Up close and personal with Gym class heroes

When Gym Class Heroes drummer Matt McGinley was in the ninth grade, he was in a band that had no singer.

And then he met Travis McCoy, now the lead singer of Gym Class Heroes.

Still, McGinley's band needed a singer, and McCoy took on that role.

He was "into poetry," McGinley said in a post-concert interview.

The group got its start doing cover songs but eventually started writing its own work.

"Some of our first songs were very bad," said McGinley. "Actually, 10 out of 10 of them were really bad."

But the group has made a lot of progress since then.

Guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo said the group's first record label, Fueled by Ramen, has helped them gain exposure in the Indie rock world.

Being signed by Fueled by Ramen was "kind-of like going to college," said McGinley, explaining that it gave them their start in the industry.

Now the group is beginning to work with Atlantic Records.

Lumumba-Kasongo said that if it weren't for their early work with Fueled by Ramen, they would not be able to work with the bigger label.

"Atlantic knows that we're willing to put in the work," he said.

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