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Saving the Day
Gym Class Heroes brings together rap and rock fans in Dallas
The Shorthorn Scene editor
The Shorthorn: Lindsey Clark
Lead vocalist of Gym Class Heroes, Travis McCoy, sings for a diverse
audience at Dallas’ Granada Theater Tuesday night.
With storms rolling across the Metroplex on Tuesday night and the media
constantly on the lookout, there was still a large crowd at Dallas’
Granada Theater set to experience history in the making with the popular
rap-rock band.
And a pretty diverse crowd at that. While it was obvious some were there
for other acts — there was a nice-sized alt-rock crowd that was
the most stoked about the ska-rock band RX Bandits — seeing the
mix of Plano American Eagle preps and the more hip-hop Oak Cliff youth
wiping it down let you know it was a different kind of scene.
But it wasn’t like at a Destiny’s Child or 50 Cent show. The
integrated audience at the Granada showed that today’s generation
is, for the most part, through with the “white music-black music”
labels. Now young adults actually can listen to both Jay-Z and The Killers
and not feel so torn between two worlds.
Headliners GCH brought the goods for everyone after rappers k-os and P.O.S.,
of similar musical veins, were able to get even those who were unfamiliar
with them excited. RX Bandits did its thing for its fans, but it was at
that point that there was an evident divide in the crowd. Some danced
in their own circles while others stood silently, anxious for GCH to hit
the stage.
At about 10:30, it did — to the tune “Hail to the Chief.”
The raucous crowd could hardly contain itself as the band started with
“Papercuts” and “Shoot Down the Stars” before
going into their older material. Then, between “New Friend Request”
and “The Queen and I,” GCH covered the Beach Boys’ “Good
Vibrations.” It also paid tribute to the late James Brown.
The Shorthorn: Lindsey Clark
Gym Class Heroes perform more than an hour long set that included the
songs “Cupid’s Chokehold” and “The Queen and
I.”
“After a show, I’m sweaty, I smell like goat cheese and all
I really want to do is put on my pajamas and watch ‘Grey’s
Anatomy,’ ” McCoy said, referring to the many drunken freestylers
that greet him outside after shows.
Every song caused a stir, including “7 Weeks” and “On
My Own Time (Write On!),” but none more than “Cupid’s
Chokehold,” which is at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The group celebrated the news by popping some bubbly on stage before the
last song of the night.
Of course, every act today has an encore. GCH went one-up when McCoy returned
on the balcony to perform “Clothes Off!!” He slowly made his
way down through to the fans below, which would surely upset those who
left early.
For the Granada, GCH had an impressive lighting setup, and they sounded
great throughout. They’re not musical greats yet, but they are definitely
on their way, and it was something to see.
Heroes’ Recess
The Shorthorn: Lindsey Clark
Travis McCoy and Eric Roberts get ready for their next song Tuesday night at the Granada Theater in Dallas.
The Shorthorn: When does the next video come out?
Eric Roberts: Ooh, that’s a secret.
TS: Well, how was it working with the little kids in it?
ER: ”Shoot Down the Stars” was definitely one of the most fun videos
we’ve ever shot. We got to hang out with kids that were exactly like us
when we were 10 years old. I don’t know who did the casting, but not only
did they look like us, but even though they had never met each other before, they
were all hanging out and chilling. Kind of like how we are these days. Really
cool to see that.
TS: Did you hurt your leg?
Travis McCoy: Actually, no, I just got a tattoo done. I probably should’ve
gotten it done in two sessions, because there’s a lot of intricate work.
But I was like, “Nah, I’m a tough cookie. I can do it in one day.”
So now it’s just really swollen, but it’ll be fine.
TS: How has the tour been, and how was Dallas?
TM: Dallas was amazing, we always have a good time. One of the first shows we
played on tour was at Trees with Less Than Jake. That was the first big tour that
we did. The arena tours I can’t really get with, I mean it’s so impersonal.
You can’t really connect with a crowd like that. When you’re playing
arenas and you can’t see past the first four rows, and all you hear is “ahhh”
— at that point you become entertainment. I’d rather have our shows
be an experience and have people walk home going, “Wow.” I like to
engage people on stage instead of being on stage like shucking and jiving, you
know? That minstrel stuff is over.
TS: What’ll you do if you get big like Green Day?
TM: This might sound bad, but I hope we don’t. I would never want to, but
if we do — I just cross my fingers that it doesn’t.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
TS: How was Dallas for you?
ER: You know what’s funny is that we had one of our, like, third days off
in about three months last night. So we were all well-rested and stuff for tonight.
Granted it was our third show for the day, but we pulled it off pretty good for
being that tired. Kids were insane, we love Texas and tonight was one to put down
in the books for this tour, for sure.
TS: How’s it working with other artists? Any upcoming collaborations?
TM: Uh, for sure. Next record we’re looking to get Daryl Hall on. I’m
a huge Hall and Oates fan, and apparently he’s a fan of ours now. Kanye’s
into us now, we’re gonna work with Kanye. I’m into Devin the Dude,
want to get in touch with him, he’s an MC from Houston. There’s a
band called Say Anything... we’re just into all kinds of music. We don’t
want it to be like, “Okay, this song, featuring so and so.” There’ll
be subtle cameos, but just regular stuff.
TS: Have you already written songs for the next album?
TM: Oh, of course. I write all the time. We have so much press and shit, the only
time you get to goof off and come up with new jams is during sound checks. Dishashi
actually just wrote the most amazing song ever. We recorded it and it’s
gonna be a hit. It’s him singing the whole song, I jut bust a rap, so Dishashi
gets to showcase his skills.
TS: So “Cupid’s Chokehold” is number one today?
TM: Yeah, we found out yesterday. It’s the number one song in the country
– pop singles. It’s kinda weird.
TS: Why’d you shoot a new video for the song?
TM: Well, a lot of people don’t realize the song’s three years old.
We shot the video a long time okay, before we had any kind of budget, it was really
cheap... it wasn’t on film. You have to meet certain requirements, with
film quality and stuff, to get on TV.
— Anthony Williams
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