Making a name for themselves as a hip hop ensemble that uses live instruments, Gym Class Heroes have become every rap fans’ heroes, too. The quartet’s origins back to 1997 in Geneva, New York, when MC
Travis "Schleprok" McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley became friends during high-school gym class. Wanting to create a new aesthetic for hip-hop, the duo worked with other musicians before Gym Class Heroes was officially born in 2001 with the addition of guitarist Milo Bonacci and bassist Ryan Giese. During 2004, Bonacci parted ways with the band and was replaced with cu
Continued...
rrent guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo. In mid 2005, right before their success started to really take off, Geise left the band and was replaced by their friend, bassist Eric Robert
The quartet gained a following from touring around the indie circuit and from their release of an album entitled The Papercut Chronicles, which showcased their phenomenal songwriting capabilities. When
Patrick Stump of
Fall Out Boy heard one of their songs, he recommended that the group be signed to FOB’s Decaydance Records. Decaydance released The Papercut Chronicles in February 2005, after which the band toured ceaselessly, opening for such acts as Midtown, Fall Out Boy, and the Academy Is... .
The Gym Class Heroes also hit 2005’s SXSW, Bamboozle, and Warped Tour festivals. Their sophomore effort, As Cruel as School Children, was released in July 2006 and featured guest performances including The Academy Is...'s William Beckett and Arrested Development's
Speech. They spent that summer supporting the record on the Warped Tour. Gym Class Heroes' fame spread at the year's end with the release of the tune "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America," which hit #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 and remained in constant rotation on radio and MTV during the spring of 2007. The release of other Gym Class Heroes songs followed suit. They opened for
Gwen Stefani on her The
Sweet Escape Tour in Australia and New Zealand during July and August 2007. While the Gym Class Heroes have been compared to other bands—most notably Stetsasonic and Crown City Rockers-- you can count on the fact that they will continue to be innovative as long as their many fans continue to support them.
