Fresh off their first headlining tour in three years, The All-American Rejects are ready to release their new album March 26. Before their performance at Devilpalooza on Friday, drummer Chris Gaylor sat down with The State Press to talk about the band’s new sound, touring and the future.
The State Press: What influences and ideas did you draw from when you were making the record?
Gaylor: The title track “Kids in the Street” is about the time when you’re in your late teens when you were still allowed to get away with doing things you probably shouldn’t be doing but you weren’t necessarily a bad person. You were just being a kid, but you were almost an adult. It’s pretty self-explanatory, I guess.
(The album) has a lot of different themes. Tyson (Ritter) lyrically wrote it. He moved to Los Angeles, and he and his girlfriend broke up. He started hanging out with some poisonous, unsavory people and got lost … for about nine months, (and) when he came out of it, he had a lot to say. So a lot of it is about that experience and looking back on previous experiences.
SP: What is your favorite song off the new album?
CG: My personal favorite song would be “Kids in the Street.” It’s a good song. It’s got really, really great lyrics-- almost bittersweet. It’s sad, but also puts a smile on your face. You know when you have certain memories that do that? That’s kind of the feeling that I get when I listen to the song, and I love that song.
There’s a song called “Heartbeat” that’s really good, and I just really love how that song builds. There’s a song called “Gonzo” that I love, and it’s kind of about the band as a whole … about being a band, having experiences, touring around, making the record.
SP: What was the idea behind the video for your new single “Beekeeper’s Daughter?”
CG: The director, Isaac Rentz, came up with the idea for the video, and it’s the first single off the new record. It’s basically about how when Tyson was newly single, he became a bit of an asshole-- a slight womanizer, bulletproof. He just did things with kind of no sense of accountability or repercussion. (He’s) not like that anymore, obviously, and he learned from it, so it’s not a mistake.
The video is kind of about … a day in the life of this guy that’s just complete chaos. There’s choreographed dancing, there’s a parade at the end, and Wayne Newton’s in it. Basically he came up with the idea of the video being kind of this visual eye candy.
We just threw all of these ridiculous ideas (like) throwing paint at a canvas. (There’s) a lot of spontaneity and chaos.
SP: How are fans reacting to the new songs that you’ve been playing on tour?
CG: Wonderfully. Especially to “Kids in the Street,” which is a tune they have not heard. Every night they’re really in to that song. it’s a really good song. It’s my favorite song so I’m like, "I’m right for once."
SP: What’s in store for the band for the rest of this year?
CG: Hopefully we’re going to tour this record for about a year and a half, two years. We might do one (older) song here and there, but we kind of like to tour the whole record. We usually like to come off tour, decompress and then start writing. I guess that’s part of the reason that there’s a long lull between albums.
Reach the reporter at okhiel@asu.edu
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