Take Your Clothes Off and Join the Party Time with Gym Class Heroes

Gym Class Heroes are set to release their new single, 'Clothes Off' on August 20th through the Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen label. They have just finished a series of live headline dates in the UK and are also heading to Reading and Leeds festival next month.

The forthcoming single, 'Clothes Off' is on the Upfront List at Radio 1 and has also been added to the Capital Radio Play List. Taken from the current album As Cruel As School Children, it uses a sample from the 1985 pop classic 'We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off' by Jermaine Stewart. The accompanying video is on rotation at The Box, The Hits and Kiss TV.

'Clothes Off' follows the phenomenal success of the UK Top 3 Smash Hit (and US # 1) 'Cupid's Chokehold (Breakfast In America)'. The track, which was A-listed at Radio 1 and Capital, peaked at no.1 in the UK airplay charts, whilst residing comfortably within the UK Top 10 for more than 2 months.

Rightly recognized as true pioneers of live hip-hop, Gym Class Heroes has won popular and critical acclaim for kicking out genre-busting jams that seamlessly meld rap, rock, pop funk, R&B, and anything else that happens to strike the musically voracious outfit's fancy. They have taken America by storm with 'Cupid's Chokehold (Breakfast In America)', written by Roger Hodgson, formerly of Supertramp and Rich Davies of Supertramp. The track uses the hook from the 1979 hit song, 'Breakfast In America' and features guest vocals by Patrick Stump (who also has a cameo role in the video).

The album, As Cruel As School Children is marked by its diverse grooves and warm organic textures. "Our music is rooted in hip-hop," explains lead vocalist Travis McCoy, "but not restricted to it." In fact, crucial to the album's buoyant sound, was their mutual love for the funk-flavoured mainstream R&B of the 80's a la Prince and Ready for the World. "Some of the arrangements in that stuff just blow me away," says Travis, "Those are the songs that last forever. We're definitely interested in making that type of music."

Always challenging perceptions of what hip-hop and indie rock could or should be, Gym Class Heroes are doing things on their own terms. "In a sense," says McCoy, "we're a lot like the chubby kid smiling away on the album artwork. Everyone has an opinion of who he is and what he should be. He keeps smiling and doesn't change. Instead he waits and watches the world around him change to fit his standards. This album is the chubby kid's middle finger held high."

By ILikeMusic.com

MCCOY- The tattoo is one of my biggest regrets

Travis Mccoy, a singer form the band Gym Class Heroes truly regrets his teenage times - he regrets for the tatoos he has had done when being young. This is so because the image of a graffiti can on his arm reminds him of his criminal past. The frontman of the band used to love the illegally spraying artwork in areas of his hometown of Geneva,NY as a child. He even had a spray can tattooed onto his arm. Man, this guy really got carried away with this stuff. Travis stated that the tattoo is one of his biggest regrets.

"I liked to graffiti when I was younger and when I was 15 I got a spray can tattooed on my arm. I come from a small town and was one of two kids that wrote graffiti, so it was like the scarlet letter, the dumbest idea ever! If anything ever went down, they'd come to my house like, 'Yeah sure, it wasn't you a**hole, with that tattooed on your arm'."

By ContactMusic.com

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Gym Class Heroes - behind the scenes

That Gym Class Heroes owe their sudden success to a Supertramp sample should tickle parents of their predominately teenage fans. At the hip-hop band’s biggest British gig to date, well-behaved boys with their baseball caps worn sideways and groups of middle-class girls in purposely tacky attire were trying hard to assert their independence, but had been snagged by a song from their dads’ dancing days.

Formed six years ago in New York State, Gym Class Heroes exploded this spring with Cupid’s Chokehold, a catchy but corny, transatlantic chart smash based on Breakfast in America, Supertramp’s 1970s super hit.

Serious hip-hop fans were left cold, yet to dismiss the group as a novelty act is selling them short. The quintet’s current album, As Cruel as School Children, blends buoyant raps from the towering frontman Travis McCoy with funk grooves, guitar and beats played by a real drummer. The results are refreshingly fun, if hardly ground-breaking, while lyrics that avoid both gangsta clichés and social politics at least make them unusual.

On a UK tour last year to support their friends Fall Out Boy, whose singer makes a guest appearance on Cupid’s Chokehold, Gym Class Heroes were frequently booed or bottled. In front of an audience aware that their primary mission is to get a party started, they couldn’t put a foot wrong. In a cute start, the band throw their baseball caps in to the crowd – handily, McCoy, who opted to keep his on, had a spare on his mike stand. Fans were encouraged to wiggle their fingers in the air during the swampy Shoot Down the Stars and fast-clap to Taxi Driver, a prefame favourite that mixed Jurassic 5-like bouncy beats with R&B.

McCoy rambled too long on his love of London and beautiful girls, but delivered an impressive punch with The Queen and I, not a high-five to the monarchy, but a rant against girls who drink too much. Needless to say, the drunken females down the front joined in its chorus with a gusto that proved they had missed the point. They then headed back to the bar during a retooled Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations, a step too far into dads’ territory. Yet the forthcoming single Clothes Off!, based on Jermaine Stewart’s naff 1980s hit, went down a storm. At that age, there’s no telling them.

By The Times

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"Cupid's Chokehold" by Gym Class Heroes has been on the Billboard chart for 6 months

The band's popular song, "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America," has been on the Billboard chart for six months now.

Frontman Travis McCoy told MTV News why he thinks the song has been so popular. "It was time for a song like that to come around, you know? A lot of people are banking on their sorrow and just bad experiences with females. I feel like there are some girls that are out there that are kind of cool and they deserve a song written about them, you know? So, it's a universal anthem for any girl out there who likes to play video games with their boyfriend and cook them breakfast and pancakes and all that."

Travis also clarified what influenced the song. "Just like any other adolescent male, I've been through a lot of weird relationships with girls and this song is basically... it's a little sarcastic, about the perfect girl who kind of doesn't exist, you know what I'm saying? But, I don't know, maybe she does, I just haven't been to Africa yet."

By MTV News

Gym Class Heroes Tour Dates

07.19.2007 - Academy 2 - Manchester, UK
07.20.2007 - The Forum - London, UK
07.22.2007 - Gebaude 9 - Cologne, DE
07.23.2007 - Knust - Hamburg, DE
07.26.2007 - Vector Arena - Auckland, NZ
07.28.2007 - Brisbane Entertainment Centre - Brisbane, AU
07.29.2007 - UNSW Roundhouse - Kensington, AU
07.30.2007 - Acer Arena (formerly SuperDome) - Sydney, AU
07.31.2007 - Acer Arena (formerly SuperDome) - Sydney, AU
08.02.2007 - Rod Laver Arena - Melbourne, AU
08.03.2007 - Rod Laver Arena - Melbourne, AU
08.04.2007 - Billboards - Melbourne, AU
08.05.2007 - Adelaide Entertainment Centre - Hindmarsh, So
08.07.2007 - Burswood Dome - Perth, AU
08.09.2007 - Fort Canning Park - Singapore, SG
08.11.2007 - Summer Sonic Festival / SummerSonic - Tokyo, JP
08.12.2007 - Summer Sonic Festival / SummerSonic - Osaka, JP
08.15.2007 - Pipeline Cafe and Sports Bar - Honolulu, HI
08.21.2007 - Olympia - Paris, FR
09.01.2007 - Bumbershoot Festival - Seattle, WA
09.22.2007 - Street Scene - San Diego, CA
09.23.2007 - Street Scene - San Diego, CA

Decaydance Festival in London

Gym Class Heroes will be playing Decaydance Fest along with Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is… and Cobra Starship on Wednesday, August 22nd in London at the Hammersmith Apollo.

By GymClassHeroes.com News

 

P Diddy is searching for a new assistant

The successful hip-hop entertainer P Diddy has decided to use YouTube for his search.

The world’s richest rap star is searching for a new assistant and has posted an advert asking applicants to upload a three minutes video to the global website.

Diddy warned applicants that the job wouldn't be so easy, he not-so-jokingly asks “What better job than that – to have me scream at you, go crazy, keep you up late at hours…?”

At the end of the day, the famous star was really self-satisfied because of his extra ordinary approach. He explained: “It’s a new age, new time and new era. Forget coming in to the office to have a meeting with me and be nervous”. He then finished his advert with a boyish grin, saying “this gonna be fun”. Well, it is great to see that Sean Combs (P Diddy) is taking so much pleasure in his job!

Vote for P Diddy at Hottnez.com

Gym Class Heroes - Clothes Off Video

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Gym Class Heroes - Clothes Off Lyrics

See here's the thing

We have to take our clothes off
We have to party all night
And we have to take our clothes off
To have a good time
Oh no

Excuse me miss
I couldn't help but to notice how alone you are
I dig the attitude and how you're acting like you own the bar
Got me flashing keys and I don't even own a car
Like you ain't feeling my charm, because I know you are
I'm trying to see how your lips feel
Oh I'm sorry, my name is Travee and I'm pretty much a big deal
Oh, you've never heard of me
That sounds absurd to me
The way you stole my attention was flat out burglary
What do you say let's exit stage left so me and you can
Possibly reconvene and play some naked peekaboo
Cause after all the blouse you're wearing is kinda see through
And it's obvious I'm heading wherever you're leading me too
Such an angel with a devilish angle
And quite the certified sweet talker
And you're buying every line of it girl
And I don't really blame you
If I was in your shoes I'd probably do the same too

We have to take our clothes off
We have to party all night
And we have to take our clothes off
To have a good time
Oh no

Now here's another barn burner for the slow learners
Put your helmets on and take a seat on the short bus
Next stop, right around the corner from your momma live
No turning back so you better buckle up
Shit, don't be concerned with mine
I feel like a Speak and Spell way I got you learning my lines
Fine, pull the string, replay that shit
I change my name to "did he really just say that shit?"
Yep
I'll take a mile if you let me
Six-five, two hundred plus and so sexy
My legs going numb for keeping my phone on vibrate
To hide the fact your girlfriend keeps textin' me
And I've been trying to never mind it man
But every time I get a new number, she finds it damn
And you thought you had it sewn up
Until right around amazing o'clock when I showed up

We have to take our clothes off
We have to party all night
And we have to take our clothes off
To have a good time
Oh no

Got chicks, all hot chicks
Indie-rock chicks, and hip-hop chicks
Slim chicks, round chicks
Black, white, yellow, and brown chicks
Got chicks, all hot chicks
Indie-rock chicks, and hip-hop chicks
Slim chicks, round chicks
Black, white, yellow, and brown chicks

Good grief girl, you're giving me goosebumps
Standing there in your underwear and new pumps
It's like the more time we waste and less time I get to taste you
Honestly I could easily replace you
It's not a scam girl
That's how I am girl
Peter Pan, I'm a sucka for smucka's jam girl
It's clear I'm only here for good clean fun
Shut up and kiss me like the antidotes under my tongue
Whoa

We have to take our clothes off
And we have to party all night
And we have to take our clothes off
To have a good time
Oh no
We have to take our clothes off
And we have to party all night
And we have to take our clothes off
To have a good time
Oh no

Got chicks, all hot chicks
Indie-rock chicks, and hip-hop chicks
Slim chicks, round chicks
Black, white, yellow, and brown chicks
Got chicks, all hot chicks
Indie-rock chicks, and hip-hop chicks
Slim chicks, round chicks
Black, white, yellow, and brown chicks

Gym Class Heroes Were Recently Involved in Major Van Accident in New Mexico

Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy probably didn't want to make his debut on MTVNews.com talking about the day he almost died.

But less than a week after his band — which also includes guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo, bassist Eric Roberts and drummer Matt McGinley — was involved in a major van accident in New Mexico, McCoy found himself reliving those few minutes when "everything slowed down."

"We were driving through New Mexico and I was asleep, and our merch guy was going 80, which is a no-no in a 15-passenger van and a double-axle trailer," McCoy said. "And he dozed off, and the next thing you know, we're flipped and we were on our side, flying down the highway. My whole left side is hamburger meat right now. It's disgusting. Seth, our tour manager, had his feet pinned under the van, and he fractured them. But we pretty much got out unscratched; it coulda been much worse. The EMTs showed up, and they were like, 'How are you guys alive?' "

And they were lucky to be: McCoy fell through a smashed window and was dragged along the shoulder of the road. Lumumba-Kasongo had another window explode inches from his face. Roberts clung for dear life to a bench, dodging debris and band equipment. Basically, it was the most harrowing thing any of them had ever been through.

"It's one of those things that happened so fast but so slow at the same time. Everything slows down and you start seeing swings and candy and all these things from your childhood," he continued. "But we walked away from it. And things like that usually destroy a band, but this made us stronger. We were in Los Angeles the next day, getting back to work. We're built for it. Minor setbacks like crazy car accidents are nothing."

It's an attitude that'll no doubt serve Gym Class Heroes well over the next few months. With their new album, As Cruel as School Children, hitting stores July 25 — on Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's Decaydance Records — plus a slot on this summer's Warped Tour (see "Warped Tour Kicking Off A Day Early — Dates And Venues Revealed"), the band is sure to be spending a whole lot of time on the road.

And thanks to a brand-spankin' new tour bus, McCoy is looking forward to getting out there and playing shows. He's really excited for fans to hear the new stuff — they just shot a video for the first single off School Children, "The Queen and I," in Los Angeles — but he's still a little gun-shy about the whole thing.

"I got into a car the other day, and I'll tell you what: Rumble strips have never frightened me so much in my entire life," he said. "We're all pretty shaken up about it, but instead of dwelling on it, we're gonna get over it and keep doing what we do. I just can't see myself sleeping in a van for a while, man. It definitely put things into perspective. I've smiled so much lately that my face hurts. We're really lucky."

By James Montgomery, with additional reporting by Larry Carroll

Gym Class Heroes As Cruel As School Children Review

This flirty full-length is out like an ordinary school day. Helping this slithery 'Snakes On A Plane' accompanying, alternative and hip-hop rooted quartet adopt a youthful approach to life. In the first and second periods 'The Queen And I' and 'Shoot Down The Stars', old skool beats and lounge stroking licks are used to draw out their simplistic life views. In the case of the latter offering, some freshness is given to a 'be all you can be' message that modern kids probably hear more times than 'you're grounded'. Travis McCoy flits his soul-stroking projection between a haughty hip-hop/rap stance and a soaring, soul-soothing one. For the Myspace generation lament of 'New Friend Request', he manages to find a groove right in the middle of these two approaches and uses witty observations to draw out the foibles of modern, youthful life;
'Let's face it; it's a sad situation when we have to resort to keyboards as a means of making relations.'

Atmospheric interludes bring out reality in this fifteen track trawl though urbane life. Situations like the bar chat up scenario are depicted with honest y and a certain beleaguered drawl, 'Sloppy Love Jingle Part 1'. A young Barry White is re-enacted with rustic panache through 'Viva La White Girl', as Travis and co truly experiment with their range. Their publicity cause has been helped considerably by their association with Patrick 'Stumpy' Stump, who loaned his yearning cry to the brooding previous single, 'Cupid's Chokehold'. Nifty sampling and re-jigging of classic tunes give familiarity and a friendly vibe to the project. The rugged jungle and drum N' bass vibe that mingles in the gnarl of Eminem against a backdrop of distorted, punchy choral backing for 'Biter's Block', brings the ghetto to your earpiece and the tour guides do seem to speak from a base of familiarity.

Gym Class Heroes have managed to pierce the balloon of many genres to make them a durable live act. Their campaign to push away pompous musical boundaries has started well.

By David Adair

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