Something to Write Home About
Encyclopedia
Something to Write Home About is the second full-length studio album
by American rock
band The Get Up Kids
, released on September 21, 1999. The album was produced by The Get Up Kids themselves, with co-producers Chad Blinman and Alex Brahl. Blinman also recorded and mixed the album, with Brahl assisting with additional engineering. The album was a financial success, peaking at #31 on Billboards Heatseekers 200 albums chart in North America, and gathered a great amount of critical acclaim. Something to Write Home About is the first Get Up Kids album to include James Dewees
playing keyboards.
After The Get Up Kids' previous album, Four Minute Mile
brought major label offers, the band decided to stick with an indie label and sign with Vagrant Records
for their next album after a short and unproductive time with Mojo Records
. Something to Write Home About is, however, slightly more radio-oriented, with catchy choruses and hooks.
had to borrow money from his parents, who mortgaged their house in order to fund the production of the album. At least one of the songs were inspired by the band's tumultuous split with Doghouse Records
.
The album was recorded over the course of two months in June and July 1999, with Chad Blinman at the Mad Hatter Recording Studios in Silverlake, California
. The band produced the record themselves, with co-producers Chad Blinman - who mixed the album - and Alex Brahl, who did additional engineering on the album and would later go onto co-found Curb Appeal Records
with The Get Up Kids guitarist Jim Suptic
.
was released through the Sub Pop Singles Club on 7" Vinyl in February 1999. The second, Action & Action
was released on March 24, 2000 in Europe on Epitaph Records
.
The band toured for three years after the release of the album, up until they went into the studio on their next album On a Wire
. This included supporting Green Day
on their Warning
tour, a 2000 tour with Koufax
and The Anniversary
sponsored by Napster
, as well as an opening spot on the 2001 Yahoo! Outloud tour
with Ozma
and Weezer
. After the tour ended, the band was physically and mentally fatigued, and looked to write a significantly different album, reflected in the darker and more mature tone of On a Wire.
During that time, in order to capitalize on the success of Something to Write Home About, as well as to keep fans interested until the next album came out, Vagrant Records released Eudora
, a B-Sides and Rarities collection in 2001.
tour, when former Get Up Kids keyboardist James Dewees
claimed that the band would re-release the album in addition to touring in the spring of 2009. Speculation was fueled further when, in an interview with Mishmash Magazine, Dewees confirmed that he was working on the reunion of "an old band from the 90's and early 2000's".
The re-release was confirmed by a post on the official music blog of The Kansas City Star
that confirmed rumors that the band would be performing a reunion tour in 2009. The tour will be in honor of the tenth anniversary of Something to Write Home About, which remains the band's most successful album to date. The article also included quotes from Matt Pryor, who said that Vagrant Records will be re-releasing the album in a special 10th-anniversary edition, including a DVD and photo book. In January 2009, Doghouse Records
re-issued the album on black and purple vinyl.
On June 10, 2009, along with announcing their European tour and the first leg of their American tour, the band also announced that the 10th anniversary edition of the album would be released on September 8, 2009.
Production
Design
DVD footage
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band The Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids are an American alternative rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-90's emo scene, otherwise known as the "second wave" of emo music...
, released on September 21, 1999. The album was produced by The Get Up Kids themselves, with co-producers Chad Blinman and Alex Brahl. Blinman also recorded and mixed the album, with Brahl assisting with additional engineering. The album was a financial success, peaking at #31 on Billboards Heatseekers 200 albums chart in North America, and gathered a great amount of critical acclaim. Something to Write Home About is the first Get Up Kids album to include James Dewees
James Dewees
James Dewees is an American musician who has been involved in many musical projects including Coalesce, The Get Up Kids, Reggie and the Full Effect, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, and, most recently, Leathermouth....
playing keyboards.
After The Get Up Kids' previous album, Four Minute Mile
Four Minute Mile
Four Minute Mile is the first full-length album released by Kansas City, Missouri emo band The Get Up Kids.-Recording:The album was recorded in April 1997 on a budget of $4,000. It was produced by Shellac bassist Bob Weston in Chicago over the course of two and a half days. It was released by...
brought major label offers, the band decided to stick with an indie label and sign with Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
for their next album after a short and unproductive time with Mojo Records
Mojo Records
Mojo Records was a California-based record label founded in 1995 by producer Jay Rifkin. It became a joint venture with Universal Music Group in 1996 and then sold to the Zomba Group in 2001, who placed it under their subsidiary Jive Records...
. Something to Write Home About is, however, slightly more radio-oriented, with catchy choruses and hooks.
Recording
At the time the band signed onto Vagrant Records, the label was still primarily a much smaller independent label. Before the album went into production, the label's co-owner John CohenJohn Cohen
John Cohen is a founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers as well as a musicologist, photographer and filmmaker of note...
had to borrow money from his parents, who mortgaged their house in order to fund the production of the album. At least one of the songs were inspired by the band's tumultuous split with Doghouse Records
Doghouse Records
Doghouse Records is a Toledo, Ohio based record label, now run out of the New York City office. Since 2004 Doghouse has been a part of the Warner Music Group....
.
The album was recorded over the course of two months in June and July 1999, with Chad Blinman at the Mad Hatter Recording Studios in Silverlake, California
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Silver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...
. The band produced the record themselves, with co-producers Chad Blinman - who mixed the album - and Alex Brahl, who did additional engineering on the album and would later go onto co-found Curb Appeal Records
Curb Appeal Records
Curb Appeal Records is an American record label founded in Kansas City, Missouri by The Get Up Kids guitarist and Blackpool Lights frontman Jim Suptic.-History:In July 2005, The Get Up Kids split up, leaving the members to pursue their own side-projects...
with The Get Up Kids guitarist Jim Suptic
Jim Suptic
Jim Suptic is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known for being the guitarist for Kansas City, Missouri band The Get Up Kids.-The Get Up Kids:...
.
Promotion
Two singles were released to promote this album. The first, Ten MinutesTen Minutes
"Ten Minutes" is the first single from Kansas City, Missouri band The Get Up Kids' album Something to Write Home About. The single was released as part of the Sub Pop Records Singles Club. 1300 pressings were black, with only 100 pressings of the single on clear vinyl...
was released through the Sub Pop Singles Club on 7" Vinyl in February 1999. The second, Action & Action
Action & Action
Action & Action is the second single from Kansas City, Missouri band The Get Up Kids' album Something to Write Home About. The single was only released in Europe, and is the first Get Up Kids single released on Compact Disc on March 24, 2000 in North America and November 24 elsewhere.-Track...
was released on March 24, 2000 in Europe on Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
.
The band toured for three years after the release of the album, up until they went into the studio on their next album On a Wire
On a Wire
On a Wire is a 2002 album released by The Get Up Kids on Vagrant Records. The album was also released in two record versions: black 180 gram vinyl and Limited Edition picture disc.-Recording:...
. This included supporting Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
on their Warning
Warning (Green Day album)
Warning is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on October 3, 2000 through Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor, Nimrod , the album eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic and pop rock elements...
tour, a 2000 tour with Koufax
Koufax (band)
Koufax are an indie rock band whose members are from mainly Toledo, Ohio. The band's self-titled debut EP was released in 1999 on independent label Doghouse Records, and got them noticed by The Get Up Kids, who signed them to their label, Vagrant Records subsidiary Heroes and Villains...
and The Anniversary
The Anniversary
The Anniversary was an American band formed in Lawrence, Kansas in 1997 by Josh Berwanger, James David, Christian Jankowski, Adrianne Verhoeven and Justin Roelofs. The Anniversary was the solidification of a line-up that had been in flux for a year...
sponsored by Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, as well as an opening spot on the 2001 Yahoo! Outloud tour
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
with Ozma
Ozma (band)
Ozma is a rock band from Pasadena, California. The band's sound is a mix of new-wave–influenced power pop and Casiotone-driven melodies sustained by heavy guitar riffs. The complexity of Ozma's songs grew considerably during the band's initial nine-year history...
and Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
. After the tour ended, the band was physically and mentally fatigued, and looked to write a significantly different album, reflected in the darker and more mature tone of On a Wire.
During that time, in order to capitalize on the success of Something to Write Home About, as well as to keep fans interested until the next album came out, Vagrant Records released Eudora
Eudora (album)
Eudora is The Get Up Kids' third full-length CD/LP. Released on November 27, 2001, it is a collection of B-Sides, Rarities, and Covers released on Vagrant Records....
, a B-Sides and Rarities collection in 2001.
Re-release
In August 2008, rumors began to spread that the band will be releasing a special edition of the album in 2009 to commemorate the ten year anniversary of its release, including a DVD chronicling the band's history. Initially the rumors were fan reports from the farewell Reggie and the Full EffectReggie and the Full Effect
Reggie and the Full Effect was a Kansas City indie rock band, the solo project for The Get Up Kids keyboardist James Dewees.-Early years, Greatest Hits 1984-1987, Promotional Copy and Under the Tray :...
tour, when former Get Up Kids keyboardist James Dewees
James Dewees
James Dewees is an American musician who has been involved in many musical projects including Coalesce, The Get Up Kids, Reggie and the Full Effect, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, and, most recently, Leathermouth....
claimed that the band would re-release the album in addition to touring in the spring of 2009. Speculation was fueled further when, in an interview with Mishmash Magazine, Dewees confirmed that he was working on the reunion of "an old band from the 90's and early 2000's".
The re-release was confirmed by a post on the official music blog of The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
that confirmed rumors that the band would be performing a reunion tour in 2009. The tour will be in honor of the tenth anniversary of Something to Write Home About, which remains the band's most successful album to date. The article also included quotes from Matt Pryor, who said that Vagrant Records will be re-releasing the album in a special 10th-anniversary edition, including a DVD and photo book. In January 2009, Doghouse Records
Doghouse Records
Doghouse Records is a Toledo, Ohio based record label, now run out of the New York City office. Since 2004 Doghouse has been a part of the Warner Music Group....
re-issued the album on black and purple vinyl.
On June 10, 2009, along with announcing their European tour and the first leg of their American tour, the band also announced that the 10th anniversary edition of the album would be released on September 8, 2009.
Track listing
UK Version Bonus TracksPersonnel
Band- Matthew PryorMatthew PryorMatthew Pryor is an American musician who lives in Lawrence, Kansas. Pryor was in the band Secret Decoder Ring, and through playing shows in the Kansas City area, met the members of his future band, indie rock group The Get Up Kids, which was formed in 1995...
- Guitar, vocals - Jim SupticJim SupticJim Suptic is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known for being the guitarist for Kansas City, Missouri band The Get Up Kids.-The Get Up Kids:...
- Guitar, vocals - James DeweesJames DeweesJames Dewees is an American musician who has been involved in many musical projects including Coalesce, The Get Up Kids, Reggie and the Full Effect, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance, and, most recently, Leathermouth....
- Keyboards, vocals - Rob PopeRob Pope-History:Rob Pope grew up in Olathe, Kansas. In the summer of 1994, he was in a band called "Kingpin" with his brother Ryan and future Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic. After the band broke up due to internal conflicts, Rob and Jim re-formed with Matt Pryor, who had been playing with Secular Theme...
- Bass - Ryan PopeRyan PopeRyan Pope is an American musician who lives in Lawrence, Kansas.-History:Ryan Pope grew up in Olathe, Kansas. In the summer of 1994, he was in a band called "Kingpin" with his brother Rob and future The Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic...
- Drums
Production
- Alex Brahl - Producer, assistant engineer
- Chad Blinman - Producer, mixing, recording
- Dale Lawton - Assistant
- Ramon Breton - Mastering
- Rich Egan - Management
Design
- Travis Millard - Artwork
- Sam Spencer - Design, layout
DVD footage
- Michael Dubin - Archive footage, photos
- Adam Rothelin - Producer, director, editor
Chart performance
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
31 |