The All-American Rejects, comprised of Tyson Ritter (vocalist/bassist), Nick Wheeler (guitarist), Mike Kennerty (guitarist), and Chris Gaylord (drums), will rock the main stage of this year’s Vans Warped Tour for four of the Warped Tour’s six Californian stops. The group will be a part of the Warped Tour in Carson, Mountain View, Ventura, and San Diego on June 25th, June 26th, June 27th, and August 10th, respectively.

The All-American Rejects musical journey began in 2001 when Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler, two southern boys from the small town of Stillwater, Oklahoma, started playing music together. As a duo, the two released their self-entitled debut album in 2002, which featured “Swing, Swing,” the group’s first commercially successful single. “Swing, Swing” peaked at number eight on the Modern Rock Track Charts and 26 on the Billboard Top 100 Chart. “Swing, Swing” served as foreshadowing to the success ahead for Ritter and Wheeler.

Shortly after the release of The All-American Rejects, Ritter and Wheeler invited Kennerty and Gaylord to join their band. The new and improved All-American Rejects released their first album as a foursome, Move Along, in 2005. Move Along contained three highly successful singles, including the group’s first song to place on the top ten of the Billboard 100, “Dirty Little Secret.” The music video for “Dirty Little Secret,” a song about the differences between our public and private selves, features people in Dorney Park holding up postcards containing revealing secrets from the PostSecret project, a group that allows people to disclose secrets anonymously.

The band’s most recent album, When the World Comes Down, released in December 2008, gives insight to the group as individuals, rather than just musical artists. Ritter explained on the band’s official website, www.allamericanrejects.com, that the group already had all the music for the album written when entering the recording studio. The songs on the album had taken shape from the life experiences of the band members. For instance, “Believe,” a philosophical song which questions the point of life and where we go after we die, was inspired by the passing of a friend.

“Breakin,” another song on the When the World Comes Down album, has an interesting background story. After spending time trying to write a new song, Ritter reached his so called breaking point, causing him and Wheeler to take a break, and just go for a bus ride. While on the ride Ritter’s creativity returned, and the two were able to complete the lyrics and chords for “Breakin.”

In regards to live shows, The All-American Rejects provide energy-packed performances. Wheeler and Kennerty are filled with liveliness when playing at shows, while Ritter makes the crowds a part of the shows through interaction, especially when he isn’t weighed down by his bass guitar. Combined with the drumming talents of Gaylord and a catalog of hit songs, The All-American Rejects should provide some memorable performances on this year’s Vans Warped Tour.