop his band mates. Weekes declined.

Shortly after, The Brobecks received Salt Lake City's local "City Weekly" award for 2008 Indie Pop Band of the Year,^[1] repeating their win of the year before. In 2008, the single "Second Boys Will Be First Choice" was added to the daily rotation of Salt Lake City radio station X96, something which had never been done with an unsigned act in the station's 20-plus-year history. The song rose immediately to the station's top ten daily songs. Within two days of the addition, the song hit #1 on the daily top songs list, where it stayed for 13 consecutive days. It stayed in the top 10 for several weeks, and frequented the number one spot several times more. The song was also put into rotation at PacSun stores across the nation.

In May 2009, Violent Things was released with a limited amount of physical copies of the CD, and also available on iTunes. The album was produced by Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter^[2] and features Darren Robinson of Phantom Planet on guitar. The drums on the record were performed by frequent Brobecks drummer Drew Davidson. Prior to the album's release, the songs "Love at First Sight" and "Second Boys Will Be First Choice" appeared on X96's Top Ten daily songs list, with "Second Boys" reaching number one on the station and staying there for several weeks. One of the most popular songs on the album, "Love At First Sight", was put in rotation on Delta Airlines radio. The Brobecks opened for bands such as Fall Out Boy, Phantom Planet, Ben Kweller, and The Bravery. Despite all the label interest and album success for an indie band, the band still remains independent and unsigned. In September 2010, Dallon posted a free online download of "Skid Row", a song from the film/play Little Shop of Horrors, featuring Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco, Matt Glass and Ian Crawford, the touring guitarist of Panic! At the Disco from 2009 to 2012, and former member of such bands as The Cab and Stamps.

In late 2012, Weekes released the Quiet Title EP for download on his Bandcamp page for The Brobecks (which you can find all of the music he's made independently and with The Brobecks.), as well as an option to purchase a physical copy of the Violent Things ReIssue Cd. The Quiet Title EP consists of two songs "Anyone I Know" and "Cluster Hug", featuring Ian Crawford on guitar and recorded/edited with help from former Brobecks drummer, Matt Glass. In November 2012, Weekes stated in an interview with Salt Lake City's X96 radio station that these songs were written during the songwriting and recording process for Panic's fourth studio album, but did not fit with their collective vision for what the new record will be.

Panic! at the Disco

Weekes performing with Panic! at the Disco in 2009

In 2009, Weekes was hired to provide bass, synthesizer and back-up vocals for Panic! at the Disco on a temporary, touring basis. His 'touring only' status changed in mid-2010, while on tour with the band in China. It was then that he was asked by Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith to join them indefinitely. However, his permanent status within the band remained publicly unknown until Weekes confirmed in mid-2012 via Twitter his involvement with the band as a full-time member^[3] and that they aimed to be done recording their new album before the end of 2012.^[4] Since the last tour cycle, Urie, Smith, and Weekes, who joined the band as an official member in 2010, they had been in the studio writing and preparing for a fourth album. On July 15, 2013, the album was announced as Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, with a scheduled release date of October 8, 2013. Dallon Weekes has had a lot more to do with this album, having credits in writing some of the songs as well as collaborating with Brendon Urie. A bonus track titled "All the Boys", gives Weekes full writer's credit. The first single, "Miss Jackson", was released on July 15, 2013, with an accompanying music video to promote the album. Panic! At The Disco toured the US and Europe in support of the new album, and opened for Fall Out Boy on the Save Rock And Roll Arena Tour.

Personal life

On March 18, 2006, Dallon wed his girlfriend of over a year, Breezy Douglas, an actress and model from the Los Angeles area. They have two children; daughter, Amelie Olivia Weekes, born June 1, 2008 (named after the 2001 French film Amélie); and son, Knox Oliver Weekes, born June 23, 2010 (Named after 'Knox Overstreet', a character from the 1989 film Dead Poets Society). They now reside in Southern California. Weekes is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Discography

With The Brobecks

With Panic! At the Disco

References