Jeremy Davis, who plays bass in the rock band Paramore, remembers wondering what he had gotten himself into when he learned the drummer for his new band was just a kid.

"When I found out he was 12 years old," Davis says, "I wasn't sure this was going to work. And then, after the first practice we all had together, I realized this kid was creative, that he's got something special about him."

Davis and the others who gathered in that rehearsal space -- drummer Zac Farro, his older brother, guitarist Josh Farro, and singer Hayley Williams -- soon realized they all had happened upon something special.

From that beginning sprung one of rock's up-and-coming young bands. Fronted by Williams, a dynamo of a singer who dyes her hair a vivid red-orange, Paramore's music is bright, enthusiastic and ebullient.

Riding the success of its third studio album, "Brand New Eyes," the band is headlining the Honda Civic Tour, which makes a stop Saturday at the Hersheypark Star Pavilion.

Also on the bill is Swedish band Kadawatha, rock-pop stalwarts New Found Glory and Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara. Davis says he and his band mates personally picked the supporting acts for the tour.

"It's going to be the biggest tour we've ever done," Davis says from his home in Franklin, Tenn, before the start of the cross-country adventure. "The production on it is going to be sick. It's really a step up for us, for sure. It's cool."

At 25, Davis is the old man in the band. Zac Farro is now 20; guitarist Taylor York, who joined in 1997, also is 20; Williams is 21 and Josh Farro is 22.

"Me, Hayley, Josh and Zac have been in the band since Day One and have been through everything," Davis says. "We've grown up together. We really feel like a family."

Though the band's career trajectory describes an ever-ascending arc (its latest album rocketed to No. 2 on Billboard's album chart the first week of its release, selling 175,000 copies), there have been reports of trouble in its ranks.

Not surprisingly, Williams attracts most of the attention from the rock press. There have been stories that this has caused a rift between Williams and her band mates.

Davis says the reports are without merit.

"People love to spread rumors about us," he says. "I don't know why. Hayley's been pregnant about five times. People say we have problems in the band between each other, like the guys in the band were getting jealous of Hayley because she's getting more famous than everybody else.

"We're like, 'Who is writing this stuff?' "

The friendship between Williams and Davis goes back even further than the formation of Paramore as they played together in a funk cover band called the Factory.

Though the four core members of Paramore began playing together in 2002, the band officially formed in 2004.

It released its debut album, "All We Know Is Falling" in 2005. The band's breakthrough album, "Riot!", arrived two years later and yielded the hit singles "Misery Business," "crushcrushcrush" and "That's What You Get." The band subsequently won a 2008 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist but lost to Amy Winehouse.

Though Paramore, whose music has been prominently featured on the "Twilight" soundtracks, is one of the fastest-rising bands in the world, Davis laughs when asked how it feels to be famous.

"We all live in the same town (Franklin, Tenn.) we grew up in," he says. "We hang out with the same friends that we hung out with since we met. We just love that we get to play music. It's a lot of hard work, but it's a blast and it's our dream come true."

Paramore

Sat. 6:30 p.m. $37.50

Star Pavilion, Hersheypark Stadium

534-3911
www.hersheyparkstadium.com