Drummer Daniel Platzman was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the Berklee College of Music and earned a degree in film scoring. While attending Berklee, he met his future bandmates Ben McKee and Wayne Sermon. In 2014 Daniel Platzman composed the original score for the documentary Africa Investigates.
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2015
February 14, 2012
Lead guitar player Wayne Sermon grew up in American Fork, Utah. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He learned to play both guitar and cello as a child, but he was determined to focus on the guitar. Wayne Sermon attended the Berklee College of Music and graduated in 2008. In 2011 he married ballerina, Alexandra Hall.
Bass player Ben McKee is a native of Forestville, California. He played bass in a jazz trio in high school and attended the Berklee College of Music where he met future Imagine Dragons bandmates Wayne Sermon and Daniel Platzman.
February 14, 2022
The band continued to shuffle members in 2011. The Tolmans left and were replaced by Daniel Platzman in August 2011. Keyboard player Theresa Flaminio also joined the band in late 2011, but she left soon after their first album was released. In November 2011, Imagine Dragons announced the signing of a recording contract with Interscope Records and a plan to work with English producer Alex da Kid on their first album.
Lead vocalist Dan Reynolds was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In his late teens, he worked as a missionary in Nebraska for two years. When invited to perform as an opening act for alternative rock band Nico Vega in 2010, Dan Reynolds met the group's lead singer Aja Volkman. They recorded an EP together as the duo Egyptian, and they were married in 2011.
Imagine Dragons drew a large local fan following in Provo, Utah. In 2009 they relocated to Dan Reynolds' hometown of Las Vegas seeking a larger market and greater potential for success.
An early break for Imagine Dragons occurred in 2009 when Pat Monahan, lead vocalist for the rock band Train, fell ill just before a planned performance at the Bite of Las Vegas Festival. Imagine Dragons filled in at the last minute and performed before a crowd of 26,000. Imagine Dragons earned a series of local accolades in Las Vegas. They were named Best Local Indie Band of 2010 by Las Vegas Weekly, and Las Vegas' Newest Must-See Act by Las Vegas City Life.
Imagine DragonsImagine Dragons (formed 2008) emerged from the Las Vegas, Nevada rock scene to become one of the world's top rock bands beginning in 2012. Pegged initially as an alternative rock band, they combined elements of pop, rock, and electronic music to storm the mainstream music charts.
Vocalist Dan Reynolds met drummer Andrew Tolman at Brigham Young University as students in 2008. They soon recruited Andrew Beck, Dave Lemke, and Aurora Florence to put together a band. The name Imagine Dragons is an anagram, and only group members officially know the words that are referenced by the name. The initial lineup of the group recorded an EP titled Speak To Me in 2008.
Andrew Beck and Aurora Florence soon left the group. They were replaced by Wayne Sermon on guitar and Andrew Tolman's wife Brittany Tolman singing backup and playing keyboards. Wayne Sermon is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. When Dave Lemke left Imagine Dragons, he was replaced by Wayne Sermon's Berklee classmate Ben McKee.
Imagine Dragons (formed 2008) emerged from the Las Vegas, Nevada rock scene to become one of the world's top rock bands beginning in 2012. Pegged initially as an alternative rock band, they combined elements of pop, rock, and electronic music to storm the mainstream music charts.
From Las Vegas Indie Band to Worldwide Superstars