ESU Backup Insider

Well-known band, The Gym Class Heroes, will perform at East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the Keystone Room in the university’s Center for Hospitality Management. According to Billboard, Gym Class Heroes, “ …melds elements of rap, rock, R&B, and funk into one cohesive and melodic sound… and has a diverse appeal based on their impressive musical dexterity.” Opening acts for this concert will include Outasight, comprised of 26-year-old rapper Richard Andrew from Yonkers, N.Y., and North of the City a Stroudsburg-based pop-punk band. Tickets are $15 for students with an ESU I.D. and $20.00 for the general public.

Gym Class Heroes is best known for their snappy guitar rhythms and unique lyrics intended to create “indie/hip-hop” fusion. The quartet from Upstate New York also uses live instruments and musicians rather than looped samples and canned beats to make their distinct sound. The band’s roots date to 1997 in Geneva, N.Y., when MC Travis “Schleprok” McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley became friends during high-school gym class. Wanting to create a new palette for hip-hop, the duo worked with other musicians before Gym Class Heroes were officially born in 2001 with the addition of guitarist Milo Bonacci and bassist Ryan Giese.

The band released their first album, “For The Kids,” in 2002 and followed their initial success with a second release, “The Papercut Chronicles,” in 2004 with Eric Roberts replacing Giese on bass.. Laced with honesty and sincerity, the record captures the complexity of the group’s members while displaying songwriting abilities beyond their years. The disc landed in the hands of Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, and before long, Gym Class Heroes had a record deal on Wentz’s Fueled by Ramen Records imprint, Decaydance.

After many years of touring, Gym Class Heroes’ profile notably increased with the release of the single Cupid’s Chokehold/Breakfast in America, which hit number four on Billboard’s Hot 100 and remained in constant rotation on radio and MTV during the spring of 2007. After headlining a seven-week U.S. tour called the Daryl Hall for President Tour ’07, the group returned to the studio to record The Quilt in 2008, which included guest appearances by Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, and Daryl Hall himself.

Tickets for the concert are now on sale. To obtain tickets visit the Student Activities Complex Reception Area, located on the top floor of ESU’s University Center on Normal Street in East Stroudsburg, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the ESU Convenience Store from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday, and from Noon to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Additional information may also be obtained by visiting the Student Activities website at www.esu.edu/studentactivities or by contacting ESU’s Office of Student Activities at 570-422-3055.