The All-American Rejects formed while members Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler were still in high school. In 2000, before they even graduated, they had released a demo. By 2003, they hit the mainstream with the release of their first studio album The All-American Rejects. The album, which included the hit single “Swing, Swing” (one of my favorites) went platinum. Their second album, Move Along (2005), featured three hits; “It Ends Tonight“, “Dirty Little Secret” and “Move Along“, which were in top fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The next album went Gold and propelled the band to the Australian and British charts with “Gives You Hell“.
The All-American Rejects, who hail from Oklahoma, literally grew up in rock ‘n roll, and hit the big time quick. But as their latest album, Kids on the Street, will attest, they managed to survive the temptations that led many young stars into addiction and self-destruction.
“A lot of this record is just Polaroids, going through this downward spiral of moving to Los Angeles and getting lost in a little bit of excess and this lifestyle that can easily be bought into,” says Tyson Ritter in a recent Rolling Stone interview.
American Songwriter quotes Ritter as saying that he sees the album as a baptismal journey, about finding himself sick with superficiality and clearing out the dust that had accumulated within him. The record’s first single, “Beekeeper’s Daughter,” is a reflection upon toxic relationships he experienced as a “lost kid” in Los Angeles. “I started to get insensitive to the opposite sex. I’d met a couple terrible people who I felt disposable to, and I felt I should return the favor.”
The Rejects are now on tour supporting the new album and will be at Pearl Street in Northampton on April 22nd.
Rock On! Young Musicians Workshop 