Gym Class Heroes

Emerging from upstate New York come the Gym Class Heroes, a four piece indie/hip hop band. GCH use live instruments and musicians to create their unique sound (not looped samples and canned beats), fusing crisp guitar rhythms, deep melodic bass lines, head cracking beats, and conscious lyrics. "It's hard trying to put our music into a pretty little box for people, but it's definitely rooted in hip-hop." Says MC/Singer Travis. "That's undeniable, but we all have different taste while sharing one common love in making music."

The band first got it's start during high school in 1997. "I can't lie. I was a straight up dork in high school." says Matt. "Not quite 'Babylon 5 dork', but it was bad. The first day of my freshman year I met Travis in gym class. We ended up talking all period. Turned out we liked a lot of the same bands. Travis was two years above me in school and way bigger than everyone else, so being friends with him turned out to be my 'get out of an ass beating card' on many occasions."

In the meantime, Matt was playing drums in a very informal band with friends Milo Bonacci and Ryan Geise. Travis was playing drums in a different band. Early in the school year both bands ended up playing at a friends party. "They didn't have a singer so they just played instrumentals." recalls Travis. "I seized the moment, grabbed the mic and started rhyming. There was this crazy chemistry."

From then on the four began writing material under the name Gym Class Heroes. Much of this material would eventually be compiled onto a series of E.P.'s, which sold locally out of backpacks and at shows. In early 2002 the band decided to independently release a full length album which they called ...For The Kids. The album sold online and was the first time the band saw their music get outside of Central New York. "It was a good album at the time and it did pretty much what I expected it to do for us." Matt remarks. "It opened some doors and created a few interesting opportunities." The summer after the release Travis was selected from MC's across the country to compete in a Direct Effect MC Battle at the MTV Beach House. In an overwhelming crowd response, Travis was decided the winner on MTV, earning him an appearance in Style's P's video for "Daddy Get That Cash". The band secured opening slots on shows with Naughty By Nature, Mobb Deep, Blackalicious, Jurassic 5, Fat Joe, John Browns Body, Yakballz, Run-DMC, Cam'ron, and various rock bands.

In April of 2004, GCH entered a New York recording studio on a minimal budget. They returned four days later with a brand new album entitled The Papercut Chronicles. Laced with honesty and sincerity, the record captures the complexity of Gym Class Heroes as people while showcasing song writing abilities beyond their years. On tracks like "Make Out Club" and the CD opener "Papercuts", Travis displays a sly, witty sense and an ability to write conceptual songs that are as humorous as they are serious.

The record landed in the hands of Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy before it was even mixed. Pete hooked up the deal with Fueled by Ramen Records through his new Decaydance imprint. "Man, it still seems sort of surreal to me" says Travis. "We kind of waited it out and talked with other labels but we knew we wanted to sign with FBR. It seemed like there was a sense of family over there. I have tons of respect for them, in a way, taking a risk with a band like Gym Class Heroes. It feels really amazing to be a part of such a dope label. They've been behind us 110% since we signed. We owe a lot to Pete Wentz as well for seeing something in what we're doing."

Milo, the Heroes original guitarist, recently left for Italy to study architecture. Enter Disashi, who was playing guitar and singing for a punk band in Ithaca, NY called Earl's Garage. "He's a phenomenal guitar player," said Travis. "He'll be a permanent member of the band."

GCH has been hitting the road hard, as they have been handpicked for tours with Less Than Jake, Fall Out Boy, theSTART, Boys Night Out, Emery, Midtown, and a stint on Warped 2004. The bands current release, The Papercut EP serves as a pre-release to the full length The Papercut Chronicles, which is due to hit stores on February 22nd.

Gym Class Heroes are:
matt - drums
travis (schleprock) - vocals
ryan - bass guitar
disashi – guitar

Affiliates:
milo – guitar
sie one - turntables