The Kids Are Alright - Gym Class Heroes

The last time Gym Class Heroes played in the UK, the marquee venue on their tour was the Yeovil Ski Centre. While this Somerset snow dome crackled with energy and mayhem that night – “maybe because the circus doesn’t come to Yeovil that often� speculates bassist Eric Roberts- we expects that locations of this size and ilk won’t be big enough when they return to Blighty in the summer. Following the obscenely good reception their modest sized February tour had over here (taking in a couple of Barflys and the like along the way) and with their Supertramp-sampling top three hit single ‘Cupid’s Chokehold (Breakfast in America)’ on heavy MTV rotation its not hard to predict that something juicy could be about to happen for these guys. Well, juicier than Yeovil anyway. Gigwise caught up with the band in London to discuss their growing phenomenon.

Taking advantage of the Godzilla-like effect ‘Cupid’s…’ is having on the charts and airplay at the minute, Gym Class are sticking new album ‘As Cruel as School Children’ out again in the States with the tune tacked on the end (originally heard on 2004’s humbly received ‘The Paper cut Chronicles’ LP), and including it at the last minute for the UK release of the album. Dubbed by the band as a humorous and childlike this rap-tinged melodic album plays heavily on the school days theme, including the spacing out of the tunes into periods as well as ‘yearbook club’, ‘detention’ and so on.

Screwing up his face at the suggestion that this sounds like a concept album, guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo does at least acknowledge that their timing seems impeccable, telling us: “its basically a summer time breezy record, kids will be able to drive around and get down to it!� While the overriding tone of the record is certainly light hearted, the depth of front man Travis “Schleprok� McCoy’s lyrics ranges from shallow boasts, to sincere verses of intimacy and concern. The smartness of tunes like ‘Clothes Off’ and ‘New Friend Request!’ are counter balanced by the darker topics discussed in ‘The Queen and I’. His amusing self-deprecation on tracks like ‘Sloppy Love Jingle’ (parts 1, 2 & 3) serves to disassociate McCoy from both the arrogance of mainstream rap and the self-pitying angst of US teen rock. A place where the band is content: “No matter what tour we’re on, whether it be a hip-hop tour, or a metal tour, we’re always that different band,� reflects Disashi. “If it’s a rock tour people are like ‘eeurggh…. it’s rap! And vice versa.�

Like the kid that doesn’t fit anywhere in the playground, Gym Class seem to be the unique outcasts of an otherwise formulaic musical landscape. After touring their instrumental laden hip-hop at break neck speed for a few years with bands of hugely varying genre and scene saw attempts to pigeonhole Gym Class have prove less than fruitful. “I think the worst one was ‘emo-rap’…we just about managed to break out of that one,� they quip. Playing along side punk, hip-hop, ska and emo bands on touring festivals meant GCH weren’t always what the audience were expecting: “these kids are amped up to see Emery (Christian rock outfit) or some other band, and we come on…a lot of fingers in the front row man!�