All american Rejects

The All-American Rejects (AAR) has become quite the household name since the band first got together in 2002. With singles such as ‘Dirty Little Secret’ and more recently ‘Gives You Hell’, the Oklahoma based quartet know exactly what it takes to make a good record and keep fans wanting more. Guitarist Nick Wheeler sat down with CONFRONT Magazine when the AAR ‘I Wanna Rock’ tour stopped in Montreal on April 21st to tell us more about the bands’ history and what we can expect in the near future.

Having been together for so long, AAR’s history is a vast and interesting one. As teenagers still in high school, Nick and front man Tyson met and began writing music together; the duo remaining a two member-band for a few years, drummer Chris and guitarist Mike only joining the band once the first record had already been written.

According to Nick: “Tyson and I have been playing in a band together since… 1997. It’s kind of blurry because he and I made the first record; just he and I. And it was kind of a culmination of all these songs that we’d written over the years. When everybody else didn’t show up to practice this is what we would do. Our side project kinda became our main deal.”

I asked Nick about the meaning behind the name ‘All American-Rejects’ which he described with a laugh: “That was about 1999 when we thought we were a punk-band. It didn’t really mean anything, it just sounded kinda punk!”

The All American-Rejects released their first album on Doghouse Records, a label that Nick had a personal interest in because they worked with the GetUp Kids, a favorite band of his at the time. When talking about actually signing the record deal with DogHouse, Nick told me that it was all a complete fluke: “The owners’ sister-in-law who was 15 or 16 at the time thought we were cute by the picture on the front so she listened to [the demo tape], liked it, and showed her big brother-in-law. So that’s how that happened.”

Once their record deal was signed, AAR released their self-titled debut. Before the album was actually complete, Nick explained that there was some major label buzz about the band and their upcoming record. This led to the April-May 2002 release of the CD getting pushed back until October of that year, so that AAR could shop around for a major distribution deal. This point in their lives, Nick said, was one of the most amazing of their career: “we slept on the producer’s floor and we ate hot dogs and drank coffee to sustain ourselves for about six weeks, and that was probably the best time of our lives. It was the most exciting most unsure feeling we’ve ever had.”

The label buzz surrounding the All American Rejects led to the band signing with DreamWorks. When talking about how they came to the decision, Nick said that this was one of the only labels that didn’t try to impress them with money and fancy hotels. The man who offered them the deal was a “straight shooter” and AAR really appreciated his honesty. Once signed to DreamWorks, the guys released their first single, ‘Swing Swing’ which did quite well.

Unfortunately, after AAR had completed this first album, their label went under. Their “saving grace”, according to Nick, was that during their time at DreamWorks, they worked with people who were very trustworthy. Jeff, the man who had originally signed them, got a job at Interscope records and brought the band with him.

Despite the hardships of their label, AAR have had a lot of success. In 2003, while at a show in San Jose California, they had a huge celebration for their first music video which was being aired on a punk-music show hosted by the Good Charlotte brothers. A few years later, the All American Rejects released their second full length album called ‘Move Along’. This 2005 record generated many hits including the title single ‘Move Along’, ‘Dirty Little Secret’ and ‘It Ends Tonight’. Throughout their career they have also had the opportunity to tour with bands such as: Motion City Soundtrack, The Starting Line, From First to Last, Fall Out Boy, as well as have Shiny Toy Guns open for them on their current tour. The band was also nominated for ‘Best New Artist’ in 2003, and in 2006 they won best group video for ‘Move Along’ at the MTV Music Awards.