All-American Rejects Frontman Tyson Ritter Talks Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour, Jokes About Being 'Girlfriend Band' (Exclusive)

By Stephen Andrew

The All-American Rejects are certainly a band that needs no introduction, but we wrote one anyway. The group's origins date back to 1999, when singer Tyson Ritter and guitarist Nick Wheeler were high school friends who shared a passion for music. After forming the band, they eventually signed with Doghouse Records and released their debut self-titled album, which featured their first hit single, "Swing, Swing."

Over the next decade, All-American Rejects would go on to release three more albums with several big tunes, such as "Dirty Little Secret" and "Gives You Hell." Now, more than ten years after their last album, the band is preparing to head out on the Wet, Hot All-American Summer Tour with fellow earl-oughts pop-punk and emo-rock bands New Found Glory, Motion City Soundtrack, The Starting Line, and The Get Up Kids. First, however, they're making a stop in Dallas, Texas for the Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour, which supports Women In Music: a national nonprofit organization committed to advancing equality, visibility and opportunities for women in the musical arts through education, support, empowerment and recognition.

Speaking exclusively to PopCulture.com about the big show, Ritter told us that they were thrilled when Smirnoff ICE reached out to them about the opportunity, as they "always played Dallas a lot" when they were just starting out. "We of course were happy to be a part of it," he said, adding, "Just the fact that we are a band from the sort of early 2000s, when I think that brand kind of came onto the scene in a real way, it felt like it made complete, perfect sense for us to partner up with them."

After the Smirnoff ICE Relaunch on Thursday, The All-American Rejects will start prepping for the Wet, Hot All-American Summer Tour, which kicks of in August. "We're really looking forward to it. We haven't really hit the ground, in a real way, for about 10 years, so it's really kind of cool," Ritter said of the forthcoming trek across the nation. "There was something that happened kind of last year when we played a show at this festival called When We Were Young and it really sort of woke us up to the fact that people are finally ready to admit that they listened to this band who was their dirty little secret. We were always the unsung heroes of the scene because I think we were popular and I think people now realize that, 'Hell, I guess if it was popular, then maybe it was good.'"

Clarifying his point, Ritter explained, "I think it was more just about there being of bashful nature. We were the band that a lot of..." He paused and quipped, "I guess I felt like we were the girlfriend band because I remember seeing a bunch of dudes with their girls there jamming out at the show and I was like, 'Oh, this is totally... We're like the girlfriend band.'" 

Ritter continued, "But most honestly, in a way that at the end of the day, we're absolutely completely grateful for the lineage that has been created for us by way of pop culture and by way of the post-TRL world." He then recalled, "I was 17 years years old when I first went on TRL, and we were marketed as these kind of young pop-rock boy band. I think we had it a little bit easier than a lot of other guys or a lot of those other bands because it was just like we were so f—ing young.

Reflecting further, the singer offered, "Now here we are 20-something years later and still getting to do it, it's the greatest gift, especially being able to give back to organizations along the way, like Women in Music, for charity. If you would've told my 17-year-old self that I was going to be a part of something, where not only that I got to continue to do what I loved on stage, but to be able to benefit equality, people, to be a spokesperson for a cause and a brand that is doing good in the world, in a world right now where we are so divided and really f—ed up as a culture, to be able to contribute to the good in the world, still? Not just being the girlfriend band. I think I'm really grateful for everything, you know?"

While fans are going to get lots of opportunities to check out The All-American Rejects live, Ritter did point out that they currently do not have plans to release new music. "It's a big point of contention internally between Nick and myself, [who] are partners in the music," he admitted. "A lot of our contemporaries have really, and I say this quite a lot and I'm not really ashamed of it... You can tell a lot of bands that take advantage of their fan base by selling them s—." 

Ritter added, "We live in a world now where it's just about the sell. So, we as a band, maybe it's because we're from Oklahoma, the last thing we care to do is to just put out music, to sell people some s—. If we're going to do it, we're going to do it the same reason we started doing it, which was for ourselves."

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When it comes to the band's present state of mind, Ritters says, "Right now the discussion is just where do we go to satisfy what we want to create? We're not 17 anymore. We're not 22 when we put out Move Along. We're not 26 when we put out 'Gives You Hell.' We're in our late thirties, so to give you a pop-rock record that feels like nostalgia, just go listen to those records." Finally, he did offer fans a little hope: "Never say never, how about that? Never say never."

The Smirnoff ICE Relaunch Tour is taking its talents to Dallas this Thursday June 22, with The Voice Season 4 winner Danielle Bradbery joining The All-American Rejects. Fans can click here for ticket sales. Those interested in knowing more about the Wet, Hot All-American Summer Tour can head over to the band's website. Keep it locked to PopCulture.com for more great music news reviews and interviews!

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