Gym Class Heroes 'stoked' to perform with Nelly Furtado in Manila

“We’re really stoked to be playing with Nelly Furtado,” Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

 

“We watched her go from ‘I’m like a bird’ to this superstar,” he said.

 

Bassist Eric Roberts added that they were excited to see if Furtado brought a back-up band with her, to which McCoy, guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo, and drummer Matt McGinley, chimed with agreement.

 

“To be able to reach out to artists we admire, just to be in that position is awesome,” McCoy added.

 

The band, whose brand of music is as recognizable as it is hard to define, will be performing at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Thursday night with Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado.

 

Their concert follows a string of hits—including “Stereo Hearts,” a collaboration with Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, and “The Fighter,” with One Republic’s Ryan Tedder—produced after a three-year hiatus.

 

“It’s exciting. We thought it wasn’t going to happen,” he shared, explaining that the crazy weather momentarily put their concert plans in limbo. “We’re glad to be here.” 

 

“This is new territory for us. We’re really excited to see what kind of reaction we get,” Roberts added, hinting at a high-energy performance up ahead.

 

“No matter where we go, we bring it pretty hard, so we hope you bring it pretty hard too,” he said.

 

Gym class beginnings

 

The band’s name certainly reflects their beginnings, which go as far back as 1997, when McCoy and McGinley met in, where else but their high school gym class.

 

“We started when we were 16 years old, and as we grew, the music grew with us,” McCoy shared.

 

The music he spoke of is notably different from that of their contemporaries, perhaps owing to the band member’s diverse musical tastes.

 

“I think we’re lovers of all genres,” Roberts shared, which reflects in their music’s characteristic blend of rap, rock, hip-hop, funk, and even reggae.

 

Lumumba-Kasongo added, “We introduce each other to a lot of new music.”

 

At the press conference, one writer even pointed out that their music has none of the cockiness characterizes hip-hop and rap songs.

 

“I feel like in a sense, hip-hop started as a cocky music, but it definitely got out of hand, rappers talking about how cool they are,” McCoy shared. “Honestly, I’m not that cool, so I had to find other things to rap about.” –KG, GMA News

 

The Gym Class Heroes/Nelly Furtado concert will be on Thursday, August 16, at 8 p.m. at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.