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Home , DNCE, Jack Lawless, JinJoo Lee, Jonas Brothers, Swaay

RADAR

Cardboard cutouts of everyone from Darth Vader to Harry Styles dot the stage at Webster Hall in , along with bright metallic balloons spelling out . Once the pop-rock band hits the stage, the surge of energy in the room is palpable—even before singer Joe , guitarist JinJoo Lee, bassist/ keyboardist Cole Whittle, and drummer play a single the whole EP.“ The quirky title came note. about when he overheard a couple of “Our shows are like Animal House, Swedish producers talking about the the musical,“ explains Whittle earlier cocktail Sex on the Beach. “They kept in the day when I meet up with the calling it ,“ says band at La Esquina in SoHo. Dressed Whittle, laughing. “Joe has funny- in a long denim coat and a matching shit-alarm radar all over him, so he button-down jean onesie, Whittle’s grabbed that and we just wrote this daring ensemble makes him stand wacky world around it.“ The video, out, even among the taqueria’s usual directed by none other than model sceney lunch crowd. Lee is sleek- , who also happened to be with-an-edge in black overalls and a dating Jonas at the time, features a black tee, while Lawless has the rock crowd—including Internet celeb The drummer look down with his long Fat Jew—frolicking on the beach. blond hair and black leather jacket. The pop song perfectly sums Jonas, meanwhile, oozes the quiet up the varied backgrounds of the confidence of a superstar. members. As the former bassist of Over lunch, they share their pre- Semi Precious Weapons, Whittle show ritual: First, the group warms spent two years opening for Lady JUSTJUST DNCEDNCE up by belting out and Gaga on her Monster Ball tour. songs, then they gather for a Lawless drummed for the Jonas DNCE AIM TO quick huddle. Next, it’s workout time: Brothers, as well as Night Terrors of started working with producers and pushups and a little shadowboxing, 1927 and Soft Swells. And Lee got songwriters, the new band came BE THE SONIC all to the tune of a house song that her start playing in a band with her together quickly. He called up the ARCHITECTS samples Arnold Schwarzenegger family. She picked up a guitar at 12 in other three members, whom he had saying “Down, up, more energy.“ As the hopes that her four older siblings met on the road or through friends, OF ALL OF YOUR for those cardboard cutouts, they’re would let her join; after practicing for and asked them to join. “I was like, GOOD TIMES. BY piled up in a corner, purloined from “27 hours a day“ it worked. Later, she ’Are you cool with doing this for the countless radio station visits and in- landed gigs as a touring musician rest of your life?’“ recalls Jonas. CELIA SHATZMAN. store performances, they tell me. with , CeeLo Green, and “For a lot of musicians that walk The reason for the exuberant Charli XCX. And we all know where into a new band, it’s a challenge,“ PHOTOGRAPHED warm-up? DNCE are always ready to Jonas got his start. continues Jonas. “You want to create BY NATALIA party, hence their name. "We wrote a But make no mistake—this isn’t a something that fans of your past can song about being too drunk to spell rehash of the , in case enjoy, but you have to be selfish and MANTINI dance,“ explains Jonas. The - the blue streak in the singer’s hair say this is music for me and I want inspired tune, off of their recent EP doesn’t give that away. The songs to have freedom as an artist. But I’m , always kicks off their sets. are undeniably poppy, but they also happy if someone wants to listen to “DNCE is dance without an A, which incorporate twinges of , disco, my new music who used to listen to is not a perfect word, but you also pop, R&B, rock, and even hip-hop. So the Jonas Brothers—come along for don’t have to be a perfect dancer it’s no surprise when the band cites the ride.“ to dance,“ says Lee. “Life is never a wide swath of influences including If being pounced on by three perfect, but you can still enjoy it.“ James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Hall & twentysomethings as I leave You get the sense DNCE does Oates, the , , Red the restaurant is any indication, enjoy life very much. That energy is Hot Chili Peppers, and Radiohead. Jonas’s fans are likely to follow him captured in their single “Cake by the While the band may be new to you, anywhere. “Is he done eating yet? Ocean,“ which Jonas says “embodies I didn’t want to interrupt his lunch, stylist: marissa smith. grooming: asia geiger at art department. geiger at asia grooming: stylist: marissa smith. Jonas had a notion to form this kind but do you think he’d take a picture on whittle: overalls by of group ever since he and Lawless with me?“ one devotee asks of Jonas, carhartt, sneakers by began experimenting on a few side phone in hand. With her black suede public school, stylist’s on lawless: jacket by topman, shirt by projects years ago. Then the Jonas shorts and over-the-knee boots, own kimono; on jonas: public school; on jonas: top by topman, Brothers split, and each brother all clothing jonas’s jonas’s own jacket, jeans, and bracelet began persuing his own projects. she’d easily blend in at the DNCE own; on lee: top by worn throughout; on whittle: poncho “My life shifted,“ says Jonas. “I was show later on tonight, but it’s pretty yesah, skirt by antonio by piazza sempione, pants by arthur taking time to figure out if music is obvious that her intense Jonas marras, shoes by agl, arbesser, whittle’s own jewelry worn what I wanted to do.“ The answer jones—much like his new band—has sunglasses by rad and throughout; on lee: jacket by diesel, was yes, of course, and once he been years in the making. refined; on lawless: top by kerol d., skirt by outstanding jacket by topman, ordinary, shoes by t.u.k, sunglasses by top by fred perry, gasoline glamour. lawless’s own jeans, belt,000 and sneakers. 000105