Source: Rollingstone.com

Since we last spoke to Gym Class Heroes about the recording of their third LP, the band has embarked on a college tour to debut songs from their new album The Quilt, due this July. When we caught up with the band this weekend at Bamboozle, frontman Travis McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley talked about their recent touring, as well as their recording sessions with Busta Rhymes and Daryl Hall.

“The college tour has been kind of a warm-up for us. We’ve been playing four or five new songs,” McGinley says. “We have more prepared, but we find that some songs almost don’t translate to the live show as well [right now].”

“Some of the songs are a little moody,” explains McCoy. “Not that this album has dark undertones, but this past year has been so crazy for us with success and personal things, like my cousin committing suicide last November. It bubbled to a point where I went out to record in L.A. and I freaked out. I was so excited, but I was going through so much shit emotionally so I jetted out of L.A. and went back to Miami.”

While in Miami, McCoy met up with Andre “Dre” Christopher Lyon, one half of production duo Cool & Dre (who worked on The Quilt). “Me and Dre are kindred spirits,” McCoy says. It was Dre who helped McCoy de-stress enough to head back L.A. and hit the recording studio — but not before hooking Gym Class Heroes up with a guest vocal from Busta Rhymes. In his best Busta voice, McCoy recalls Busta’s reaction after Dre played a demo for him on speakerphone: “Yo! I’m coming to Miami right now! If you don’t save me a verse on this song, I’m going to kill all of ya’ll.”

Though McCoy says he’ll never assign song titles until a track is complete — “That’s like naming your baby before it’s born, and what happens if you name it Scott but it comes out looking like a Michael?” — the Busta jam is tentatively called “Peace Sign.” “It was that hyped ‘95 animated Busta that I’ve been in love with forever,” McCoy says gleefully.

Another high point in recording was Daryl Hall’s guest session on the track “Live Forever,” about McCoy’s cousin. “Playing along to that track was a pretty surreal experience,” McGinley says.

“At the end of it he did this whole stream of conscious improv freestyle thing and we just let him go,” McCoy says. “I broke down in tears because he was saying all these things that were so relevant; I felt like I witnessed magic.”

Gym Class Heroes
w/The Academy Is..., Cobra Starship, and Tyga

The Joint @ The Hard Rock Hotel
Friday, June 27th 7PM
Las Vegas, NV

BUY TICKETS HERE: Ticketmaster.com

Don't forget to watch TRL on MTV tomorrow. The guys will be making an appearance along with Cobra Starship, The Cab, Phantom Planet, The Academy Is..., The Hush Sound, Panic at the Disco, and various other Fueled By Ramen bands.

If anyone can record the video and upload it for us, that would be awesome. Email upstatekids@gmail.com if you can donate.

Check out another batch of photos from Mason Day 2008 at George Mason University. These are from BrutalPhotos.com and MusicBoxRocks.com by Patriciana Tenicela. Be sure to check out those sites for more amazing live photography.

Help save lives and get the chance to meet Gym Class Heroes and your other favorite bands this year at Warped Tour. There are blood drives set up across the country where you can donate blood and receive a voucher good for one backstage pass at your Warped Tour date. Visit musicsaveslives.org to find out more about the organization and their cause and to make an appointment. The spaces are limited and tend to fill up fast. Remember, most importantly, your donation can save lives.

MusicSavesLives.org