James Dewees gets bored really easily.

The 26-year-old just has to stay busy, and for Dewees, busy means music. For most folks, being the mastermind and multi-instrumentalist behind the prolific emo-goof outfit, Reggie and the Full Effect, would be enough, but Dewees needs more. He picks up the drumsticks (and whatever else is lying around) for punishing thrashers, Coalesce, and if you’ve listened to them recently, you know that’s no picnic. Still, it’s not enough for Dewees, so he picks up keyboard duties for emo standard-bearers, the Get Up Kids. He has even taken on some songwriting duties. But he’s not saying "uncle" yet. There are still a few minutes to spare, and Dewees doesn’t want to waste them. Between bands on the Get Up Kids current tour, he breaks out the turntables and spins his own unique take on illbient and other turntablist creations. Are we exhausted yet?

No. Dewees is pumped and ready to rock. The Get Up Kids have just released On A Wire, their best record yet, and it’s selling well. It has been three years since the Kids’ last proper studio album, Something To Write Home About, and a lot has changed in that time. Some of the Kids (Dewees, bassist Robert Pope, and singer/guitarist Matthew Pryor) are married (Dewees to a former member of Frogpond, and Pope to The Anniversary’s Adrianne Pope; Jim Suptic plans to marry this September), and Pryor has recently become the father of his very own get up baby, Lily. And, yes, getting older and settling down has affected the music they make.

Before a recent Get Up Kids show, I overheard three young fans discussing the new record. "Have you heard the new one?" one of the boys asked the others. "Nah, but I’ve heard about it," responded another. "Yeah," ventured the third boy, "I hear it’s more ‘mature’." "That just means it sucks," deduced the first boy.

I’m certain the "mature" label came from a well-meaning critic much like myself, and it can be a damning adjective, especially when you’re talking about one of the bands that were instrumental in popularizing the current wave of pop-punk. So let’s erase the misconception. When music critics say "mature" they do not mean "sucks". They mean "acoustic guitar". Now that we’ve cleared that up, we can safely continue.

Dewees does not call On A Wire mature. He calls it "more of a rock record," and that probably makes as much sense as anything else. The first moments of the record may have you thinking you’ve picked up the new record from Pryor’s solo project, the New Amsterdams. "Overdue" is a folky, acoustic ballad about —surprise— getting older. But then "Stay Gone" is a straight-ahead rock tune without a hint of emo posturing. "Grunge Pig" is a sludgy, angry ultimatum. "All That I Know" is a Beatle-esque, hummable pop number, including piano and flute parts. "Campfire Kansas" is a strummy acoustic track about love and nostalgia, with a delightfully distorted lead vocal from guitarist/vocalist Suptic. "The Worst Idea" is an organ-driven rocker about commitment. You get the idea. It’s an eclectic record that has very little in common (at least superficially) with the Kids’ prior output. As such, it’s not simply about a sound, but about songs (although the record does sound phenomenal and different, thanks partly to superstar producer, Scott Litt [R.E.M., Indigo Girls, The Replacements, Matthew Sweet, Hayden, Incubus, Hole, etc.]). And that’s what makes it mature.

There’s a reason for this big change. Actually, there are several, but one of the keys to the "new" Get Up Kids is shared songwriting responsibility. In the past, Pryor has assumed most of that responsibility, and the result has been good songs, but a certain stasis. This time around, each of the Kids brought about five song ideas to the table, and the band worked together to flesh these ideas out and narrow them down to the twelve tracks that ended up on the record. In addition, as evidenced by the years that intervened between albums, the band took a lot more time to think things through and rehearse the songs before going into the studio.

The Get Up Kids, both collectively and individually, are approaching their musical careers consciously and intentionally. Pryor has been using the New Amsterdams to explore his most expressive side and to hone his songwriting skills. Dewees has been sleeping, eating, and breathing music. Suptic and the Pope brothers have worked with Pryor on the New Amsterdams, and have thrown themselves into songwriting. All of the members of the band came to the On A Wire project with a commitment to not doing the same things they’d done before.

The Kids are also approaching their work as a full-time job these days. Dewees points out that three of the band members (the Popes and Pryor) now live in Lawrence, Kansas, which means Dewees and Suptic make the daily commute from Kansas City, Missouri, and they make the trek back home in rush-hour traffic, just like the rest of us working fools.

So where are these hard-working Get Up Adults headed? That’s hard to say. Dewees claims that everything the band has accomplished so far has already surpassed his wildest dreams, but that doesn’t mean the band has done all it wants to do. To hear and see the Get Up Kids today is to witness a band that is really hitting its stride and finding its place in the world. What we are witnessing is Get Up Kids Mark II, the next step in the evolution of a very talented and industrious band. After many, many years of work, the Kids have finally figured out what they want to say with their music and how they want to say it. And, if On A Wire is any indication, there will be more people listening now than ever before.

Eryc Eyl is a hybrid Sr. writer based in Boulder, CO. He's profiled artists such as Dashboard Confessional and The Trouble With Sweeney.

Photos courtesy of: Hesse McGraw.

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