Every year, Vans Warped Tour has a handful of artists on the lineup that stick out like sore thumbs. As one of the few hip-hop acts on the tour, Gym Class Heroes has taken on the glory of being this year’s leading hip-hop performer, as the Black Eyed Peas and Eminem have done in the past. Drummer Matt McGinley considers this an honor.
"It’s great to even be used in the same sentence," McGinley said. "It’s really cool that Warped offers different bands the opportunity to give the audience a breath of something else."
The quartet also has plans for after the tour, after their new album, The Quilt, hits stores Sept. 9. The album’s first single "Cookie Jar," which features r’b star The Dream, has already hit radio. Because of the more mainstream sound of the single, the band has seen criticism for the track, considering much of its original fan base has an independent music mindset.
"It’s tough, because people really love music, but only at a certain level," McGinley said. "As soon as a band tries to grow in any direction, you do catch a backlash."
Despite playing hip-hop, some of McGinley and guitarist Dishashi Lumumba-Kasongo’s favorite bands on Warped Tour are some of the heavier and more diverse of the bands on tour. McGinley is a huge fan of Every Time I Die and August Burns Red, while Lumumba likes Say Anything.
On the topic of what they like least about the Tour, the two agreed on catering, shower and Port-A-Potty lines.
"It takes a really desperate man to use the Port-A-Potty," McGinley said. "It’s like the walk of shame going in and out of it. I don’t recommend it."
The band also has huge touring plans after the release of The Quilt. The group will be busy doing a U.S. co-headline tour with hip-hop legendaries The Roots. McGinley joked about the proverbial stepping on toes of sharing the title with The Roots.
"It’s actually kind of a diss," McGinley said. "Because I think our name will be as big as ‘The Roots’ on the bill."
Above everything else, the members of Gym Class Heroes want to continue staying true to themselves and not worry about what people think of the band.
"You can’t always be someone’s personal private artist," McGinley said. "We will always make music for ourselves first."
