Photo by Shawn Brackbill
The Get Up Kids will tour next year with Dashboard Confessional.
More than 20 years ago, The Get Up Kids released “Something to Write Home About,” which would become one of the defining albums of 1990s emo. Now, the Kansas City act is still capturing that heartfelt, introspective sound on its latest record, “Problems.”
“Lyrically, we went with a concept of being able to write about themes that are on ‘Something to Write Home About,’ which is a lot of loss and relationships and breakups,” says singer/guitarist Matt Pryor.
“But it’s from the perspective of someone who is 20 years more experienced than the kids who wrote that one.”
Fans can hear those songs on Saturday, November 23, when The Get Up Kids perform a sold-out show at Soda Bar.
The Get Up Kids formed in 1995, as a group of teenagers—Pryor, guitarist/vocalist Jim Suptic, bassist Rob Pope and drummer Ryan Pope.
Throughout the band’s 24-year career, it has released six studio albums, as well as an array of EPs and singles. However, “Problems,” its first full-length album in eight years, ventures into old and new musical territory.
“The difference between being in your twenties and being in your forties is pretty huge emotionally speaking,” Pryor says.
In between day jobs, marriages and kids, the band spent three weeks in Bridgeport, Connecticut, working on the album.
“Honestly, it was the most fun any of us have had making a record,” Pryor says. “I mean we didn’t really argue at all, we had kind of a singular, almost like a hive mind, about what we were doing, and you know, everything was pretty laid back.”
The album was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Katis, who previously engineered band’s 2002 release “On a Wire.”
“Ever since making ‘On a Wire,’ we really got along with Peter, we’d really like to do a record that he’s more than just the engineer on,” Pryor says.
“Something to Write Home About,” along with the band’s first album “Four Minute Mile,” are considered to be staples of the second wave of emo, a label which many bands are quick to reject. Pryor has come to accept it.
“See, the thing about it is the term seems to mean something different to every single person,” Pryor explains. “Like, to some people it seems to be like, I don’t know, Sunny Day Real Estate, and for some people, it seems to be Fall Out Boy or My Chem. I don’t really know how to define the genre. I don’t know if we fit into it or not.
“It wasn’t a name that we chose, but we’ve come to accept it for what it is. But really, we try to be the best we can be.”
The release of their third album, “On a Wire,” showed a more mature sound for the band, one that fans weren’t too keen about. Two years later, The Get Up Kids broke up.
In between this breakup and the release of “Problems,” the musicians worked together sporadically, while focusing on their solo careers and personal lives.
Now, The Get Up Kids are focusing on touring, having returned from a tour in Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Hawaii a few weeks ago.
“It’s a pretty high-energy show, a lot of rock songs, including a handful of songs off the new record, like five or six songs off it,” Pryor says. “We’re playing a lot off of ‘Something to Write Home About’ this year because of the (20-year) anniversary.
“It’s a really fun show, and everyone gets to sing along, and everyone gets to leave with a smile on their face.”
The Get Up Kids w/Kevin Devine and The Whiffs
8 p.m. Saturday, November 23
Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego
Sold out
619-255-7224, sodabarmusic.com