Dallon James Weekes (born May 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as a member of Panic! at the Disco from 2009 to 2017, performing in the band as a bassist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and songwriter. He was also the frontman of the power pop band and later solo musical project The Brobecks. Weekes currently performs as the frontman of I Dont Know How But They Found Me.
Early life
Weekes was born in the small town of Verona, Missouri, near a large Amish community. He is the second of four children and was raised in a Mormon family in Clearfield, Utah, where his parents moved shortly after he was born. Weekes attended Clearfield High School, where he met most of his former Brobecks bandmates. After graduating with honors in 1999, Weekes served as a full-time Mormon Missionary in Oklahoma for two years. After returning home he shortly attended Weber State University before dropping out to pursue music full-time.
Music career
The Brobecks (2002–2013) The band began as a weekend hobby for Weekes shortly after he returned to Utah after living in Oklahoma for two years. The group's name was inspired by a person from Dallon's school days. The original line-up consisted of Weekes, photographer/producer Matt Glass and another friend from high school. After a few years of recording basement demos, touring and line-up changes, the band was offered a contract from an imprint of Drive-Thru Records, and Weekes was offered solo record contracts by Sony BMG, Interscope Records, and a smaller indie label if he would drop his bandmates. Weekes declined.
The Brobecks opened for bands such as Fall Out Boy, Phantom Planet, Ben Kweller, and The Bravery. Despite all the label interest and album success for an indie band, the band remained independent and unsigned.
In late 2012, Weekes released the Quiet Title EP for download on his Bandcamp page for The Brobecks, as well as an option to purchase a physical copy of the Violent Things Reissue CD. The Quiet Title EP consists of two songs, "Anyone I Know" and "Cluster Hug", featuring Ian Crawford on guitar and recorded/edited with help from former Brobecks drummer, Matt Glass. In November 2012, Weekes stated in an interview with Salt Lake City's X96 radio station that these songs were written during the songwriting and recording process for Panic's fourth studio album, but did not fit with their collective vision for the new record.
Panic! at the Disco (2009–2017)
After the departure of Ryan Ross and Jon Walker in 2009, Weekes and Ian Crawford were hired to replace Ross and Walker for Panic! at the Disco on a temporary, touring basis for their second studio album Pretty. Odd. (2008). Weekes' 'touring only' status changed in mid-2010, while on tour with the band in China. It was then that he was asked by Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith to join them indefinitely. However, his permanent status within the band remained publicly unknown until Weekes confirmed in mid-2012 via Twitter his involvement with the band as a full-time member.
During his tenure as an official member of Panic! at the Disco, Weekes was responsible for the conceptualization of the cover art for the band's third studio album, Vices & Virtues (2011), and was also featured on the album cover, masked and standing in the background behind Smith and Urie. He was credited with writing all but two songs on the band's fourth studio album, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! (2013). Weekes was also nominated for Best Bassist at the 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards. During the promotion of the band's fifth studio album Death of a Bachelor, it was rumored that Weekes' status has changed to that of a touring member once again. In October 2015, Weekes confirmed his departure from the official line-up of the band via Twitter, stating that he was "not contributing creatively anymore". Weekes elaborated on the situation in a September 2020 interview: "I did one record with Panic! and after that they started hiring hit-makers to create their records, so they didn't really need me anymore." After finishing up the tour for Death of a Bachelor, Weekes announced he was leaving Panic! at the Disco on December 27, 2017. He made this announcement via Instagram.
I Dont Know How But They Found Me (2016–present) Initially a solo effort, Weekes had been writing and recording songs while on the road with Panic! at the Disco for several years. Former Brobecks bandmate Ryan Seaman performed drums on the record, which led to Weekes proposing the idea to present it as a duo under the name I Dont Know How But They Found Me.