The All-American Rejects had the most-played song in all of 2009 with its hit “Gives You Hell,” according to Billboard magazine. And with the album that spawned the song, “When The World Comes Down,” heading toward platinum, the band is quickly nearing 4 million copies sold for its three albums.
But don’t expect the pop-punk band from Stillwater, Okla., to have an inflated sense of self over its success.
It’s that attitude that led The All-American Rejects to perform at this year’s Vans Warped Tour, the summer festival that typically features breaking or underground bands.
The tour, which features 73 bands, including hot emo singer NeverShoutNever and pop-punkers The Rocket Summer, will makes stops Thursday at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton and Friday at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, N.J.
In a recent telephone call from Los Angeles, All-American Rejects guitarist Mike Kennerty talked about the band’s success, playing Warped and the future.
Why are you guys playing Warped this year?
“You know, we haven’t in the past few years. We were supposed to two years ago, but it ended up we were in the midst of recording our album, which we thought we’d be done with at the time – we were recording ‘When The World Comes Down.’ And we ended up we couldn’t do it ‘cause we had to finish the record. So we felt bad ever since [Laughs] And so like, ‘Alright, this is the year we’re going to do it again. We’re free .’ We’ve always had fun; this will be our fourth year, I think, doing it, and we’ve always had a blast on it. It’s a great time.”
And then last year, you guys were on the blink-182 reunion tour.
“Yeah.”
Just out of curiosity, how was that?
“It was cool. We had a little difficulty in that our singer, Tyson, got like an infection in his leg flying around on the stage. So we had to cut the tour short. But up until then it was great, and actually the whole leg thing added to a lot — I’m sure he wouldn’t use this word — but a lot of the fun of the tour, ‘cause it made the shows just ridiculous. [Laughs] But it was a god time.” (Continues)
ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, headliners for 16th annual Van Warped Tour, featuring 73 bands of all styles on nine stages, including emo singer NeverShoutNever, pop-punkers The Rocket Summer, veteran punk band Alkaline Trio and rockers Motion City Soundtrack 11 a.m. Thursday, Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton; www.ticketmaster.com, 570-961-9000; Noon Friday, Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, N.J.; www.livenation.com, 856-365-1300; Tickets: $30. Info: www.allmericanrejects.com, www.vanswarpedtour.com
Yeah, I read one review where I think he performed from a wheelchair or something like that.
“Yeah, he did. In a doctor’s suit. Our merch guy dressed up as a Ninja so he could help him stand on stage. [Laughs]”
One of the reasons I asked about why you guys are playing Warped – when you look at your statistics: 10 million albums sold, five Top 50 songs, last year “Gives You Hell” was the most-played song. I mean, you guys have really hit. And I’m wondering whether you’re feeling it yet.
“You know at times, when we hear things like those statistics, it’s pretty mind-blowing. But honestly, when we’re just in the midst of it, it’s tough to really get perspective on it. I don’t know, we just kind of do what feels right.”
You guys aren’t playing amphitheatres or stadiums yet. Even when you do solo shows, you’re still playing medium-sized venues.
“Yeah, we’ll play whatever we can. We’ve just always been a band that, we have our core audience and we usually play to a few thousand people. And that’s what we’re happy doing.”
Two years now – about that – since “World Comes Down” came out. Are you guys working on a new record?
“We are. We’re starting to get the songs together right now and we’re going to try to continue while we’re on Warped – getting more material together. And then hopefully, right afterward go and hit the studio and start putting some stuff down.”
Anything surprising or different coming out so far?
“Um, there’s … each of our records, we’ve always just kind of never set out with something in mind – like we want to do this type of record. And given that we always seem to take longer than most bands between records, there’s always just this sort of little bit of evolution that just happens from becoming a couple years older and not really caring what comes out – just writing what comes out. And so there’s things already that I think are going to make it unique from the other albums, but still us very much.
“Hopefully the new record will be out the beginning of next year.”
Apparently that system works, because each of your albums has done better than the one before. You’re doing the right thing somehow.
“Knock on wood that it continues.” [Laughs]
The other things I wanted to mention. I guess these would be the benchmarks of popularity or something: “Gives You Hell” was on “Glee,” I saw you guys played a Winter Olympics gig and then you did like an after-Super Bowl gig, too.
“Yeah. For not really doing much this year besides writing, we had a busy year in a way [Laughs]. But yeah, the ‘Glee’ thing, that was particularly insane. ‘Cause I was just at home and I heard the news it was coming on, so I DVR’d it. And then when I watched it, it was like, I don’t know … it’s just a weird moment to think about. A year and a half ago, working on that song and, like, know exactly the gestation and where it came from and to seeing this huge TV show do their interpretation of it, it was very bizarre but awesome.”
And how about the big stages at the Olympics and Super Bowl? I mean, were those gigs any different from any other ones you do?
“The Olympics one was, because it was such a mix of demographics from around the world all together and it was pretty cool. And the setting for that one was pretty amazing cause it was pretty much in the valley of these mountains, looking out. And it was beautiful. You know, we play so many shows in so many different odd places. The actual show aspect is usually pretty like standard, but that one – the audience, the view, everything, that was beautiful. It was awesome.”
You guys also participated in the “Alice in Wonderland” movie disc. How did that come about?
“I think that was an extension of we’d done a song for this compilation called ‘Nightmare Revisited’ where it was artists covering ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ songs and ‘cause of that, I think the same people were putting together the ‘Almost Alice’ thing, so they approached us again to do that. And it was quick. Both of those were we’re on the road, we’ve got to figure out some way to do this. And so they’re both kind of more acoustic songs. It was the means that we had at the time.”
The final project I want to ask you about it you guys are the campaign music for the JVC Turn Me On campaign.
“I think JVC approached us, asked us to be a part of it, showed us what they’d done with previous years, and we were like, ‘OK.’ [Laughs] It was just one of those good moments, too, where we happened to be all around and had the time to do it. I think it turned out pretty cool. The most amazing thing was that they used these cameras to shoot it. It looks amazing, but it was all these little digital cameras that they shot it on. “
I got to ask you this: You’re getting ready to turn 30 this year, right?
“Riiight.”
Yeah, and Chris already is 30. So you guys are sort of growing up. Does that change your approach to music life at all.
“Um, it hasn’t yet. It is weird, ‘cause I think people tend to think we’re younger than we are, too. But it’s interesting. In an environment like Warped Tour, it’s going to be really interesting, because when we first did that tour, we were the new, young kids. And it can be a very clique-y tour in a way – you go to sit down at catering and there’s just these groups of people and you can definitely tell the veterans and all this stuff. It’s really weird – looking at the lineup this year, and all the big bands are like our friends. And we’re going to be those band this time [Laughs]. And there’s going to be all these young kids that are probably like, ‘Oh, all those big bands just hang out together. They don’t hang out with anyone else.’ It’s not that [laughs]. We grew up with these other bands, too. It’s funny. It’s a funny thing to now be the old guys on the tour.”
I got to tell you, though – every time I see you guys live or on TV, I really get the impression that you’re pretty much the same guys that you were when you started. Am I right about that?
[Laughs] “No, no, it is. I think we’re all still … coming up in Oklahoma, there’s like humbleness ingrained into you and I don’t think we could [avoid that]. We would get too much [flak] from all our family and friends if we ever let any of this [stuff] go to our heads [Laughs]”
