Can you recap how Paramore got on Conan, and how the experience played out?
We were in New Jersey for the Warped Tour, and we got off the stage and Max Weinberg was standing there. Turned out his son was in a band playing on Warped Tour. Max said to Zac [Farro], “You’re such a great drummer.” We were freaking out, obviously, because he’s the drummer for The E Street Band, and he’s on Conan. Later that day he found our bus and knocked on the door. We let him in, and he hung out, then right before he left he said, “I’m going to put in a good word for you guys at the show.” We didn’t really expect much to come out of it, but we get a call a month later and sure enough, he did it! The whole experience was such a blur because we were so nervous and so excited. I did have one regret: I forgot to give Conan a big Hayley hug. He was so nice. He came up and said, “A lot of bands come on here and kind of seem like they fake it, but you guys felt real, and I really enjoyed it.” Hearing someone who’s seen everyone say that made us feel honored. I about pissed myself a couple of times.
Is there a biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome as a young, female-fronted band?
We don’t look at ourselves so much as a female-fronted band because I think that mind-set can be the main thing to screw you over. We’re constantly fighting, constantly proving ourselves. We just think of ourselves as a normal band out there on the road. And the fact that we’re young, in the beginning it didn’t help that much, but people are starting to take us more seriously now, having seen us around for a couple years.
Jimmy Eat World and Sunny Day Real Estate are some of the band’s musical influences, but do you have any individual hair influences?
I would say lately it probably seems as though I’ve been influenced by Cyndi Lauper’s hair. But it was kind of an accident. I got sent a picture of me and her side by side with the orange and yellow. It was pretty much identical. Other than that, I tend to admire really trashy-looking hair. I really, really like trashy-looking hair.
With The Starting Line, Set Your Goals. November 6, 6:30 p.m., $17-20. House of Blues, 632-7600.