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Prior to the earliest incarnation of The Get Up Kids, members Ryan Pope, Rob Pope and Jim Septic had been in a band entitled Kingpin, and Matt Pryor had been frontman in the band the Secret Decoder Ring. After the disbandment of both, The Get Up Kids were formed with Pryor on guitar and lead vocals, Septic on guitar, Rob Pope on bass, and Ryan Pope on drums. The band’s debut release was a 7-inch entitled “Shortly/The Breathing Method”, and before long The Get Up Kids became staples in the underground Midwestern music scene alongside Rocket Fuel Is The Key and Braid.
The Get Up Kids subsequently released the single “A Newfound Interest in Massachusetts”, and the EP “Woodson”. With the success of the releases, the label Doghouse signed the band for a two-album contract, the result of which was “Four Minute Mile” released in 1997. The release and subsequent tour sent ripples across the U.S. and The Get Up Kids signed a new record deal with Los Angeles-based Vagrant Records. In a collaboration with the band Coalesce’s drummer James Dewees, Matt Pryor and Rob Pope released the album “Greatest Hits 1984-1987” under the moniker Reggie and the Full Effect, before returning to the studio as The Get Up Kids.
“Red Letter Day”, a five-track EP arrived in 1998, followed by the band’s genre-defining sophomore album “Something to Write Home About”. Released on Vagrant records, the album propelled the emo genre into the mainstream, and influenced countless bands that would succeed them – with its carefully crafted melodic and introspective energy.
After releasing the album “Endora” featuring previously released material, and touring alongside the likes of Green Day, Hot Rod Circuit and Weezer, The Get Up Kids, released their third full length “On a Wire”. The album was far more minimalist than its predecessor and took the emo genre in a new and sombre direction. Followed by “Guilt Show” in 2004, and a live album “Live @ Granada Theatre” in 2005, the band decided to call it a day and played their last show at their hometown’s Uptown Theatre in July 2005. The Get Up Kids returned in 2009 to marked the 10 year anniversary of “Something to Write Home About”, and subsequently released the EP “Simple Science” and the full-length “There Are Rules”.
Andy McKee is a shining example of the way the music industry can progress in the near future. While he has several albums released both independently and from a label, the majority of his exposure has come from videos of his playing uploaded onto Youtube.
This has led to sell out tours, deals with even bigger labels and on a more basic level, the exposure of his music to hundreds of thousands of people the world over. At what other point in music history has music been this accessible without the use of major labels?
Clearly McKee is an artist we can all learn from, so it’s a good thing that he wasn’t totally put off playing guitar despite how much he hated getting lessons. He first picked up the instrument at 13 years of age when his father bought him a nylon stringed classical guitar.
He soon began teaching himself, inspired by the likes of Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani and Metallica. By the time he was 22 he’d released his first album, 2001’s “Nocturne”, and was playing live in places as far flung as Taiwan by the time 2003 rolled around.
It was in the summer of 2003 that McKee would find one of the crucial instruments behind his success, with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he won first place at the New Jersey State Fiddling and Picking Championships in the assorted acoustic instrument division. He made playing the harpguitar a full time part of his act and that’s when word about his skill started truly spreading.
While he was still making records and touring, 2006 saw McKee upload videos of his playing onto YouTube, where he developed a cult following for his creativity and sheer technical wizardry. For a time, three of his videos were the top three most watched videos on YouTube as a whole.
Since then videos of his have been viewed upwards of 50 million times and still climbing. He’s performed with everyone from Josh Groban to Prince and God willing, he will be an inspiration to many others in how he uses the internet to spread his music far and wide on his own terms. He’s a rare talent, and one to be seen performing live as soon as possible.
The Get Up Kids were one of the first bands to ascend to the mainstream on the back of the burgeoning Emo scene and despite temporarily splitting up in 2005, since 2008 they’ve been back together and making new music unlike the majority of their contemporaries. While to the layman Emo music might seem best fitted to long dark nights of the soul in one’s bedroom, Matt Prior’s mob were always at their best when heard live. With his signature howl and their mix of lacerating guitar riffs with New-Wave indebted keyboard s, this is music that’s well and truly alive. It’s infused with enough soul and passion to power a train and it only gets more vital when it’s performed live. Not many artists play music that has truly inspired people and made them the best that they can be, and the band in turn is pushed to greater heights than they could ever get without them with every live show. Emo rock began here, and it evolved and mutated to the extent where every major rock movement of the past 15 years has an element of it within its very DNA. With that in mind, I urge you to see one of the most quietly influential bands of the 21st century the next chance you can get, you will not regret it.
william-howard-2
Andy Mckee is an unbelievable guitarist! He's innovative, distinctive and so soulful! He first came to my attention after his youtube video started going viral in the mid naughties. I was studying music at the time and remember those video he started posting spreading though my Music Schools campus like an out of control fire.
Tracks like ‘Drifting’ are so unbelievably unique. I had never seen guitar played like that before, and as a young guitarist myself I instantly fascinated.
The combination of the percussive taps on the body, sweet touches on the harmonics and the use of some unorthodox tunings he was able to create so simply striking pieces of music. To this day ‘For my Father’ and ‘Rylynn' remain two of my favourite tracks. They are so melodically simple but the they have such soul! Its hard to hear those pieces and not to stop what you’re doing and listen.
I managed to see him a few years ago on one of his tours, I feel quite privileged to have seen him live, to have witnessed his flawless technique and be taken back by the beautiful of his compositions. Andy Mckee is a wonderful guitarist, musician and composer. When I saw him live he did everything he does best, flawlessly!
aaron-perrins
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