The Get Up Kids recently digitally released their 25th-anniversary reissue of their genre-defining sophomore LP “Something to Write Home About” via Polyvinyl Record Co.
Newly remastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound, the original album and a second LP – containing a mix of 12 rare or previously unreleased demos, including the four-track acoustic recordings by Matt Pryor – are out now at all streaming services. Its physical edition, due out on September 20th, features an expanded 28-page large format full-colour booklet with handwritten lyrics, photos, and more.
Still amid a US tour, the Kansas City band of Matt Pryor (guitar/vocals), Rob Pope (bass), Jim Suptic (guitar/vocals), Ryan Pope (drums), and Dustin Kinsey (keys), today announce a European & UK tour in Spring and Summer 2025 in celebration of the “Something to Write Home About”’s 25th anniversary. A full itinerary is listed below and tickets are on sale on Monday 16th September at 10am BST.
The band were featured on the July cover of UPSET magazine, and received praise from Pitchfork, Stereogum and Brooklyn Vegan for the anniversary edition of the album, also made podcast appearances on The Record is Repeating and The Brooklyn Vegan Podcast, where they discuss behind-the-scenes stories while creating the fated LP.
“Our first record is what it is — its imperfections are one of the things that people like about it”, says Pryor. “But I personally wanted us to record something that sounded like a real band, that sounded professional and, you know, big”. Working for the first time with Chad Blinman, who co-produced “Something to Write Home About” with Alex Brahl at LA’s Mad Hatter studio, The Get Up Kids achieved the massive sound they sought. The 12-track LP saw a quick release on September 28th, 1999, mere months after their stint in the studio, and emerged into a rock landscape dominated by commercial rock, post-grunge, and nü-metal. “Nothing that was popular sounded like our album”, says Suptic. “That style of music wasn’t mainstream”. Yet the album, along with fellow 1999 releases like Jimmy Eat World’s “Clarity” and the Promise Ring’s “Very Emergency”, solidified a canon of expansive, pop-leaning emo that would guide the genre’s explosion in the new millennium, and go on to inspire platinum-selling bands like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, as well as wave upon wave of emo revival acts.
But “Something to Write Home About”’s success wasn’t limited to its immeasurable influence. It also positioned Vagrant, which would later add emo luminaries like Saves the Day and Dashboard Confessional to its roster, as the genre’s preeminent label. It also led to the band’s opening slots for Green Day and Weezer, and sold-out shows across a two-year headline tour that, by its end, had pushed the album’s Billboard Heatseekers chart summit to #31 and its unit sales into six figures (a rarity for an indie record in the late ‘90s).
In both the early drafts and remastered tracks contained on “Something to Write Home About” (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), longtime fans will return to places familiar and formative, and rediscover plenty of moments as vivid as they were on first listen. For The Get Up Kids, these demos also have the same transportative quality as the finished album, warping them right back to downtown Kansas City and the five-story decommissioned ROTC training facility that — for $100 a month — served as their practice space. “When I hear those particular demos”, says Rob Pope, “it takes me right back to that rehearsal room”.
European & UK Tour Dates 2025:
Thu 22/05/25 – An Club – Athens – GR
Fri 23/05/25 – The Cage – Livorno – IT
Sat 24/05/25 – Rock Planet Club – Pinarella di Cervia – IT
Sun 25/05/25 – Legend Club – Milan – IT
Tue 27/05/25 – Conne Island – Leipzig – DE
Wed 28/05/25 – Columbia Theater – Berlin – DE
Thu 29/05/25 – Fabrik – Hamburg – DE
Fri 30/05/25 – Stollwerck – Cologne – DE
Sat 31/05/25 – Trix – Antwerp – BE
Sun 01/06/25 – Melkweg – Amsterdam – NL
Tue 03/06/25 – Marble Factory – Bristol – UK
Wed 04/06/25 – Rescue Rooms – Nottingham – UK
Thu 05/06/25 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds – UK
Fri 06/06/25 – Whelans – Dublin – IRE
Sat 07/06/25 – Gorilla – Manchester – UK
Sun 08/06/25 – St Lukes – Glasgow – UK
Tue 10/06/25 – Northumbria University – Newcastle – UK
Wed 11/06/25 – Electric Ballroom – London – UK
Wed 20/08/25 – Sat 23/08/25 – Canela Party – Torremolinos – ES
Sign up to the band’s mailing list for exclusive pre-sale access.
Pre-sale: Friday 13 Sept 2024 / 10am BST
General sale: Monday 16 Sept 2024 10am BST
Weblinks:
www.thegetupkids.com
www.facebook.com/TheGetUpKids
