The Get Up Kids

The Get Up Kids

The Get Up Kids are an American emo and indie rock group from Kansas City, United States. Formed in 1995, they become one of the key bands in the mid-1990s second wave of emo and are also associated with Midwest emo. Their line-up includes Matt Pryor, Jim Suptic, James Dewees, Robert Pope and Ryan Pope.

Background and style

The band begins above a drum shop in downtown Kansas City and develops a reputation as a prototypical emo act. Although they are widely linked to emo, they also try to distance themselves from the label, which they view as dismissive. Their sound is also tagged as alternative rock and pop punk.

Career and recordings

As their profile grows, they tour with Green Day and Weezer and later headline their own shows, including tours in Japan and Europe and extensive touring across four continents. They release four acclaimed studio albums, a collection of rarities, a live record, and numerous singles and EPs. Their breakthrough album is Something to Write Home About, which they later revisit during its tenth-anniversary period.

After a period that appears to be their split in 2005, they return to the studio in 2009 and record new material that leads to the EP Simple Science and the album There Are Rules. Long-time producer Ed Rose works on the album, and Bob Weston, who records their debut Four Minute Mile, masters it.

Labels and related projects

The Get Up Kids found Heroes & Villains Records as an imprint of Vagrant Records, originally to release their own records and to support side projects including The New Amsterdams and Reggie and the Full Effect. They later create their own Quality Hill Records imprint, named after a historic Kansas City neighbourhood near where they first form. Their releases are also associated with Doghouse Records and Quality Hill Records.

The band remains active, and their members continue to be identified as Matthew Pryor, Jim Suptic, James Dewees, Rob Pope and Ryan Pope.