People for Armour: How Paramore’s fan community supports Tennessee after tornadoes
When you place a pair of headphones over your ears and press play on a track for the first time, you cannot predict just what sort of world you are stepping into.
The social media universe we now live in has brought years of people from around the globe connecting with each other for positive change, with another story emerging in 2020.
Part of Paramore’s fan community have been helping raise money for the band’s home of Nashville, Tennessee after the American state was hit by 12 tornadoes over March 2 and 3, with 25 reported dead.
At the time of writing, around $450 has been raised by designer Eleanor Osada through physical copies and digital and tattoo permission downloads of her art, having followed the band for over a decade while gaining a Master of Arts (MA) in Design from the University of Sunderland.
She posted 10 designs based on song lyrics from vocalist Hayley Williams’ solo project Petals for Armour, from which the first part of five songs from a full May album were released earlier this year.
in the last few weeks, i created 10 designs based on @yelyahwilliams’ petals for armor I.
available digitally, in print, and for tattoo.
a portion of proceeds from every sale will go towards nashville’s emergency fund.
🖤🖤🖤https://t.co/Hlq4DGS61T pic.twitter.com/w3HC7UAj5l
— eleanor (@elearor) March 3, 2020
“I had obviously been working on them for weeks, and then, the tragedy happened in the early hours of the day I was planning to launch the design,” Miss Osada tells Glasgow Standard.
“My motive completely changed, in terms of the hours I had put in on the designs, the proceeds going towards the hours I spent. Instead I decided the money should go to Nashville, at least some of the proceeds.
“Seeing as she is from there, and I have friends based there, they were just so torn up. I just felt so motivated to give back because she’s from Nashville, it just felt like the right thing to do.”
The thoughts of the band itself has been directed to the city, posting photos and links to support on social media, with drummer Zac Farro and Williams uploading Instagram stories.
It was Williams who helped with the popularity of Osada’s initial tweet, retweeting it onto her profile and commenting underneath it with four love heart emojis.
“That was really amazing to see,” the 23 year-old continues.
“I tagged her in it just hoping she would support the idea, so to get a retweet and that comment, that was really nice to see.
“The general reaction from other fans was really positive, really nice. There was a lot of interest. And I’ve had some queries as well, like ‘can we have some proof of the donation?’, and I’m completely happy to provide that.”
This charity drive is Osada’s third after estimating that she raised 400 Canadian dollars for Rainbow Railroad with a Rose-Coloured Boy shirt and £250 for Refuge with a Simmer-inspired creation.
She credits her ability to generate ideas quickly after thinking about a song, taking cues from an American traditional tattoo style with thick lines and shading.
“It’s pretty much almost immediately, definitely with stuff like the elephant, and the Leave it Alone eye – that’s directly from the video,” Miss Osada adds.
“I get my inspiration from different places, be it pulled directly from the artist, like this is their vision essentially, or whether it’s like how I translate the audio into my vision.”
It is, however, the smaller details that takes up most of the development time, with some ideas previously stopped after fully colouring them.
“The aim was to do two designs per song. I’ll go through a few drafts, whether it be rough sketches, or I might fully finish one and then say, ‘right, that’s not it’.
“Sometimes it takes seeing something through to the end to realise it is not quite right. If you see it fully formed, then you can make more of a definite opinion on something.
“I powered through them quite quickly. I maybe did one or two fully finished and said, ‘no, this is not quite right’.”
A “creative powerhouse” is how Osada has been described by her friend Lauren Ritchie, who runs the Paramore Scotland Twitter profile.
The 25 year-old is another member of the band’s fandom that has history with Nashville, travelling to it in 2018 to see its Arts and Friends Show, immediately taking a shine to its features.
“It was horrifying, seeing all the photos of the damage,” Ms Ritchie reveals.
“I’ve only visited the city three times, but it is a place that holds so many wonderful memories for me. To see well-loved spaces such as Basement East or The Soda Parlour ripped apart was devastating.
“But the fact that the I Believe in Nashville mural was left untouched? It feels very symbolic of Nashville’s resilience. It’s hard to visit and not fall in love with the warmth and kindness of the people who live there.”
The band’s following have been reaching out to each other in multiple ways since the tornadoes, with Ms Ritchie praising their mentality.
“I’m relieved to see friends announcing that they are safe, at the very least,” she continues.
“Personally, I feel a bit helpless. I’ve donated, but I wish I could do more. It has been wonderful seeing people on my timeline who live in Nashville offering spaces in their homes/some basic services to those who were desperately in need following the tornado.
“There is so much heartbreak and destruction following these events, but there is always so much humanity to be found if you look in the right places.”
The power of listeners in being able to join together from different areas and build a strong bond has been an essential part of following the musicians.
“Growing up, I wanted to feel part of a community, but is always felt elusive,” Ms Ritchie says.
“People I first connected with online have been willing to travel with me to go see Paramore all over the world. It is usually a case of posting the tour dates on Twitter and asking, ‘Which dates are we fancying?’, and then building a trip based on the replies.
“It isn’t uncommon to end up travelling internationally with people you’ve only interacted with online or have only met once. There’s a lot of trust there, but I think it also speaks to the depth that sharing just one common love can create.
“Almost all of my close friends started off as gig buddies first, and it speaks volumes to how vital music can be for people.”
As for future help, there is set to be no stopping on this initiative for Osada, as the formats are set to stay available, with the physical forms until they sell out, and the tattoo downloads indefinitely.
“That’s the promise I made, so I will stick to it,” Miss Osada adds.
“As long as the emergency fund is still open or there are GoFundMes, businesses or people looking to rebuild, there will always be a portion from these posters, from these designs, going to Nashville. As much as I can help it.”
The designs are available to purchase from: https://t.co/Hlq4DGS61T?amp=1. The emergency fund is found at: https://www.cfmt.org/story/middle-tennessee-emergency-response-fund/.
