Imagine Dragons singer defends performances in Israel and Azerbaijan

Last year, System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian publicly asked Las Vegas arena rockers Imagine Dragons to cancel a planned concert in Azerbaijan, citing the country’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Armenians. Imagine Dragons ignored Tankian’s request and played the concert, and Tankian recently expressed his disapproval of the band: “I don’t know what to say to these artists. I don’t respect them as people. Screw their art, they’re not good people as far as I’m concerned.” Imagine Dragons also played in Israel last August. Now fearsome frontman Dan Reynolds has spoken out about these decisions.

Imagine Dragons have just released their new album loomand Dan Reynolds gave an interview for Rolling Stone. During this conversation, he talked about the band’s decision to play in Israel and Azerbaijan, which was, to my knowledge, the first time. His answer was pretty standard:

I don’t believe in taking away the opportunity of our fans who want to see us play because of the actions of their politicians and governments. I think it’s a very sensitive issue. Once you start doing that, there are corrupt politicians and warmongers all over the world. So where do you draw the line?

When Rolling Stone Although writer Andy Greene specifically mentioned Serj Tankian’s comments, Reynolds simply reiterated his position: “I think I just said it. It’s a sensitive subject and I will never take away our fans’ opportunity to play for them.” Reynolds was even more tight-lipped when discussing longtime Imagine Dragons drummer Daniel Platzman’s recent decision to take an indefinite break from the group: “He’s not playing on the record and I can’t talk about it.”

Dan Reynolds grew up as a Mormon and Rolling Stone In this interview he says a lot about his relatively recent decision to leave the church:

I grew up praying every day and asking for forgiveness and guidance. That’s what you do at the end of the day as a Mormon kid. You think, “Dear God, these are the things I did wrong today. I’m really sorry. Please forgive me. These are the things I want to accomplish. Please help me. I’m thankful for these things.”

This led to me never feeling adequate. I always felt like I needed to be forgiven and wondered if God had forgiven me. I had a lot of trouble loving myself because of this. So later in my life I had to learn that this was not a right concept for me and it was not healthy for me. I had to learn to listen to my own voice and be my own God or at least find God in myself or in the universe in some way.

When asked what advice he would give to a Mormon teenager who wants to serve a two-year mission but has doubts about it, Renolds says:

Don’t just follow what you think you should do. I really wouldn’t encourage them to go on a two-year mission unless they feel like, “I’m all in. Yes, I love this.” If you’re uncomfortable doing that, a two-year mission is a long time. It’s hard to listen to yourself when you’re knocking on doors every day and telling people what the truth is and you don’t even know it yourself. I did that for two years and I was really lost.

Dan Reynolds was married to Nico Vega singer Aja Volkman for 13 years and they have four children together. They divorced last year and Reynolds is now dating actress Minka Kelly. In the Rolling Stone In the interview, Reynolds talks about it while discussing the lyrics of one of his recent songs “Nice To Meet You,” which features Kelly clapping his hands:

I was dating someone new. When you date someone, you kind of date their friends and family. I’m in a very different situation now. I got married when I was 22 and I was still Mormon at the time, so I didn’t date at all growing up. That was a new thing for me because obviously I live a weird life now and people have a lot of weird preconceived ideas about who I am or am not.

So the song was about dating someone and your friends whispering in your ear, “Whoa, you shouldn’t date a musician for XYZ reasons.” And those are all valid reasons. It’s just about giving love a chance, giving someone a chance, and putting your preconceived notions aside.

You can view the full Rolling Stone Interview here.