Oklahoma’s All-American Rejects Perform Last Concert of Tour at Home

A rock band from Oklahoma felt no rejection during its end-of-the-summer tour. The All-American Rejects’ career has spanned two decades and for the four band members, they say performing at the Zoo Amphitheater on October 14, was the culmination of their biggest tour to date. If you were there, you had the chance to walk through 20 years of their music, from the first album to the last.

For the All-American Rejects, playing at the Zoo Amphitheater is a homecoming.

“I used to come to shows here, but I never got to play here, so actually getting to play here is rad,” said guitarist Nick Wheeler.

Oklahoma City was the last stop on their Wet Hot All-American Summer Tour.

“Coming back to Oklahoma to finish the biggest tour of our life, I think it puts in perspective just how grateful we really are not only to be able to come home with this legacy but also to be from here,” said lead singer Tyson Ritter.

Ritter, Wheeler along with guitarist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor started building that legacy when they were just teenagers forming their band in Stillwater in 1999.

“I think it's the biggest misconception that everybody starts out a rock star. No, you're usually kind of a loner, and it's a very small group of like-minded people that decide to apply themselves to music.” Ritter said.

That’s what the band did, taking their music into local bars where they weren’t even old enough to enter otherwise.

“I remember being in high school being like a sophomore in high school and hanging up flyers for the local bar we were playing, and nobody in high school could come, but my teachers would come,” Ritter remembers.

“We always wrote original songs we always snuck them into the set,” Wheeler added.

Because not making it was never in the cards.

“We had no backup plan,” Wheeler said. “Music and the band, that was the only plan.”

That plan took them outside the state to play regionally until finally, they got a break.

“We just mailed demos in padded envelopes to various record labels,” Wheeler said.

One record label listened, Doghouse Records, when they were still teenagers.

“They pulled us outside after we played for like 20 people, we need to talk shop and I never heard that phrase, I had just turned 17,” Ritter said. “The next week, there was a record deal in our mailbox and our parents were freaked because this actually meant they would have to forego the dream of us being collegiate superstars.”

Instead, they were well on their way to becoming rock stars, eventually signing with DreamWorks Records. Now they look back on a 20-year career that landed them two platinum albums, one gold album, and over 10 million records sold worldwide.

“Being able to come home with something to show for ourselves we're absolutely grateful and it's also so surreal this is the biggest tour that we've ever done in our career,” Ritter said.

Fans from the beginning are now bringing their kids.

“You know we're the Rejects for a reason; we weren't in some sort of nested scene of the 2000's we were just a part of that experience, I think, and seeing all ages all walks of life every night in front of us is the most eye-opening bizarre experience because we forget that music is something that lasts forever,” Ritter said

And performing at home they admit is special, with Ritter’s family front and center, his mom singing every word with her son.

“It's a pretty neat feeling when people know their songs makes you proud,” said Tracey Raines, Ritter’s mom.

“Oh yeah she's an excited lady,” Ritter added. “She's very proud of her son.”

“A lot of people ask us if we get sick of playing the hits, but it's like every night the crowd goes off on that, which makes us go off, so yeah, I don't know if I have a favorite; I’m definitely not sick of playing those,” said Kennerty.

And after all these years together, they're not done just yet.

“I think just being around each other, it's clear that there's some gas in the tank, so yeah, let's see what happens next,” said Wheeler.

The fans will be watching and waiting.