GCH to Perform at Stabler Arena

Gym Class Heroes will perform at Stabler Arena on September 28th 2007. The group’s most recent success was receiving the Best New Artist award at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.

Colin McLeod, ’08, co-music director for University Productions, said it takes a lot of work to get bands like Gym Class Heroes to perform here at Lehigh. “Lehigh was able to get such a high-profile band as a result of working with a production company over the summer,” McLeod said. Lehigh works with production company More Music, which finds shows coming to the area that are within the university’s budget.

Gym Class Heroes is part of the Verizon tour. As sponsor of the tour, Verizon subsidizes the event to make it more affordable for schools. Other artists performing at the concert are The Pack and Tyga. The Pack is a rap group from San Francisco. Tyga is also a rapper.

Recently, Gym Class Heroes has experienced escalating success. The single “Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The group’s album “As Cruel as School Children” made the Billboard Top 200 and the European Top 100.

Their first album, “For the Kids”, was self-released in 2001. The band started to gain recognition after the 2003 release of “The Papercut Chronicles” which caught the attention of Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz. In 2004, he asked them to join his Fueled by Ramen Records imprint, Decaydence. Since being signed to Decaydence, Gym Class Heroes has performed at several major venues and festivals, including the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival and Warped Tour. They also opened for Gwen Stefani on her Sweet Escape Tour in New Zealand and Australia in July and August of this year.

This fall, Gym Class Heroes will be part of the Young and Wild Things Tour, which will be headlined by Fall Out Boy. Other bands on the bill include Plain White T’s and Cute is What We Aim For.

The group is often compared to artists such as Atmosphere, Kanye West and Prince. Some Lehigh students said they are looking forward to the upcoming concert. “I’m really excited; it’s good that they’re coming,” McLeod said. “They’re a happening band right now. They’re getting a lot of exposure recently. They’ve been touring for three years, and I’ve seen them live, and I know that they put on a really good show.”

Tickets for the concert are $10 for Lehigh students with a limit to four tickets per ID. For non-Lehigh students, tickets are $12.50. Tickets are on sale at Ulrich Student Center and the University Center from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. on weekdays. They are also available in the bookstore. The doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show begins at 8 p.m. Buses will run to and from Stabler Arena to Asa Packer Campus to transport students to the concert.

By Lehigh University's Student Newspaper