We caught up with the Travie, Matt, Disashi and Eric from Gym Class Heroes after their rehearsal for the 2011 American Music Awards.  They shared some of their history, and gave valuable advice to young artists.  Check it out:

Are you guys pretty excited for the AMAs this year?

Travie McCoy: Super excited!  Having the chance to perform is awesome.  We don’t usually go that extravagant as far as stage production, so this is the first time we’ve actually done something crazy.  We have to give the best show we can possibly do.

Any other artists you’re excited to see?

Travie McCoy: Maroon 5, for sure.

Matt McGinley: Nicki Minaj.  I’m definitely intrigued by her.

Is it true Gym Class Heroes started in gym class?

Travie McCoy: This sexy fellow and I [Matt McGinley] met in gym class.  We were kind of outcasts.  We didn’t really participate, we just kind of sat on the bleachers.  [At that time] I was playing drums in a band, and he was playing drums [in a different] band, and we would just spend the entire class talking about our ideal drum kits, and our favorite drummers and whatnot.  We basically needed a name for our first show to put on the flyer, and Gym Class Heroes kind of popped up.  We didn’t really make the connection that we met in gym class until years later.

What advice can you give to up-and-coming artists?

Eric Roberts: Hustle!

Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo: Take advantage of the internet, and start out with a product that you care about.  Because a lot of times people say ‘how can i make my band as big as possible?’ and I think if you just make good music, people will care about it in the first place.

How does The Papercut Chronicles II compare to earlier work?

Travie McCoy: The misconception has been that it is a duplication of the first record.  it’s actually more of a continuation.  We really wanted to revisit the modesty [of prior albums], because most of those songs were written when we were 16 or 17, and we weren’t necessarily concerned with the formula of how songs were broken down.  We would just write until it felt good.  It was all about feeling, you know?  That’s kind of what we wanted to do with this album.

What about new projects?

Travie McCoy: The next big thing is The Papercut Chronciles II!  The album just dropped Tuesday, so we’re gonna spend a lot of time promoting the album.  the single is doing great.

Matt McGinley: We’ve spent the last two and a half years writing the album, so it feels like graduating from school.  But we’re inclined to get back in the studio and start recording as soon as possible.

Thanks guys.  Good luck on Sunday!

Check out Gym Class Heroes and more of your favorite artists on the 2011 American Music Awards on Sunday, November 20th (8:00-11:00 pm ET/PT) only on ABC!

Posted on November 19th, 2011