Panic! At The Disco

Panic! At The Disco was formed in 2004 in the suburban area of Summerlin, Las Vegas, by friends Spencer Smith (drums) and Ryan Ross (guitar). The pair, who both attended Bishop Gorman High School, originally just covered blink-182 tunes.

Having tired of playing another group's material, Smith and Ross recruited two additional band members, their friend Brent Wilson (bass) from nearby Palo Verde High School and Wilson's classmate Brendon Urie as a stand-in guitarist for a couple of gigs. "I was willing to do anything," Urie recalled to Q magazine. Play tambourine, sell merch. I was just desperate to be involved." After hearing Urie sing back-up during rehearsals, Smith, Ross and Wilson decided to make him the lead vocalist.

The newly formed quartet decided to name themselves after a line in Orange County pop-punk outfit Name Taken's 2004 song "Panic."