NEW YORK, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Atlantic Records) - "AS CRUEL AS SCHOOL CHILDREN," the second album from Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen recording group Gym Class Heroes, has been certified gold by the RIAA, marking sales exceeding 500,000 units. The collection's breakthrough success is fuelled by a pair of hit singles, the No 1 blockbuster, "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America" and the current summer smash, "Clothes Off!!"
Earlier this week, Gym Class Heroes received nominations in two of the top categories for the upcoming 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The hugely popular alternative hip-hop outfit received the nod as both "Best New Artist" and "Best Group," with the latter category placing them alongside such top-ranked bands as the White Stripes, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, and their good friends, Decaydance's own Fall Out Boy. The 2007 MTV VMAs will be handed out in ceremonies broadcast live on MTV from Las Vegas' Palms Casino Resort on Sunday, September 9th. (check local listings)
The "Clothes Off!!" companion video is already a sensation at MTV, where it has gone to No 1 on the TRL Charts and is currently in "Big 10" rotation. The clip is scoring in major rotation across the MTV spectrum, including MTV2, mtvU, and MTV.com, where Gym Class Heroes were recently spotlighted as part of the "Best of Discover & Download '07" feature. Further, the video is receiving extensive rotation play on both Fuse and Music Choice.
In addition, the band recently received a pair of top nominations for the upcoming Teen Choice 2007 extravaganza - "Choice Music Breakout (Group)" and "Choice Music Single" (for "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America"). The awards will be presented in a live two-hour special airing Sunday, August 26th (8:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.
A Featured Artist at Verizon Wireless' V Cast Music shop, Gym Class Heroes is currently on tour in Australia and New Zealand, supporting Gwen Stefani on a series of major arena dates. From there, the band will travel the world for a number of eagerly awaited festival performances, including Japan's Summer Sonic 2007 and England's legendary Carling Weekend at Reading and Leeds. Upon their return to the U.S., GCH will rock a pair of American festies: Seattle's annual Bumbershoot extravaganza on September 1st, and Del Mar, CA's Street Scene '07 on September 22nd and 23rd. A North American headlining tour is slated for this fall, with details to be unveiled in the coming weeks. The band will tour with Fall Out Boy to close the year.
"Clothes Off!!" has also exploded online, logging over half a million streams in the past week alone, with total streams nearing 2.5 million and counting. Gym Class Heroes maintains an active Internet presence at their official site, gymclassheroes.com, as well as at their MySpace (myspace.com/gymclassheroes) and PureVolume pages (purevolume.com/gymclassheroes).
The new single's success follows the triumphant achievement of "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America," which stood tall at No 1 on the CHR/Top 40 national airplay chart for five consecutive weeks earlier this year. The track - which features the band's good friend, Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy - also reached the top 5 of Billboard's "Hot 100," as well as No 1 on Billboard's "Hot Digital Tracks" chart. In addition, the song has proven a massive ringtone smash, hitting the top 5 on the weekly "Top Ringtones" ranking.
2007 has seen Gym Class Heroes all over MTV, with "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America" spending time atop the network's playlist. The group was also featured on such programming as Spring Break '07 Live, TRL, and MTV Live, not to mention other MTV channels such as MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits, and MTV Tr3s. "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America" also proved a rotation favorite at VH1, Fuse, and Mun2.
Both "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America" and "Clothes Off!!" can currently be viewed online at FBR+, Fueled By Ramen's recently launched exclusive content site, located at www.fbrplus.com. The site also features three additional GCH videos, including clips for "New Friend Request," "The Queen and I," and "Shoot Down The Stars."
Recent months have seen Gym Class Heroes making a variety of TV appearances, including performances on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," DirecTV's "CD USA," and the syndicated "Fearless Music TV."
A remarkably dedicated live act, Gym Class Heroes has spent much of the past two years on tour. Their recent headlining trek was met by sold-out crowds on nearly every date, including a packed-to-the-rafters MySpace Secret Show at Mr. Small's Funhouse in Millvale, Pennsylvania. For an up-to-the-minute tour itinerary, see the band's official website, www.gymclassheroes.com, or its MySpace page, www.myspace.com/gymclassheroes.
Produced by S*A*M, aka Sam Hollander (Method Man, the Sounds, and Earth, Wind & Fire), and Sluggo, the alter-ego of renowned session bassist Dave Katz (Roger Daltrey), "AS CRUEL AS SCHOOL CHILDREN" also features co-production from Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump. The album drew rapturous praise in a number of national publications, including Alternative Press, which awarded the collection its top five-starred rating.
Gym Class Heroes first garnered critical acclaim for their unique sound and approach with their Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen debut, 2005's "THE PAPERCUT CHRONICLES." It was the band's alternative hip-hop style and use of live instruments in favor of looped samples and canned beats that caught the attention of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, who immediately signed the group to his Decaydance imprint. With constant touring and a huge online presence, the band has built a large and dedicated fan base.
Named one of the MTV2's "Artists To Watch 2007," the group spent much of the past two years on the road, including sold-out headline dates in the US and the UK, support slots alongside Fall Out Boy and the All American Rejects, a number of radio-sponsored holiday shows, and a stint on Vans Warped Tour '06 which had them playing two sets a day to rapturous audiences across North America.
Gym Class Heroes are: Travis McCoy (lead vocalist), Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo (guitarist), Eric Roberts (bassist), and Matt McGinley (drummer).
