Alternative Press caught up with Queen guitarist Brian May to get his take on the huge influence Queen has on the latest generation of musicians. They also mention Panic!’s cover of “Killer Queen” on the Nothing Rymes with Circus tour.

Are you aware of Queen’s influence on a lot of today’s modern bands?
Yes, I find it very flattering. I was lucky enough to bump into My Chemical Romance recently and they were so incredibly knowledgeable about what we’ve done, I couldn’t believe it. I’m always surprised when people have really gotten into our work and what they’ve taken in as part of their ammunition, as you like. It’s great because it keeps us young in a way, interacting with these people.

Why are you surprised younger bands are influenced by Queen?
Living in England, you get so used to everyone being skeptical. The press we get in England is still generally negative, so you go out like a porcupine with all your prickles up expecting people to hate you. It’s wonderful when people that we respect and we understand actually cite us as an influence.

Have you heard of Panic! At The Disco?
No, I’m afraid I haven’t.

They’re very young and they planned to cover “Bohemian Rhapsody” on their first arena tour last year, but they decided on “Killer Queen” instead. When you hear a band are going to cover that song, do you get kind of worried?
I just wish them luck. [Laughs.] In order to do it right, you need a lot of people because we multi-tracked ourselves in the studio hundreds of times – so as a four-piece, that’s pretty difficult to do.

Source: AP Magazine – June 2007

04.28.2007 – late bday message
as i try on my new “music addicted” shirt and my new guitar hero hoodie, i can only feel grateful. for YOU. the fans. i just received a package full of bday letters, decks of cards with little notes, awesome pictures and artwork. i can definitely tell that a lot of hard work went into this amazing project. so, once again, thank you to those fine ladies that set this all up and to all the fans that contributed their time and effort into this project. i mean, if turning 20 is THIS good, i can’t wait for next year. :)

love.
- bden

An alleged picture of Brendon’s tattoo has surfaced online, the design shows a set of seven piano keys on his left forearm. I can’t tell you with 100% confidence that’s it, but I’ve compared it to the latest pictures and it sure looks like it is. I don’t want to confirm anything in case I’m wrong and Brendon shows up with a green dragon on his arm in the next couple of days. You can see the picture and judge it for yourself here. Thanks to everyone who emailed me about this!

Update: Yes, that is Brendon’s tattoo.

Panic! At the Disco ranked at #8 on AOL Music’s annual 21 Under 21 list. Visit AOL Music to vote whether you think the guys deserve to be on the list or not.

Here’s a picture of Brendon getting his tattoo done by John Montgomery from Tattoo Syndicate in California. Judging by when the picture was added to the studio’s MySpace album, it was done just last week.

As most of you have noticed by now, Brendon got inked. He showed up at The Pearl opening last week sporting a brand new tattoo on his left forearm. It’s impossible to know what kind of design it is yet, but we’ll find out soon enough. Click on the image for a larger version.

Ryan Ross and Brendon Urie at a Gwen Stefani concert serving as the grand opening of The Pearl concert theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. April 21, 2007.

Blender Magazine
May 2007 – by Naomi Harris

Blender Magazine
May 2007

Smash Hits magazine published the results for their “2006 Reader’s Poll” in the April/May 2007 issue. Panic! were included in a total of 11 categories, topping 5 of them. Below is the full list.

Smash Hits “2006 Reader’s Poll” – Australia

BEST BAND

1. Panic! at the Disco
2. Green Day
3. Good Charlotte
4. The Veronicas Read the full article »