All-American Rejects’ Tyson Ritter Channels Bono with Charity Efforts

2012-02-09

Story by Cat Badra

All-American Rejects singer founded Don’t Hate on Haiti charity

Pop-rock group the All-American Rejects may be all grown up, given that nearly a decade has passed since their self-titled debut hit stores in 2003, but let’s face it: They’ll always carry that rebellious school boy, Warped Tour band vibe.

The Stillwater, Okla., guys bring that earnest sound to their latest album, “Kids in the Street,” set to drop March 27 in the U.S. The album’s first single, “Beekeeper’s Daughter,” struck the airwaves last week, and you can watch the song’s music video below.

While All-American Rejects frontman Tyson Ritter is gearing up for the album’s release by doing the press rounds and prepping for live shows, he’s also taking time out to help make the world a better place.

Ritter says he started a charity called Don’t Hate on Haiti right after the Haiti disaster, and he hopes to take it to the next level in 2012. “I really plan on ramping that up this year, now that I have a bigger pedestal to stand on (I started it when we had just finished a tour),” he told Spin. “I plan on doing a little bit more philanthropic stuff.

“It’s weird, you get to an age where you’re like… if I don’t speak up for something then I don’t really stand for anything. It’s nice to be able to give back to a culture. We’re headlining throughout April, and then I’m setting up this meet-and-greet, with a PowerPoint presentation and everything, for the cause.” He added, jokingly, that he’s “not going full Bono here.”

Regarding the new album, Ritter says he had no idea he was going to experience so much life in the three years between the last record and this one. “I went from the floor to standing up, and I think the whole record reflects that thematically,” he said. “It’s about a guy losing his way and finding it through reflection and self-realization.

“We started out having two songwriters, Nick [Wheeler] and I. We’ve always just put together collections of songs to compose a record. We would take writing trips, where we’d write five songs at once, in a house in Chicago. That’s been how our songs have seemed cohesive as records [in the past]. This record actually had a story. We realized we weren’t putting together a collection of songs for the first time, but we were actually putting together a record that told a story.”

Watch the All-American Rejects’ Music Video for ‘BeeKeeper’s Daughter’:

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Cat Badra
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Posted by Cat Badra | Alternative, Music, Rock News

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