sailorstkwrning | Entries tagged with gym class heroes

i feel like I should award this story some sort of special prize for getting jossed twice, and the first jossing making it more plausible, not less. It's another one I started last winter, showed to

sinsense, and then put aside, possibly due to school.

Then Panic split. This actually made it make sense, as it was a band-reuniting fic, with some bonus h/c thrown in. (The working title was, for a time, "Highly Unlikely Warped Tour".) So, meanwhile, life goes on, stuff happens, etc etc, and then Bob departs from MCR, jossing me again, and also creating a (possibly minor) problem. In the sense that a Bob + Brendon friendship was supposed to be a key subplot. I gave serious thought to using it for BBB, but then I decided canon was too unsettled and also there was just too much potential for sad.

(re: BBB, for those of you as may be wondering: the detective fairies, along with tentacles, puppies and West Texas, is on my list to write this summer.)

In any case, here's some bits and pieces from what has now been re-titled You Could Always Sell Any Dream To Me:

( the beginning )

( Bob and Brendon have a conversation )

( Ryan and Brendon have a moment in the middle of the night )

( a drum circle, a walk back to the bus, scraped knees and sleepy boys )

A lot of promotional chatter related to the new single(s) and videos, and also some general tour stuff, though he did mention several movies, including Avatar, Enter Through the Gift Shop, Karate Kid and Iron Man 2. Musical selections included the Deftones, K.Flay, The Beastie Boys, Rich Hil, and a song he did with Ke$ha that leaked. Also, he was distressed by the break-up of Supergrass, who I didn't known were still together. As well as promoting Lazarus, he also seems to be finishing up his Forgetting Katy Perry mixtape. Finally, he shared pictures of his dog, himself with various friends, himself with a metric fuck-ton of weed, himself getting a a new "Lady Lazarus" tattoo which also looks remarkably like Katy Perry in Day of the Dead make-up, himself and a very tired-looking Zack getting food late at night, and a very pretty picture of a lake in upstate New York.

The highlight of the last couple of weeks: The "Rock and Roll Fishing Show" video from Warped '08, featuring Travie discussing illegal fishing lures, Tim Williams' chestpiece and also John Oh pretending to be a trout. I wish they would make that show for real, because I would watch the hell out of it.

Also interesting: The Jay-Z documentary. It's beautifully lit and shot, and has some extended interviews with Jay-Z, and also John Mayer. Which was interesting in part because I never realized how much of a Brooklyn accent Jay-Z has until I heard him contrast to John Mayer.

Anyway, moving on: Travie was as usual a road warrior, ratcheting around from SXSW to LA to New York to Miami and many other places, promoting his solo album, visiting with various and sundry musicians while he was at it, and going to shows by 88 Keys, Alkaline Trio and Cursive. He also had quite a festive Easter (he got the most out of his ridiculous rabbit hat) and spent some time assembling toys.

A busy, busy promotional week for Billionaire, which included some radio interviews and making a video (not sure if it's for Billionaire or another song) with T-Pain and Lil' Wayne (I thought he was at Rikers? Maybe not yet) and some other people. Also GCH appeared at the SXSW opening festivities (during which Travie demonstrated the Snaggletoof, which is less Harlem shake and more side to side sway) and also answered some questions live in Ustream. He shared a plane to LA with Pete Wentz, which resulted in a picture that referenced the TV show My Brother and Me. (Aww.) He also caught the Allman Brothers on Jimmy Fallon and T-Pain on Carson[1], and was given the Broken Bells limited deluxe edition. There was also some general rumbling about airports, being homesick and missing his dog, and a picture of him playing a trick on an unsuspecting civilian dozing in an airport. Finally he was excited to go to both the Magic Castle (fancy members-only supper club for magicians) and California Vegan.

[1] There's something really sweet and charming, to me, about the idea of rockstars watching their friends on tv, or catching their Ustream broadcasts. I'm similarly amused/charmed by rockstars who turn to Ustream when they get bored and/or snowed in. (I'm looking at you, Ian Crawford.) The internet: we're always here, ready to visit with you. (And ask totally inappropriate questions, but you hooks up your camera, you takes your chances.)

Shared a picture of his mopeds (one of them is named Michaelangelo - Ninja Turtle, not painter - awwww), then was greatly distressed by the passing of T-Bone Wolk, bassist for Hall & Oates (as Travie put it, the "&" in Hall & Oates) and also GURU from Gang Starr being in a coma. Then he bought Stitch the spikiest collar ever to spike (and later teased Tim William about how his (Tim's) shins were over), shared a picture of the original painting by Joshua Clay that was the album art for The Quilt (it is HUGE, and takes up most of a wall!), prodded us to go and get a new song from the Nappy Boy All-Star Mix Tape, and was sent some stickers from Rebel8.

He wrapped up the week with sharing links to his solo MySpace and website (which, incidentally, features a really snazzy font that looks like very elegant grafitti) while simultaneously reassuring a fan that Gym Class Heroes is ABSOLUTELY still together and, in fact, working on a new record for this year, to be called The Paper Cut Chronicles II. (He wrote The PCCII, I have extrapolated from there.)

Started off with sharing a video of himself hanging out in a shoe store with a lady from Lockerz.com, looking tiiiiiiiired[1] and discussing the finer points of sneakers, then mentioned a couple of songs: A Perfect Circle, Louis Logic and JJ Brown and Manners (record)/The Reeling (song), by Passion Pit. The latter is apparently good for cleaning the house. He even made a up a new dance move for it, which he dubbed "The Snaggletoof", and described as Waynehead (from the Damon Wayans cartoon) doing a combination Harlem Shake/Roger Rabbit.

Other highlights: he had a brief exchange of tweets with the host of A&E's Private Sessions, which, I am gathering he's appearing in the Hall and Oates episode; mentioned the crew at Adriano Goldschmied, which turns out to be a designer jeans company; and was emphatic about having not left Gym Class Heroes. (I suspect that some of their fans have read the solo project as him leaving, despite how they are playing shows as a band on a fairly regular basis.)

[1] He also mentions being jetlagged later, so I think he really is just tired.

A very busy two weeks - spent some BFF time with Pete Wentz (and shared their BFF tattoos, which are lyrics from Young Turks by Rod Stewart) then shot two videos (one with DJ Khaled, another with T Pain and Young Ca$h), followed by a trip to Australia for the Good Vibrations festival. While he was there he was excited to do some touristy stuff (Botany Bay, the Opera House) and also hang out with other musicians, including Beth Ditto, from The Gossip. He also shared a picture of a lady I don't recognize with a caption saying she's with Basement Jaxx. Wikipedia informs me Basement Jaxx is house music made by two English dudes. If anyone knows who she is, please do let me know. Anyway, in the middle of all of that, the Nappy-Boy All Stars Mix Tape Vol. 1 was officially released. He also shared a link to apply for MTV Staying Alive Grants for 2010, and a variety of pictures of himself, including one from the 7th grade. Finally, he watched AstroBoy, and apparently is joining Pete in the Not Shaving club.

A lot of music this week: the Nappy Boy All-Star Mix Tape, Michael Jackson, a bunch of Cobra Starship, Shyheim via YouTube (his blog post about rap in the 1990s is interesting, too), Rod Stewart via his and Pete's BFF tattoos, and also an early Gym Class record that was featured in an exchange with a fan. He also went to the BET Haiti fundraiser, where he visited with Common, and later hung out with Pete Wentz. In other news, in addition to the Mix Tape, he seems to be still hard at work on his solo record as well as on a new Gym Class record. And he successfully made himself dinner at least once.

Lots of video this week, including a clip from Basquiat (the "Famous People" scene), of a friend of his working a console, and some of himself, Stitch and Bessie at a friends' house in Philadelphia. A special note: it sounded to me as if he were calling to Stitch in Spanish. Also, he held the dog still for the camera so we could appreciate his cuteness for a while. ♥ TRAVIE ♥.

There were also some pictures of himself and the dog and himself and T Pain from the Hit Factory, where work on the solo record continues apace, and one of the outside of his favorite restaurant in LA. Finally, he has come across Fuck Yeah, Travis McCoy and was excited about it, as they find pictures he had forgotten he was in. He also noted the passing of J.D. Salinger, and referred to (I'm guessing) Catcher in the Rye as the greatest book he's ever read.

Started off with a reference to Pump Up The Volume; then, on realizing he has (now more than) 1 million followers, echoed Sally Fields at the Oscars in 1985; jumped from there into a link to his blog and a recap of a discussion of his favorite documentary, Paris is Burning, vogueing, associated drag culture and people who have co-opted it (Madonna, that would be you) and also neatly connected Madonna to Lady Gaga via vogueing; was encouraging to BC 2-Tone, a young rapper from Newark; and asked his readership to donate to either/both the Red Cross and Wyclef Jean's foundations to support earthquake relief in Haiti.

This week Travie told us about a song Mary J. Blige and Sinead O'Connor collaborated on for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, shared some more (beautiful) photographs of himself taken by Snapkracker, was excited by Black Dynamite (movie) and Michael Jai White, also recommended The Lovely Bones (movie) and shared a link to a video of himself (and maybe Cee-Lo? I'm not sure of they were both present for that specific performance) singing Dr. FeelGood, which is NOT a Motley Crue cover but rather a new song from Travie's solo record.

A lot of art this week, most notably Vous êtes aímé , a portrait of Travie and Stitch by Jason Rudolph Pena, which was a gift of (musician) Esthero. (She's also here .) The title translates, loosely, as "You are my love"; she's also previously collaborated with Travie on at least one track for the Lazarus Project. I don't know if she's his ladyfriend or a close friend who is also a lady, but she definitely likes the color pink, and has interesting taste in art. The painting itself contains many symbols; I spotted a film reel, a key, some buttons (like coat buttons), and a big quasi-Illuminati-style eye, and I'm sure there's more.

In addition to that painting, Travie also shared a picture of a Munny figurine that someone had painted to look like the blue person on the front of As Cruel As School Children, discussed working on his own Munny figures, mentioned he was working on a diorama of some kind; and shared some new (and wonderful) photographs of himself taken by Snapkracker.

In musical news, he was was back at the Hit Factory with T. Pain, taking pictures of his shoes and Pain's car in the parkinglot, when not working on an unspecified project indoors; he did also mention he's working on The Lazarus Project, and shared a clip of himself soundchecking with a new song from TLP. Also he noted he finally got to enjoy John Legend, but he didn't say which song or record.

Finally, he wished Disashi a happy birthday, flooded his bathroom due to excessive text messaging, and caught an episode of the Wendy Williams Show werein Bill Billamy was evidently promoting Nuvo Vodka's breast cancer fundraiser. (Nuvo Vodka, if you haven't seen it, is bright pink. It looks terrifying and tastes, basically, of pink. Or maybe bubblegum.)

No really substantive updates; he did share two pictures of his dog and general New Years wishes. His most recent tweet suggests someone in his family has died, which is a shitty way to start a new decade no matter who you are. Hopefully it will get better for him soon.

Also, in unrelated news, he validated his account sometime in the last month or so.

Came back to NYC briefly and attempted to take in a Cage show; shared some pictures of clothing/stickers from lines made by his friends (Rebel 8 and Boot Camp); shared another picture of himself plus Nappy Boy labelmates in their Nappy Boy bling (he + one other dude have small!bling, the others have massive!bling, because he's not into gaudy (he said "gawky"?) necklaces); an artist called Matty Undead gave his "big brother" Stress a painting/artwork that may or may not be a depiction of Travie himself; he mentioned an MTV Unbeaten Track Times Square promotion; was kind of freaked out by an old picture of Eazy-E taken by Ricky Powell (there was a "tombstone" notice for Dr. Dre in the photo); had a great first solo show in Brooklyn; spent some quality time with puppies while wearing a Snuggie (I dare y'all to find a MORE adorable picture than Travie with a lapful of dogs, wearing a gigantic pink blanket) and watched some probably terrible TV (Steven Seagal: Lawman, or as he called it, Steven Seagal Deputy of the Law); mentioned that his blog/life is under construction, and finished off with an exchange with a fan about "mean mugging" them in an airport.

This week Travie evidently spent a lot of time with T. Pain and other friends making a Nappy Boy All-Stars Mix Tape. He also mentioned working with Infamous, I'm not sure if that was in the context of the mix tape or his own songs. He also mentioned a One Chance/T. Pain song, and shared a picture of two record covers that both had dudes in iron masks on the front and had ended up next to each other on the rack. Finally, he spent one night researching Beatles conspiracy theories and may have signed up for a class on the subject. And, for those of you as may be local, he is playing his first solo show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on 12/19.

He started the week off with taking us on a tour of his childhood/teenage years via photos, including one that he described as "fatty Travie" in which he was, indeed, pudgy. And looked miserable. There was also one of tiny!bb!Travie with an enormous Afro that was adorable, and one of bb!Travie with dreads, which was also cute. The next big topic was the arrival of World AIDS Day, and promotion for the single and MTV documentary. He also congratulated T Pain on getting 4 Grammy nominations, and apparently watched Lars von Trier's Antichrist, regretted it, and had to go to Universal Studios to for a palate cleanser. At least that is how I'm interpreting that last picture of the Stitch ride.

This week was a banner week for concerts. He attended his first Phish show and lamented how he hadn't given them a proper chance before, then took in Midnite (reggae, out of St. Croix, with an especially deep back catalog) and then a unspecified hip-hop show. He also watched a whole bunch of movies (Deep Blue Sea, The Triplets of Belleville and Porco Russo) and I'm guessing an episode or two of Ancient Civilizations. Also he went shopping at his old home-town record store. On a related note, there was some promotional business for his new single/video, but not as much as in previous weeks. He wrapped up the week with giving his parka to his brother and linking a new song/video from The Snowgoons.

Again a somewhat promotional week, of the Unbeaten Track single as well as a new GCH video. Which, incidentally, has some really interesting camera work and is an intimate portrait of a show from both sides of the stage. They did it all in 24 hours, evidently, but it doesn't feel rushed or sloppy at all; in fact I was struck by the delicate artistry and attention to details, such as the shots of the crowd with their hands up marking the beat in perfect syncopation. It can be a little dizzying at times, as the camera swings from the stage to the pit, but it also felt like a slice of all the best concert experiences, the moment where the pit comes together and the music lifts you, committed to film.

In addition to the video, Travie also shared several pictures, including his dog, some friends, a hip-hop show he attended, and two pieces of original artwork. Well, at least one; I put down Bronx's birthday present as an original work because it looked like his style, but I could be wrong. The other one he specifically said was created by himself and his friend Dale, and it's a truly fascinating piece of work. This is how I described it on his list:

Appears to be "LOVE" spelled graf-style by finger-like figures and accompanied by a headless figure doused in blood and carrying a sperm in one hand (by the tail) and a red rose in the other.

But I do not feel I did it proper justice, the finger-letters especially. They've done some neat things with perspective, depth perception, and the concept of "sign language" there. Also I'm honestly not sure if the first two finger-letters may actually be leg-letters, or if the sperm-thing might be a balloon. Also I think the headless figure may be carrying his head.

Anyway, Travie closed out the week/reporting period with a hometown show, and generally seems quite content.

This week seemed to be a mostly promotional week for Travie, particularly with regard to his Unbeaten Track activities. The single launched in both New York and London (there are a lot of new Travie pictures on the Unbeaten Track website; he seems to have gotten rid of the bleach-y highlights and prefers to wear bow-ties when dressing up) and a mixtape came out in Japan featuring a song by himself and Tim William. Speaking of new pictures, he shared a link to his new blog header, which is a shot of him rolling up something smokeable and giving the camera an intense look.

Getting back to promotions, he also mentioned lockerz.com, who evidently sponsored a GCH show. It seems to be a social networking site that includes shopping, and their "about" page suggests they're maybe angling to compete with Facebook. They're invite-only right now so I don't know any more than that. Additionally Travie talked tweeted about JJ Brown's new record, Connect the Dots and discussed the auction of DJ AM's shoes with Samantha Ronson.

Finally, on top of all of that, he managed to get to the Bad Rabbits/Goodie MOB/Slick Rick/Scarface show.

A little bit of a quiet week. He did, however, share that The Untitled (as yet) Unbeaten Track documentary is rolling towards its opening night, and teased us a little more with references to the Lazarus story that are most likely related to the Lazarus Project, the record he's been working on. He also mentioned Freddy Madball's record (Catholic Guilt) again, shared his appreciation of the word "torpid" and Katey Segal (not in the same tweet), discussed the band Patent Pending with a friend (he likes them, and took them on tour once, with the Cobras), posted two pictures (one of his puppy, one of himself and a friend), and discussed his emotional reaction to reading Push by Sapphire.