Local band begins tour

In two and a half years, Paradise Fears, a local Vermillion band, went from playing in churches and classrooms to landing a U.S. tour with three big-name bands.

The band members, consisting of Sam Miller, Cole Andre, Michael Walker, Lucas Zimmerman, Marcus Sand and Jordan Merrigan, will be touring with All Time Low, The Ready Set and He Is We this fall. The tour begins Oct. 25 in New York City and will end Nov. 19.

Miller, the lead vocalist, said the band slowly started coming together over the past two and a half years.

“We started playing together in high school,” Miller said. “(Andre), (Merrigan) and I played for church and the community add.”

They found they enjoyed playing together and started playing covers, Miller said.

“Eventually, (Walker), our keyboard player, started playing with us,” Miller said. “And with (Walker) and (Merrigan), (Andre) and I decided to start calling ourselves a them.”

Miller said he was feeling risky and bold when he sent the email.

“The next morning he emailed me back and said it probably wasn’t going to happen, that All Time Low only wanted three bands,” Miller said.

Miller said one week later he received an email saying the band had changed their minds, and they landed the tour.

“This upcoming tour is huge for us,” Miller said. “There were a lot of bands that wanted the tour, so we got very experience.”

Freshman Katey Ulrich has been a fan of Paradise Fears for the last two years.

“I like their music because it’s personal and you can tell that they care about what they’re writing about,” Ulrich said.

Ulrich, who knows members of the band, said she is excited for their upcoming tour.

“I’m proud of them because they’ve worked hard at it for a long time,” Ulrich said. “They’ve accomplished so much in a now.”

Reach reporter Payton Randle at [email protected]