Picture: Panic at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie
PANIC AT THE DISCO
American pop rockers Panic at the Disco (Brendon Urie, Ryan Ross, Jon Walker and Spencer Smith) are heading for SA for the first time. See them on 10 April at the Coca-Cola Zero Fest at Joburg’s New Market Racecourse and on 13 April at the Cape Town Ostrich Farm. We did a Q&A with the Nine in the Afternoon hitmakers ahead of their trip.
Q: What are you looking forward to in SA?
A: We enjoy visiting new places and seeing new fans. We never thought we’d have the opportunity to visit South Africa so we’re looking forward to the shows. Without preconceived notions about what to expect we hope to have a great experience.
Q: Do you hang out when not making music?
A: We do. We take a break from one another after long tours but soon end up at our usual spots. It’s how we’ve always been.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the single Nine in the Afternoon off your latest album, Pretty. Odd?
A: With Nine in the Afternoon we were in our practice space in Las Vegas for hours, writing. The room didn’t have windows; somebody asked what time it was and I think Jon said it’s nine in the afternoon. The song essentially wrote itself from there.
Q: When can fans expect another album and will it be different from this one?
A: We’re working on music but it’s early stages yet.
Q: What’s the best thing about being famous?
A: Getting free food at places at which we’re recognised!
PANIC AT THE BOX OFFICE
Tickets to Michael Jackson’s UK tour, This Is It, sold out in less than five hours last month. A million tickets were sold at a rate of 333 a minute. The 50-year-old singer is scheduled to perform 50 shows at The O2 Arena in London, starting in July. For the thousands of fans who missed out - tickets are selling on the black market at up to £16 000 (R220 000) for two front-row seats.
