The Get Up Kids: "As long as there are teenagers there will be punk rock!"

The truth is that we haven't fully grasped the significance of this powerful announcement-after all these years, 25 to be exact-the teenage heroes of our youth, The Get Up Kids, will be performing in Greece as part of their anniversary tour for an album that deeply touched our youthful hearts, "Something To Write Home About." Inspired by this upcoming performance, we had an insightful conversation with the mastermind behind the band, Matt Pryor, about the group's journey, their breakup and reunion, and the revival of the punk rock - emo sound today and how it has evolved through social media. Just before a performance that is truly unmissable, read below all the reasons why.

Hello and welcome to Rockingr.gr! We initiate this conversation with the amazing opportunity that you will actually be coming to Greece for the first time! I cannot explain what this means for us elder emos, but let me ask you how you feel about this visit?

I am very excited to play in Greece! Unfortunately, I am only there for a day. My daughter is graduating high school two days before the show and I land the day we play. The rest of the band will get a few days to check out Athens though.

Moreover, we will be lucky enough to experience "Something to Write Home About" , your most iconic record in its entirety. "Something to Write Home About" became such a defining record - did you have any idea it would resonate so strongly with fans over the years?

I don’t think any of us imagined when we finished this album, that we would still be touring and playing these songs 25 years later. I guess it has a timelessness to it that resonates with a lot of people.

Something very interesting about this album is that it was one of the first that used keybords into a sound that was mainly guitar based. How did you make this decision?

We were getting into bands like The Rentals and I think we just really wanted to expand our sound. James Dewees who played on the album was initially just a featured member and then after we put out the "Red Letter Day" EP he became a fulltime member of the band. It was a natural progression.

What led you to the decision to remaster "Something to Write Home About", what do you feel needed to change? And how did it feel to revisit all these songs and memorabilia that you included into the new version of the album?

For me I think the new master adds some clarity and weight to the album. It was fun to go back and listen to all the demos. Some of them I hadn’t heard in 25 years. It’s always nice to reminisce, but you also don’t want to be stuck in the past.

Four Minute Mile" is basically a live album

Diving even deeper in the past, your beginning happened with "Four Minute Mile", an album that you recorded in a very tight budget but also put you on the map. Did that helped or suppressed your creativity

"Four Minute Mile" is basically a live album. We recorded the show we had been playing. It just took 2 and a half days. We would have loved more time but it is what it is

How does it really feel to have a couple of albums that are considered to be the fundamentals of a whole music scene nowdays, having influenced some bands that later became as popular or even more than you were back in the day? What does the term Midwest emo mean for you in 2025?

Well it is better than being forgotten. Midwest emo? Your guess is as good as mine hahaha!

We never should have broken up

A little bit before your breakup back in 2004, you all went through some rough times. Now that you are more experienced, what would you advise a new band that has gotten quite popular that is extensively touring to promote their new music to avoid in order to keep themselves and their band safe, or even what advice could you give to your past selves on how to handle the situation?

We never should have broken up. We just needed a break from each other. Communication is the key to a happy band.

However, touring has changed drastically, especially after the dreadful quarantine years. You are a band that has been always on tour, either with The Get Up Kids or your many other projects. What are the main struggles or even improvements that you can observe today on touring and live shows?

It has gotten really expensive to tour. Ticket prices have reflected that. I also think there is so much competition out there it can dilute everything. It seems like everyone is touring all the time.

Can you recall a couple of live shows or general tours that were special to you and the bands that you shared them with?

The first time we toured Europe with the band Braid will always be one of my favorite tours. We have also been lucky to share the stage with bands that we loved growing up. The tour we did with Green Day will always be memorable.

As long as there are teenagers there will be punk rock

There is something like an emo revival case out there, and late nineties - zeros bands have become very popular again with younger people, especially through platforms such as TikTok and the establishment of festivals such as When We Were Young. Of course us, 30-40 somethings are very happy about this return, but what do you think has made this music very popular again?

As long as there are teenagers there will be punk rock. It is really that simple.

I can clearly say regarding the previous matter, that there is also a sense of nostalgia that brought all this to heart, of an era where things socially were not so desperate. Bands though still need to evolve, and we can clearly watch a shift in your music to other grounds of music. How do you balance nostalgia with the desire to create new and relevant music today?

It is not easy. This tour is complete nostalgia, but we are having so much fun doing it. I wouldn’t want every tour to be an anniversary tour, but at the same time I am just happy to be on the road making music.

There are always going to be people willing to make art for the sole purpose of making money

There is also the book "Red Letter Days" written by you, that aside from your experiences, comments a lot on how emo music was turned into something different, more sinister from DIY to corporate. What are your feelings about that transition and how the scene is moving today? We see simultaneously a rise on the DIY bands but also a huge shift of how we listen to music because of social media and streaming, do you see heavier music going on a better direction than what it was during 00s-10s?

I think the same thing happened to heavy metal music in the 80’s. Once you can make money on a certain form of art, there are always going to be people willing to make art for the sole purpose of making money. Now that guitar based music is out of the mainstream, I think it will make for more honest music.

We meet also very often (Midwest) emo music in conjunction with many music genres nowdays such as post-hardcore like it always was, but also often with screamo and more extreme sounds. How do you find this music trend?

It is not really my thing, but to each their own as we say.

Do you follow newer releases? Are there any younger bands out there that have gotten your attention?

I like a lot of what is coming out of the UK right now. High Vis, Sam Fender, Yard Act. I am always the last to know what the young cool bands are doing. I always have to ask my cooler friends.

Are there any plans about new music for The Get Up Kids? It has been a while, did possibly the pandemic put a stop in your creativity or was it coincidental?

We will never say never and we did do some demos over Covid, but as of right now nothing is planned.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions. We are looking forward to see you on stage!