Daniel Wayne Sermon (born June 15, 1984) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band Imagine Dragons.

Early life

Sermon was born on June 15, 1984 in

American Fork, Utah American Fork is a city in north-central Utah County, Utah, United States, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north from Utah Lake. This city is thirty-two miles southeast of Salt Lake City. It is part of the Provo– ...

to parents Jeff and Debbie Sermon. He is one of five children and grew up a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

but has since left the church. As a youth, Sermon learned to play both cello and guitar. He was determined to be a guitarist even as a child. His father had an audio-phile quality amplifier, a record player, and all of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

albums on vinyl, which Sermon enjoyed listening to. He also loved the sounds of

Tom Scholz Donald Thomas Scholz (born March 10, 1947) is an American musician. He is the founder, main songwriter, primary guitarist and only remaining original member of the rock band Boston. He has appeared on every Boston album. Scholz is an MIT-traine ...

(of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

) and his approach to solos. He attended Berklee College of Music where he double majored in guitar performance and composition, graduating in 2008. While at Berklee he was part of a five-guitar jazz fusion ensemble called The Eclectic Electrics.

Career

Imagine Dragons

Wayne Sermon first met

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife A ...

after hearing him perform at a club in Utah and approaching him afterwards about his musical interests. Reynolds invited him to join his band and move to Las Vegas. Sermon then invited

Ben McKee Benjamin Arthur McKee (born April 7, 1985) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the bassist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Early life McKee was raised in Forestville, California, and graduated from El Molino ...

to join the band on bass, and drummer Daniel Platzman, also a friend of Wayne's from Berklee College of Music, became the last member to join the group at the invitation of McKee. In Las Vegas, the band performed and honed their craft nearly nightly as a lounge act. Vegas Music Summit Headliner 2010, and more sent the band on a positive trajectory. In November 2011 they signed with Interscope Records and began working with producer Alex da Kid. In 2012 their debut album ''

Night Visions ''Night Visions'' is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was released on September 4, 2012, through Kidinakorner and Interscope Records. The album was primarily produced by the band themselves, as well as Eng ...

'' brought the band mainstream success. It reached 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and won the

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annually since 1990, with the exception of t ...

for Best Rock Album (2014). Single " It's Time" became the band's first single reaching #15 Billboard Hot 100 and certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Second single "

Radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

" reached #3 Billboard Hot 100 and was certified diamond by the RIAA, becoming the best selling rock song in the history of Nielsen SoundScan. Third single " Demons" reached #6 Billboard Hot 100 and was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Their album made the highest debut for a new rock band in six years (since 2006) and single Radioactive set a record for longest time atop the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart with 23 consecutive weeks. Tracks from the album topped the Billboard Rock Songs, Billboard Alternative Songs, and Billboard Pop Songs charts. Radioactive was also nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning the

Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

. Singles include " I Bet My Life" and " Shots". Sermon has chronic insomnia and will often record songs during the middle of the night, sleeping only a couple of hours a day.

Equipment

Electric Guitars

*BilT Electric Guitar with built-in effects * Gibson Jeff Tweedy Signature SG * Elixir Strings

Acoustic Guitars

Gibson J-45 The Gibson J-45 is a dreadnought style acoustic guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is generally regarded as Gibson's most famous and widely used acoustic guitar model. The J-45 is part of Gibson's round-shoulder "jumbo" ...

*Gibson Honky Tonk Deuce

Sound equipment

* Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler *Vintage

Vox AC30 The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox. It was introduced in 1958 to meet the growing demand for louder amplifiers. Characterised by its "jangly" high-end sound it has become widely recognized by British musicians and others, su ...

Amps with Top Boost Kit from Plexi Palace * Friedman Smallbox 50 with 65 Amp 2x12 Whiskey cabinet

Playing style

Sermon has described his playing style as textural.

Discography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sermon, Wayne 1984 births Living people American alternative rock musicians American indie rock musicians American male singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from Las Vegas Imagine Dragons members Berklee College of Music alumni 21st-century American singers People from American Fork, Utah Former Latter Day Saints