Wayne Sermon
Sermon performing in 2016
Sermon performing in 2016
Background information
Birth nameDaniel Wayne Sermon
Born (1984-06-15) June 15, 1984
American Fork, Utah, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Instrument(s)
  • Guitar
  • vocals
  • mandolin
  • cello
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active2009–present
Labels
Member ofImagine Dragons
Websiteimaginedragonsmusic.com

Daniel Wayne Sermon (born June 15, 1984) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.

Career

Wayne Sermon first met Dan Reynolds after hearing him perform at a club in Utah and approaching him afterwards about his musical interests.[1][2] Reynolds invited him to join his band and move to Las Vegas. Sermon then invited Ben McKee to join the band on bass, and drummer Daniel Platzman, also a friend of Wayne from Berklee College of Music, became the last member to join the group. In Las Vegas, the band performed and honed their craft nearly nightly as a lounge act.[3][4][5] Vegas Music Summit Headliner 2010,[6] and more sent the band on a positive trajectory. In November 2011 they signed with Interscope Records and began working with producer Alex da Kid.[7]

In 2012 their debut album Night Visions brought the band mainstream success. It reached 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and won the Billboard Music Award for Best Rock Album (2014). Single "It's Time" became the band's first single reaching #15 Billboard Hot 100 and certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Second single "Radioactive" reached #3 Billboard Hot 100 and was certified diamond by the RIAA, becoming the best selling rock song in the history of Nielsen SoundScan. Third single "Demons" reached #6 Billboard Hot 100 and was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Their album made the highest debut for a new rock band in six years (since 2006) and single Radioactive set a record for longest time atop the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart with 23 consecutive weeks.[8] Tracks from the album topped the Billboard Rock Songs, Billboard Alternative Songs, and Billboard Pop Songs charts. Radioactive was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.[9] Singles include "I Bet My Life" and "Shots".[10][11]

Sermon has chronic insomnia and will often record songs during the middle of the night, sleeping only a couple of hours a day.[12]

Personal life

Sermon was born on June 15, 1984, in American Fork, Utah, to parents Jeff and Debbie Sermon.[13] He is one of five children and grew up a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but has since left the church.[14]

As a youth, Sermon learned to play both cello and guitar. He was determined to be a guitarist even as a child. His father had an audio-phile quality amplifier, a record player, and all of The Beatles albums on vinyl, which Sermon enjoyed listening to.[15] He also loved the sounds of Tom Scholz (of Boston) and his approach to solos.[15] He attended Berklee College of Music where he double majored in guitar performance and composition, graduating in 2008.[16] While at Berklee he was part of a five-guitar jazz fusion ensemble called The Eclectic Electrics.[1][2]

Equipment

Electric guitars

Acoustic guitars

Sound equipment

  • Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler[17]
  • Vintage Vox AC30 Amps with Top Boost Kit from Plexi Palace
  • Friedman Smallbox 50 with 65 Amp 2x12 Whiskey cabinet

Playing style

Sermon has described his playing style as textural.[19]

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 "Imagine Dragons Interview With Guitarist Wayne Sermon | Interview | Music News | JAM Magazine Online | David Dunn | Chris Eason". jammagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  2. 1 2 "Imagine Dragons: "That arena sound excites us, we don't need to apologise for it"". fasterlouder.com.au. Archived from the original on 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  3. ↑ "Imagine Dragons Talk New Album and Growing Up in Las Vegas". vegasmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
  4. ↑ Corlene Byrd (24 October 2013). "The Weekly chat: The Killers' Dave Keuning and Imagine Dragons' Wayne Sermon--together". LasVegasWeekly.com.
  5. ↑ "Hotonite!26". Archived from the original on 2013-01-27.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Plenke, Max (November 17, 2011). "Imagine Dragons scores major-label deal". Las Vegas CityLife. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Imagine Dragons Blaze Into #2 Spot On Billboard Chart - MTV". mtv.com. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  9. ↑ "Imagine Dragons pick up a pair of Grammy nominations - Las Vegas Weekly". lasvegasweekly.com. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  10. ↑ "Imagine Dragons Release Bombastic New Song From Upcoming Album". Spin. 2014-10-27.
  11. ↑ Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY (27 October 2014). "Song of the Week: Imagine Dragons' 'I Bet My Life'". USA TODAY.
  12. ↑ "Imagine Dragons - Night Sessions, Insomnia and Nightmares". redbullusa.com. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  13. ↑ Sermon, Wayne. "Imagine Dragons - Live From The ORIGINS Experience". Youtube. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "1181-1185: Wayne and Alex Sermon - Our Journey with Imagine Dragons and Mormonism". Mormon Stories. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-12.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Imagine Dragons Guitarist Wayne Sermon on New Album, Influences and His Favorite Gibsons". gibson.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  16. ↑ "Berklee College of Music". berklee.edu. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  17. 1 2 "FOH mixer Scott Eisenberg and monitor engineer Jared Swetnam discuss the details regarding Imagine Dragons' live setup | Mix talks to FOH mixer Scott Eisenberg and monitor engineer Jared Swetnam about the details behind Imagine Dragons' live setup, in the May 2013 issue of Mix". mixonline.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  18. ↑ "Rig Rundown: Imagine Dragons". premierguitar.com. 22 July 2015.
  19. 1 2 "ELIXIR Strings Catches Up with Wayne Sermon of Imagine Dragons - YouTube". youtube.com. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
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