Gym Class Heroes Prefer Hall Over Oates

03/08/07 7:30pm

by Pete Richards (CHARTattack)

Geneva, New York's Gym Class Heroes are bringing their brand of rap and rock to Canada this weekend as part of a North American road trip that they call the Daryl Hall For President Tour.

Since forming in high school in 1997, the Gym Class Heroes have slowly climbed from the underground rap and rock scene to gain mainstream attention. Blending hip-hop with rock, comparable to The Roots, they've touched many people with both a social conscience and a sense of humour that's lacking in many of today's rap and rock acts.

"I think that in music in general people take themselves way too seriously, and in a way people get kind of get turned off by it because you lose the human element," says singular named vocalist, Travis. "A lot of people feel out of touch with it.

"And our thing is, we just want to break the ice and break that barrier between the artist and the audience and show people that we aren't superhuman. We bleed, we cry, we laugh.

"I think our live show exploits that a little bit. We have fun and I think in turn the crowd has fun, too."

Thus far, and what looks to be like for the rest of the tour, Gym Class Heroes have helped sell out the majority of venues, which are generally filled with a few hundred anxious high-schoolers. But the band are starting to look at what's in store for the future, as their next tour will most likely require a lot more room.

"We did an arena tour with All-American Rejects not too long ago, and it was fun, but it was just really, really impersonal," says Travis. "It was like you couldn't really connect with the crowd.

"I feel content doing House Of Blues-size venues. If our tours get bigger, hopefully we can do a couple nights [at smaller venues]. As long as the crowds are a good size to where you can actually connect with them.

"I think that's part of the reason why we've earned a lot of our fans, because we make them part of something as opposed to just being there to entertain them."

Here are the Canadian dates for the Daryl Hall For President tour:

March 9 Toronto, ON @ Opera House
March 10 Montreal, QC @ Le National
March 11 Ottawa, ON @ Babylon