On the bill at Rams Head Live! on October 19th were three highly skilled bands: Outasight, Gym Class Heroes and The Dirty Heads. Though not exactly homogeneous in sound, the three bands managed to work well together and made for an interesting musical experience.
The show opened with Outasight, a singer and rapper from Yonkers, New York. Outasight has been performing in New York City for years, and in 2008, he began putting mixtapes online. In 2009, he signed to Warner Brothers Records. This is his first major tour.
When asked about the tour, Outasight exclaimed, "It's amazing! I'm getting a chance to rock in front of really big crowds."
When performing, the rapper shows exquisite stage presence and loves to dance. Outasight gets the crowd warmed up with his songs' catchy beats; "Tonight is the Night," got the audience dancing along, and the high-energy perfomance was the best song in his set.
Outasight writes all of his own songs, and his favorite one to perform is "Losing My Mind," which he describes as an "East Coast hip-hop song." Outasight is "fascinated with the feeling music gives you."
On a more personal note, when asked about highlights of his life thus far, he said the best moment was "when [his] song was featured in a Pepsi commercial," he shared. Outasight also updates his Tumblr daily (iamoutasight.com for those of you not in the know).
Following Outasight was Gym Class Heroes, who played a variety of songs from multiple albums.
Most people may remember Travie McCoy from his hit song "Billionaire," featuring Bruno Mars, which debuted last year. When Gym Class Heroes performed this song at the concert, every member of the audience sang along.
Aside from his solo work, McCoy is the lead vocalist and frontman of eclectic hip-hop/rap/rock outfit Gym Class Heroes. McCoy loves making music. "It's an outlet," McCoy said. "I've been blessed with. . . being able to write about how I feel on a particular day. . . and have people relate to it."
Creativity takes many forms with McCoy. In addition to his love of music, McCoy is a visual artist. He likes to "paint, draw and hang out with [his] dog." Many may not know that McCoy attended college at "an art school in upstate New York."
When asked about his career highlights, he said, "When I made my first bank deposit; that felt really good. Actually, when I paid off my student loans."
Still reminscing, McCoy revealed that his most memorable moment on stage was when Gym Class Heroes' album, As Cruel as School Children, went gold and they were presented "with plaques at a sold out show in Madison Square Garden."
One of the most popular songs from the album, "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast in America", was a huge hit when performed at the concert.
Another song that captivated the audience at Rams Head Live! was "Stereo Hearts," the first single released from Gym Class Heroes' new album. This song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and is currently all over the radio.
For aspiring musicians, McCoy advises, "Be independent. You don't need to be signed to the biggest record label ever. . . that's a huge misconception."
McCoy's favorite artists to tour with were "T-Pain and Lil Wayne on the ‘I Am Music Tour.'" And a dream tour for McCoy would include Gym Class Heroes, "T-Pain, Daft Punk, for sure, [and] Hall & Oates," among many.
Hall & Oates seems to have had a significant impact on McCoy, being his favorite artists and biggest musical inspiration. McCoy spoke highly of them, saying, "When I'm their age, I would like to have done as much as they have for music."
Gym Class Heroes have been touring with Outasight and The Dirty Heads since October 12th, and the tour runs through November 18th.
When asked if McCoy planned to release another solo album, he said, "It's not out of the question. . . Right now, Gym Class Heroes is my priority."
McCoy, for the most part, writes all of the songs for Gym Class Heroes, but "Disashi [Lumumba-Kasongo] has written a few."
Gym Class Heroes' new album, The Papercut Chronicles II, follows a previous album entitled The Papercut Chronicles, and is set to drop on November 15th. Though the album has not yet been released, the frontman revealed that his favorite song from the new album is "Life Goes On," in which they "collaborated with a new artist Oh Land.
The final band to perform was The Dirty Heads, who displayed a unique blend of music genres. Their style is "reggae and hip-hop, dance hall to punk rock" as described in their song "Taint."
It was quite clear that the majority of the audience came out to see The Dirty Heads. This band truly gets the crowd excited like no other. The Dirty Heads were a solid way to finish the concert.
