Archives For travis mccoy

EXCLUSIVE: Travie McCoy Predicts Big Things For Bruno Mars, Previews ‘Lazarus’ & New GCH LP

Ralphie Aversa  —  05/06/2010 — Leave a comment

Gym Class Heroes front man Travie McCoy is a little salty that a rough mix of a demo track featuring Ke$ha found its way on to the Internet. He knows someone on the West Coast is responsible, although is unaware of who leaked it. Regardless, he’s upbeat, with a more positive outlook on the bigger picture.

“Luckily enough, none of the stuff on the album has been leaked, and hopefully it won’t before the album drops,” revealed McCoy, speaking on his tour bus to “The Ralphie Radio Show.” His solo debut, Lazarus, comes out June 8. The first single, “Billionaire” features triple-threat Bruno Mars – who sings, writes, and produces. Mars gained notoriety recently for his chops on the hook of B.o.B’s smash hit, “Nothin’ On You.”

“I hooked up with his production team… just the tracks they were coming up with; I was like, ‘Whoa… we definitely need to get together on this record,’” McCoy said of collaborating with Mars and The Smeezingtons – a production team also comprised of Phillip Lawrence and Ari Levine. The meeting occurred about a year and a half ago. “We were in the studio, and he played me ‘Billionaire’… it was just the track and him on the hook – and I was just like, ‘Wow, alright, we’re in a recession right now, how can I come out with this song talking about wanting to be a billionaire?’”
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McCoy answered his own question by flipping the scenario and becoming selfless, instead of selfish. While he rhymes about spending money on the ones he loves and good causes – McCoy raps that he would have his own theme music wherever he walked. So, what would it be?

“Probably the theme song from Super Fly,” joked McCoy. “You know what I mean? I’d have a band behind me, as I walk everywhere.”

Speaking of bands – the one currently behind him isn’t going anywhere. McCoy reiterated that the Gym Class Heroes are not breaking up. The group is currently 12 demos in to a new LP, due out next year, titled PCC II. The GCH emcee alluded to the album being a sequel to the 2005 release The Papercut Chronicles. Gym Class drummer Matt McGinley is currently touring with McCoy.

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EXCLUSIVE: Gabe & Ryland of Cobra Starship Talk Touring; Drinking; B.o.B. Collab

Ralphie Aversa  —  05/06/2010 — Leave a comment

Some in the music business knew of B.o.B and his talents well before he scored a number one record and two top ten hits with his album B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. Count Cobra Starship’s Gabe Saporta as one of those people.

“I was a huge fan of his when ‘I’ll Be In The Sky’ came out, I thought that song was gonna be a monster,” revealed the front man. “To me, he was the new Andre 3000.”

Saporta enjoyed B.o.B’s work so much that he asked the rapper to cameo on “The World Will Never Do” – which is the last track on Hot Mess.

“That is actually one of the songs we’re proudest of on the record,” Saporta said of the collab. “It’s the last song on the album – and that always kind of happens with Cobra records – like, I kind of start listening to our own record from track 6 onward, and the last song is always, usually, my favorite.”
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Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship invited “The RRS” aboard Cobra’s tour bus (which Toby Keith also uses, true story) to chat about the band’s tour with 3OH!3 and Travie McCoy along with a few select tracks from Hot Mess. In Part 2, Ryland Blackinton also joins in on the fun.

Part 1: Pacing Yourself On Tour, New Tour Bus, B.o.B. Collab

Part 2: Pete Wentz, Ryland Stops By

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Speaking of tracks from Hot Mess, Cobra recently released a video for track 7, “Living In The Sky With Diamonds” – a song that departs from the party-on message in the LP’s first two singles.

“I feel like all the songs we’ve done so far, people that haven’t heard Cobra Starship yet, a lot of them are probably like, ‘Wow these guys are just like, complete douches,’” the lead singer confessed, before I asked him to elaborate. “I guess if you only hear the two songs (“Good Girls Go Bad”, “Hot Mess”) they’re both about like, kinda getting drunk and going crazy and me encouraging girls to be on their worst behavior. But, we have a sensitive side too.”

The music video was shot by a film school student in the UK. English model Peaches Geldof stars in the production, which can be viewed on Cobra’s official website and YouTube.

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DAILY DOWNLOAD: Estelle f. Kardinal Offishall, David Guetta – ‘Freak’

Ralphie Aversa  —  03/12/2010 — Leave a comment

Next time you complain about a friend inviting themselves to one of your parties, think of how Kardinal Offishall ended up on Estelle’s new single, “Freak”.

“He heard the song, and was like, ‘Gimme that,’” recalled Darlings, who played the track from her house for Kardi. “He literally like took the song, looped up the beginning of the instrumental and did his verse and sent it back like, ‘There ya go, I’m on the track now.’”

Estelle didn’t mind – she cites Offishall as a good friend and one of the few that she’d grant that privilege to. Plus – she thinks he added a lot to the single.

“He killed it,” she stated. “He came on it and lifted the energy up completely.”

The singer did clarify one issue: Kardinal’s path of entry to the record is not the reason she made him wear skinny jeans for the song’s music video.

“(Laughing) He knows me. Whenever he’s around me there’s a lot of skinny jeans,” Estelle joked. “I’m sorry. I’m British. It’s what happens.”
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Of course, before Offishall declared himself a contributor to the record, Estelle linked up with French producer/DJ David Guetta. The man behind “I Gotta Feeling” and “Sexy Bitch” only reached out to one artist other than Chris Willis for a contribution to “One Love” – Estelle.

“I was like, ‘Hell yeah, will you do a track for me?’” Darlings said. She and Guetta recorded “One Love” – which the producer would later use as the title track for his August 2009 LP, an honor that Estelle admitted is “really cool.”

“After we did ‘One Love’, we were just both sitting there and I was like, ‘Play me some more stuff,’” she said. “He played ‘Freak’ and I was like, ‘Oh my God… trust me, give me that record!’”

Estelle decided that she’d bring it back to the 80’s on the hook – paying homage to the British pop group Soul II Soul by singing the chorus of the group’s smash single, “Back To Life”.

“He lost his mind,” Darlings said of Guetta’s reaction to the impromptu tribute. “I’m a child of the 80’s from London. Soul II Soul is what I grew up on.”

“Freak” is the first single from Estelle’s third studio LP – All Of Me – which she plans to release this fall. Other confirmed contributors include Swizz Beats, Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy, and John Legend. Darlings revealed that the album will probably not include another collaboration with KanYe West. She did note that a recent duet with Mr. Hudson would more than likely be included on an extended version of the LP.

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EXCLUSIVE: 3OH!3’s Nat Previews New Album, New Tour On 3/03

Ralphie Aversa  —  03/03/2010 — Leave a comment

Did Nathaniel Motte and Sean Foreman need another reason to drink? Eh, probably not. But that doesn’t stop the band from turning March 3 in to an annual party day. Yes, the band 3OH!3 considers 3/03 its personal day of homage.

“You might as well create another drinking holiday for yourself,” Motte said on “The Ralphie Radio Show”, taking some time from the festivities to call in to “The RRS” on the band’s day of celebration. The group also planned a uStream chat with fans later. “There’s all those Hallmark holidays that they created, why can’t we make our own?”

Looking back on the band’s past 365 days, there’s a lot they can drink to. “Don’t Trust Me” hit the top of the radio charts over the summer – as Motte and Foreman toured the country headlining the Vans Warped Tour. Just a year prior, they played the festival in near-obscurity, covered in the shadows of other bands who were receiving mainstream radio love: We The Kings, Gym Class Heroes, and Katy Perry. 3OH!3 befriended the latter artist and received her help to in remixing its second single, “Starstrukk”.

Now, the Colorado natives prepare for a busy spring – a cross-country trek with Cobra Starship and Travie McCoy of the aforementioned Heroes. 3OH!3 is also in the studio finishing Streets of Gold, the follow-up album to Want. While all of this takes place, Ke$ha’s “Blah Blah Blah”, a track they’re featured on, climbs up the charts.
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“It’s cool. Yunno, it’s a different sounding song for a girl,” Nat noted of the Benny Blanco production. “It’s like, real sassy and she raps on it. So, I think it’s great. It bodes well for her… hopefully it’s a good sign for us.”

Working on the forthcoming LP prevented 3OH!3 from making it back to the 303 – Boulder, Colorado – Nat revealed that the group is currently in the studio with hit-maker Dr. Luke. Motte hopes to drop a single to radio right around the tour’s launch date, with an album release tentatively scheduled for late June.

And if you’re holding out for some type of last second surprise – an album release that coincides with Warped Tour dates – well, don’t hold your breath.

“Honestly, I’ve spent my last two summers in parking lots, so I’m a little excited to get out,” Nat admitted, while also crediting the summer shows with building their road experience. “It was a great tour for us man. We’ll miss it a little bit, but yunno, I think we’ll manage to have good shows and hopefully people that go to see ‘Warped’ will come to check us out.”

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No Shame In Katy’s Game

Ralphie Aversa  —  02/02/2009 — Leave a comment
People reports that she said the following to concert-goers in L.A.:

“Girls, if you have ever dated a boy – specifically the lead singer from Gym Class Heroes – don’t do it! Boys should have a heart. You know what I mean girls? Boys just want the milk, but they don’t want to buy the cow.”

Obviously she’s just a tad bitter. Pretty tacky that Katy is airing out her grievances on a concert stage, but whatev.

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me and katy perry, sittin’ on a tour bus…

Ralphie Aversa  —  08/02/2008 — Leave a comment

this article originally published last wednesday in the weekender.
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It’s not easy being Katy Perry.

The “I Kissed a Girl” singer is currently on the Vans Warped Tour, which arrived at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain last Sunday. Conveniently enough, her boyfriend, Gym Class Heroes front-man Travis McCoy, also performs on the tour. Her infectious summer jam just registered its fifth consecutive week atop the charts. Perry’s backers include Internet giants like MySpace and Perez Hilton. Her LP, One Of The Boys, sold 115,000 copies in a mere three weeks, powered mostly by the strength of her aforementioned hit.

But, as Ben Parker told his nephew Peter in Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

“I’m on Warped Tour, we’re six weeks in, and I’m not dead,” a relieved Perry told me on her tour bus.

After nagging her manager throughout the day, I received an invitation to jump on board and speak with Katy for a minute. Dressed in an oversized white shirt and pajama pants, Perry gently sipped green tea in an attempt to recoup her voice and energy level. While most artists on the tour would bus it to the next stop – Perry’s next stop was a top-notch hotel in Manhattan and an appearance on ABC’s The View.

“Fuck! I’m meeting Barbara Walters tomorrow. Hi mom!” Perry exclaimed in a sudden burst of revelation that maybe she has in fact “made it” – to a degree. Minutes before, Katy wouldn’t acknowledge her success as much, simply insisting that while she’s had fun, she’s also made her fair share of sacrifices.

Now those sacrifices are yielding dividends, although life isn’t all celebrity encounters and rock shows. Perry and her manager both explained their dilemma in Sunday alone: With Perry’s throat feeling a little under the weather, she cancelled a MySpace acoustic performance in order to perform the Warped Tour set and save her voice for the following day’s TV appearance. All this happens within the current demands of Perry’s schedule – one that awakes the singer as early as 7 a.m. daily for hair and makeup, followed by photo shoots (MySpace and Rolling Stone occurred within days of her arrival in Scranton), interviews, and performances.

Yet, despite all this, Perry still made time for a staple Warped Tour tradition – stopping by her merchandise table to sign autographs for over 100 people.

“I think I definitely (have) been given a great opportunity, and people seem to be really responding,” said Perry. “I worked really hard, and I continue to work really hard.”

No one knows Perry’s staying power. But one-hit wonder or not, it’s evident that the singer work ethic will be unscathed, possibly taking a cue from both her parents, who were traveling ministers, and her beau, who helped GCH launch from a small town in Central New York to international success.

McCoy and Perry began dating a few years ago. Both openly talk about the relationship – those who walked in by the busses in the VIP parking area to the stages were even treated to a quick PDA by the couple as Perry returned from her autograph session.

“We’re on the same plane,” Perry gushed.The singer of “Cupid’s Chokehold” is feeling the clutch as well.“It’s a beautiful situation,” McCoy told me, his younger brother within earshot. “Honestly, not to sound cheesy; I just don’t think I’ve ever been this in love with someone before.”

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travis mccoy of gym class heroes interview…

Ralphie Aversa  —  07/29/2008 — Leave a comment

Travis McCoy opens up to 97 BHT’s Ralphie about – everything! Hear Travie talk about everything from his girlfriend (Katy Perry), to tattoos, the new LP, and kicking his substance abuse problem.

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katy perry interview…

Ralphie Aversa  —  07/29/2008 — Leave a comment

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Katy Perry invited Ralphie Aversa on to her tour bus for an exclusive interview after the Vans Warped Tour at Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain. Katy chats with Ralphie about her hit song, her boyfriend, and meeting Barbara Walters!

For full Warped Tour Coverage – click here. Or, view Ralphie’s recap below:

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photos from my weekend that was…

Ralphie Aversa  —  07/29/2008 — Leave a comment
the uber-exclusive facebook album viewed here.


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this week’s ralphie report…

Ralphie Aversa  —  07/08/2008 — Leave a comment

catch it tomorrow in the weekender.
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As Alex Rodriguez gears up to play as an all-star this weekend, he’ll do so knowing that his marriage is all-but-gone.

Cynthia Rodriguez, the New York Yankees third baseman’s wife of almost six years filed for divorce on Monday. The papers end speculation of a marriage that has been on its last life since Us Weekly broke the story about A-Rod’s latest extra-marital affairs.

It’s fitting that the highest paid player in baseball would be tied to the ultimate “Material Girl.” Doormen at Madonna’s Manhattan apartment blabbed to the media about A-Rod’s late night excursions to Madge’s pad, leaving as late as midnight.

Murmurs about the Rodriguez rocky marriage began less than a year ago, when photographers snapped A-Rod hanging out with a buxom blonde in Toronto, wining and dining her before taking in the sights at one of T-Dot’s more prominent strip clubs.

But the extensive media coverage did not faze the Bronx Bomber then. A-Rod earned MVP accolades for the third time in his career that year. Meanwhile, his wife packed up and left their New York apartment, only to join her hubby on the road, while the Yankees were in Boston playing the Red Sox.

Cynthia again packed her bags after the latest front-page scandal, but she didn’t run to her husband. Instead, Lenny Kravitz opened the doors of his Paris home to the estranged wife. Kravitz then vehemently denied rumors that he and Rodriguez’s wife were any more than friends.

The situation is surely a complicated one for all parties involved, as well as Guy Oseary. He manages Rodriguez, Madonna, and Kravitz.

Alex and Cynthia signed a pre-nuptial agreement before their November 2002 marriage. In the divorce papers, Mrs. Rodriguez claims her soon-to-be ex is worth $250,000,000. She seeks custody of their two daughters, child support, debt-relief, and their six bedroom home in Coral Gables, FL.

GYM CLASS HERO GETS DETENTION

Here’s a bit of advice for anyone thinking about checking out the Gym Class Heroes later this month. The group from Geneva, NY headlines this year’s Vans Warped Tour, which rolls through the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain on Sunday, July 27.

Don’t yell a racial slur at GCH front man, Travis McCoy. Of course, that’s also assuming McCoy makes the date.

At a recent Warped Tour stop in St. Louis, a fan in the front row called McCoy, “an ignorant n—-r.” The lead emcee tried to bring the person on stage, so he could embarrass him in front of the audience. As the fan climbed on to the stage, he hit McCoy on his knee, which apparently has a brace on it. Travie responded by smashing his microphone on the guy’s head.

St. Louis police put their own “Cupid’s Chokehold” on the Gym Class Hero, booking him on third-degree assault charges. Authorities released McCoy on $500 bail, but TMZ reports that police have issued a warrant for his arrest.

Gym Class Heroes released a statement calling the incident unfortunate. McCoy issued a half-hearted apology, claiming the kid got what he deserved for the comment. No word from Katy Perry. The “I Kissed a Girl” singer and Warped Tour-mate is dating McCoy.

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