Interviews CD Reviews Unsigned Artists

The All-American Rejects

Starting this month, The All-American Rejects will move along to playing arenas; just don't expect them to compete in one anytime soon. After talking via phone with the always off-the-wall Tyson Ritter while his band finished up their sold-out tour of the U.K. last month, Recoil quickly realized the Rejects aren't all star athletes. They are, however, all star rockers, joining Fall Out Boy and Hawthorne Heights on what some might already call a dream team of rising pop-punkers for the already sold-out Black Clouds and Underdogs tour coming to the Deltaplex March 21. Formed in Stillwater, Okl., by vocalist/bassist Ritter and guitarist Nick Weaver while still in high school, The All-American Rejects added adolescently accelerated rhythms to an expansive power pop sound. As a duo, Ritter and Weaver wrote and recorded all the songs for their self-titled 2002 debut album after signing with indie upstart Doghouse Records. The catchy results quickly drew the attention of Dreamworks Records and not long after being called up into the majors, The Rejects found themselves embraced by heartache-stricken fans all over the world with their first single "Swing, Swing." Steady touring followed with the addition of guitarist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor rounding out the lineup, and the little band from America's heartland slowly became very big. Their sophomore set, Move Along, released last summer on Interscope Records, proved the band had a few more tricks up their sleeves with the crossover smash "Dirty Little Secret" rising up first the rock and then the pop charts. With the recent follow-up single "Move Along" already climbing up steadily, Ritter's confident that he and his tourmates might just be marking rock's ready return to the top. Maybe these guys are competing in the arenas they're playing in after all.

Recoil: You guys closed out your headlining tour last year in Detroit. Being from Stillwater, Oklahoma, originally, has The All American Rejects always gotten the best response from other cities in the Midwest?
Tyson Ritter: Yeah, I think so. The more south you go I think it's not as true, but yeah, definitely up in Chicago and around the Milwaukee area, and Detroit, that's probably the best place for us to play, for sure.

R: That tour was sponsored by Zippo lighters, which I thought was a little strange considering how more of your fans wave their cell phones in the air than lighters. Do you miss the atmosphere created with a packed house waving a bunch of small flames back and forth?
TR: Yeah, we couldn't get any cell phones as sponsors. [Laughs] But hell yeah, we're bringing that shit back, don't worry. I think lighters have gotten a bad rap because they've been called cigarette lighters for so long. They're lighters man! They just light stuff. Wave them around!

R: Does it seem as cool having people sharing your live show through their cell phones?
TR: I don't mind it at all. The quality on that shit is terrible anyway, so record away.

R: How has the current U.K. tour been going so far?
TR: Ahh, it's been sick dude. So sick. The kids are nuts, I haven't had a bad show yet so I'm stoked about that.

R: What would you say is most different about your U.K. fans from your fans back home in the States?
TR: U.K. people have rhythm. People in the U.S. can't really clap on time. And the U.K. people dance more than they mosh, which I like, because there's nobody really getting hurt.

R: Although you guys have toured a lot all over the world now, was it tough spending Valentine's Day overseas and on the road?
TR: Nah. Everybody's got their duties to their ladies, but we had a blast.

R: The Black Clouds and Underdogs tour will be taking you to some of the biggest arenas back here in the U.S. When you and Nick were first starting out, in what ways did some of the arena rock bands back in their heyday influence how you wanted to make music?
TR: We developed our sound because of our love for music that can be big, whether it's Pink Floyd or even if it's good old Motown stuff, Earth, Wind and Fire, frickin' ACDC, INXS — the shit that can really fill a room that's the shit that stands today. I mean we're doing an arena tour, dude. Get your head around that. [Laughs] I mean, what the hell is going on? [Laughs]

R: One of your first opportunities to play a huge arena was after a Boston Celtics game. Are you guys NBA fans?
TR: Not really, but it was a kick-ass experience. I'm a fan of the Boston Celtics now for sure.

R: In your new video for "Move Along" one of the characters you play is a football player. As a team, what sport would the four of you be the best at?
TR: We would be best at the sport of food urinal horseshoe tossing. It's where you take a deli tray full of fruits and vegetables, no meats though. Well, you throw the meat on the ceiling of wherever you're playing, and then you throw the celery and whatever into the urinal and whoever makes the most in there wins. Like celery is worth one point, strawberries are worst, like three, it depends on the size of the actual object.

R: What would you be the worst at?
TR: What would we suck at? We would suck at the sport of anything at all with any physical exertion. No, I think we would suck at water polo, that's about it. Every other sport we would probably rule. [Laughs.]

R: Speaking of the "Move Along" video, what was it like working with director Marc Webb? Which video shoot has been the most fun?
TR: Yeah, it was really fun working with him. But I definitely had the most fun on the "Dirty Little Secret" video shoot. That was a blast.

R: I've read that before "Dirty Little Secret" took off last summer you guys were worried that you might be written off by some as a one-hit wonder for "Swing, Swing" off your first album. Just how quickly did that fear go away?
TR: Pretty much that feeling was never in place. We've been pretty optimistic that we love the music we like and we're going to do it no matter what, you know? And if it didn't work then it didn't work, but it did, so the fear never really came because it never really failed. It didn't fail, so why prepare for the worst if it's not even going to happen?

R: Maybe the biggest success of "Dirty Little Secret" was how well it did as a paid download single and as a ringtone, since you guys were up towards the top on both of those charts. Do you think your fans are a big part of that change in the music industry?
TR: Yeah, we're in a changing time right now, so I think bands like us and bands like Fall Out Boy and bands that are making it out there in this tough arena that is rock, I think there's a changing of the guard coming. I think rap is on its way out at the top and I think rock 'n' roll is here to stay. It's coming back full force with this fucking Internet shit, like iTunes, MySpace and PureVolume. You know name it. It's an Internet world and the Internet is starting to phase out the real world, for Christ's sake.

R: The All American Rejects was on the first MySpace compilation, which is a reflection of how you've not only been able to connect directly with your fans but also with other bands like Fall Out Boy and Hawthorne Heights and really create a sense of community. How much do you think that's helped your success?
TR: I think it's important but I also think there [are] natural boundaries that everyone needs in the real world. I think it's great, but I think you also still need to live your life and not be attached to a computer. I definitely don't condone the eight hours a day that people who are addicted to the computer usually spend.

R: Where do you see the role of downloading playing out in the future?
TR: I think illegal downloading is always going to be there, but I don't think it's going to be anywhere near as big because people are starting to see the moral value of legal things like iTunes and the fact that it's much more accessible than trying to rip stuff on your own.

R: Overall, do you think the Internet has finally leveled the playing field for up and coming bands to break through to a larger audience?
TR: Yeah, I think it's definitely giving everybody a fair shot at making it.

R: You got the chance to help break some bands yourself when you appeared as a guest judge, of sorts, on MTV2's 'Dew Circuit Breakout Challenge.' How did you feel about being asked to do that?
TR: It was cool. It was rad just because the overall winners of that, Hellogoodbye, were friends of ours who have toured with us. It was really cool because I didn't pick the winners at the finals (Ritter selected the four finalist bands for the show, but fans voted online for the grand prize winner). A lot of the bands I've known and had heard of so it was really cool to be able to do that.

R: The Black Clouds and Underdogs tour will be making a huge run across the U.S., so what are your plans for after that finally wraps?
TR: We're going to hit up the rest of the world. South America, Japan, the U.K. again and hit the U.S. in the fall and hopefully bring the biggest tour of 2006. I hope we just keep on selling out arenas, man.

March 2006