Panic At The Disco Want Their SNL Performance To Be Remembered

After only four years as a band, Panic! At The Disco have become a staple in the mainstream rock world. Known for their oddball, over-the-top, circus-themed stage shows, drummer Spencer Smith says his band have had their share of backstage weirdness as well.

"Stuff happens all the time that kinda goes wrong," he explains over the phone from a gig in North Carolina. "Spinal Tap isn't that far from the truth sometimes, like not knowing how to get to the stage and stuff like that."

Panic recently appeared on Saturday Night Live, and Smith says it was a performance he won't soon forget.

"It's one of those shows that's been on since I started watching TV. It was the first time we were able to perform 'Nine In The Afternoon' with strings and horns and everything. We just wanted to make sure that if people looked back 10 years from now, they'd see that it was really memorable."

The band performed two songs (the other was "I Write Sins Not Tragedies") on the show and had a chance to chat with host Christopher Walken.

"When we found out he was hosting, we were pretty excited. Obviously, it's fitting since he was in one of the most famous skits with a band," says Smith, referring to 2000's Blue Oyster Cult "more cowbell" parody.

"We did get to meet him and he's a really nice guy. He's exactly how he seems. He's really friendly, but a little bit weird, too."

Panic's 2005 debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, has sold more than 2.2 million copies worldwide. Their new Pretty. Odd. follow-up is on the same track and has sold almost half-a-million copies in six weeks.

Smith believes the band's desire to be unique makes them so appealing.

"For whatever reason, we've always been interested in things like T-shirts and videos that don't look or sound like anything that's popular right now. What we want to do is usually different from what other bands might want. It's probably something that our fans have liked about us. We had a lot of fun making this album and, if you're a fan of rock music, I think you'll probably like it."

Here are Panic At The Disco's Canadian dates with Motion City Soundtrack, The Hush Sound and Phantom Planet: