Imagine Dragons defies definition, by design

Hit singles used to earn young rock bands big, bombastic arena tours, but even those with inescapable hits are no longer guaranteed such rewards. That’s one of the things that makes Imagine Dragons – playing Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday – so unusual.

The Las Vegas quartet didn’t predict its quick rise, which began without warning in 2012 with the singles “It’s Time” and “Radioactive.”

“Absolutely not,” says guitarist Wayne Sermon, who moved to Vegas and recruited pals from Berklee School of Music when he met songwriter/vocalist Dan Reynolds. “We worked hard, but the reality is success doesn’t happen often.”

When its first album, “Night Visions,” was released, the hope was to sell 5,000 to 10,000 in the first week. Before its follow-up, “Smoke + Mirrors,” dropped earlier this year, Imagine Dragons had accepted its first Grammy.

It’s possible the band’s success is indicative of popular music moving away from distinct genres. “Smoke + Mirrors,” for instance, includes revival-stoking, Mumford-esque sing-alongs (“I Bet My Life”); Muse-like hard rock (“Friction”); methodical, electronic-fueled chant-rock (“Gold”); and Coldplay’s ability to lead anthems that would be at home in a church.

“We never said, ‘Let’s be a rock band, or an indie band, or an alternative band.’ It’s always been, ‘Let’s write music and see what happens.’ If we can be at the forefront of de-genre-fying music, that’s great,” says Sermon. “I see why people like to organize things in their mind. I see the need to put titles on something. But I don’t know if I even consider us a rock band.”

He sees that reflected in crowds that vary in age and race from city to city.

“It’s kind of exactly what we wanted,” he says. “We’re not looking to serve one genre or one point of view. It’s cool to have not such a homogenous crowd.”

Sermon’s musical upbringing is even more diverse than his band. He grew up listening to Boston and Iron Butterfly on his dad’s record player, played cello and sang in church choirs in a small town in Utah, and studied jazz with Dragons’ rhythm section Daniel Platzman and Ben McKee.

“You can’t have such a defined sense of what you’ll be doing with your music career,” he says. “If you can understand and play jazz, you can do anything. (Daniel, Ben and I) all had really good ears and that developed easily. We all grew up listening to pop and rock.

“Neither, me, Ben or Daniel said, ‘I’m going to be this kind of musician,’” he says. “I definitely had a lot of faith in the project to move out to Vegas after I met Dan. They jumped at it (too), which I guess is a sign of them trusting me or being stupid enough to trust me.”

The decision turned out to be the right one, but the band isn’t taking success for granted.

“We try to earn it,” says Sermon, whose musical family he calls a “worse version of the Osmonds.”

“They’re still a little confused. They saw me on ‘The Today Show.’ They’re like, ‘What? That’s just my little brother,’” he says with a laugh. “They help keep me grounded and keep my head straight. They know the real me. They aren’t easily impressed.”

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Imagine Dragons defies definition, by design."