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The All-American Rejects


Carl

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"Rarely do I get to do interviews about actual songs."

The hits:

"Swing, Swing"

"Dirty Little Secret"

"Move Along"

"It Ends Tonight"

"Gives You Hell"

All-American Rejects are from a little town in Oklahoma. Nick Wheeler, who spoke with Dan, writes the songs with their lead singer Tyson Wheeler. When the band signed with DreamWorks, Nick was 20 and Tyson was 18.

Their 10 year history has followed this path:

1) Teenage heartbreak and confusion, leading to songs like "Swing, Swing"

2) Notoriety and adulation = steady girlfriends for Nick and Tyson (who dated Kim Smith from the 'N Sync "Bye Bye Bye" video). Now they have to make up the drama for songs like "Move Along," which they do, resulting in their biggest hits.

3) They break up with their girlfriends, Tyson freaks out. A few years later they get it together and Rocky-style return to the regimen that worked the first time, which in their case is secluded songwriting sessions. This time, they have real-life pathos to draw from. Results are on their new album, Kids In The Street.

There are a lot of places where this band could have gone off the rails, and Dan did a great job finding out how they kept it together. Nick doesn't write their lyrics, but he sure can articulate his thoughts, which might be why he can keep Tyson focused. In discussing their songs, the story of The All-American Rejects materialized, and it's a story of how a degree of dynamic tension and the right work ethic and keep you on the right path.

All-American Rejects interview

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