Dan Reynolds – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion (2008–present)
Wayne Sermon – lead guitar, backing vocals, mandolin, drums, percussion (2009–present)
Ben McKee – bass, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals, guitar, drums, percussion (2009–present)
Daniel Platzman – drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, viola, keyboards (2011–present)
Andrew Tolman – drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (2008–2011)
Brittany Tolman – piano, keyboards, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (2009–2011)
Theresa Flaminio — piano, keyboards, backing vocals (2011)
Dave Lemke – bass, backing vocals (2008–2009)
Aurora Florence – piano, keyboards, backing vocals, violin (2008)
Andrew Beck – lead guitar, backing vocals (2008)
Theresa Flaminio — piano, keyboards, backing vocals (2011)
In 2008, lead singer Dan Reynolds met drummer Andrew Tolman at Brigham Young University where they were both students.[17] Reynolds and Tolman added Andrew Beck, Dave Lemke, and Aurora Florence to play guitar, bass, and piano respectively for their band. Their name is an anagram for a phrase only known to members of the group, that Reynolds stated each member approved of.[18] The five-piece released an extended play titled Speak to Me that year, but Beck and Florence departed from the band's line-up later that year. In 2009, Tolman recruited long-time high school friend Wayne Sermon, who had graduated from Berklee College of Music to play guitar. Tolman later recruited his wife, Brittany Tolman, to sing back-up and play keys, and the band began to play shows together again. Lemke left the band later on, leading Sermon to recruit another Berklee music student, Ben McKee, to join the band as their bassist and complete the line-up.[19][20] The band garnered a large following in their hometown of Provo, Utah, before the members moved to Las Vegas, the hometown of Dan Reynolds, where the band recorded and released their first three EPs.[21] The band released EPs titled Imagine Dragons and Hell and Silence in 2010, both recorded at Battle Born Studios, in Las Vegas. They returned to the studio in 2011.[22][23][24] The third EP, It's Time, was made before they signed a record deal.[25] They got their first big break when Train's frontman Pat Monahan fell sick just prior to the Bite of Las Vegas Festival 2009. Imagine Dragons were called to fill in and performed to a crowd of more than 26,000 people. Local accolades including "Best CD of 2011" (Vegas SEVEN), "Best Local Indie Band 2010" (Las Vegas Weekly), "Las Vegas' Newest Must See Live Act" (Las Vegas CityLife), 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 English Grammy Award-winning producer Alex da Kid. Eventually the Tolmans left the group and Daniel Platzman was recruited in August 2011 by invitation from Ben McKee, prior to the signing of the band's label deal in November 2011, alongside keyboardist Theresa Flaminio. Theresa Flaminio departed from Imagine Dragons in early 2012, leaving them as a four-piece. The band worked closely with Alex da Kid, with whom they recorded their first major label release at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California. An EP entitled Continued Silence was released on Valentine's Day (February 14, 2012) digitally and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200. The band also released an EP titled Hear Me in 2012.