Passing the time waiting for his duck quesadillas, Travie McCoy tried to remember the old jingle for the Irondequoit Mall. It’s been a while; the center opened in 1990 and shuttered in 2009. McCoy, the vocalist for Gym Class Heroes, has been a little busy with a music career, too.
His brain began conflating other regional commercial tunes into what he called “a mental mashup.”
“Get out of my head, Girl Talk!” he said with a laugh, referencing the famous mash-up artist.
The tune didn’t materialize, so he moved on to other topics.
Five minutes later, he jolted upright as if he’d been struck by lightning, eyes wide. It was the jingle. It came to him — and then he lost it. Easy come, easy go.
Local landmarks have been on McCoy’s mind. He and his band, all Geneva natives, will be inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame on April 13, in a class that also features 1970s rock band Black Sheep, jazz guitarist Chet Catallo, Bruno Mars keyboardist John Fossitt, Record Archive and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
Gym Class Heroes has earned it. The group scored two No. 4 pop hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart between 2006 and 2011: “Cupid’s Chokehold” with Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump and “Stereo Hearts” with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. McCoy slotted another one, “Billionaire,” with Mars in 2010.
He’s toured the world, sold millions of records and performed on “Saturday Night Live.” But McCoy’s Finger Lakes roots run as deep as the ink on the Hall & Oates tattoos that adorn the backs of his hands.
He still remembers hearing Aphex Twin and The Prodigy on WBER and seeing shows at the Bug Jar. The connections helped him when the band went out on the road in the mid-2000s on Vans Warped Tour and subsequent headlining runs. He’d meet people from the region. They had plenty to talk about.
“Touring so much, my backyard got so much [bigger],” McCoy said at dinner a few days before the induction ceremony.
The meal offered a chance to reconnect with Fossitt, a Gates Chili High School graduate who previously toured as a musician in McCoy’s solo backing band. Fossitt joined up with Mars in 2012 after meeting him at the Teen Choice Awards.
“It’s definitely homie vibes,” Fossitt said of his relationship with Mars.
He mentioned how camaraderie and playful one-upsmanship between artists can help boost the overall performances on a tour. After all, there’s a lot of downtime when they’re not playing on stage. Friendly basketball games with Anderson .Paak and his band, for example, can bring out the best in everyone.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, your keyboard player gets a solo? Well, now our keyboard player gets a solo,’” Fossitt said.
Fossitt recalled playing piano at Church of the First Born on Fillmore Street during a time when his world was much smaller. Once, he walked from the 19th Ward to Movies 10 in Henrietta, which felt like a great journey. Another time, he recalled a car trip to Eastview Mall that caused him to think, “Am I still in America?”
With McCoy and Mars (separately), Fossitt has since played on some of the biggest stages in the world, including the Super Bowl halftime show in 2014. Notably, before Mars and his band launched into their hit “Locked Out of Heaven,” the performance began with another tune sung by a chorus of children holding hands — “Billionaire,” McCoy’s hit with Mars.
Big moments like that can mean a lot. But tours can also get hectic and repetitive, McCoy said.
“I got so sick of telling the same tour stories that I started bringing my friends out so they can tell their own,” he said.
Sometimes, the pinch-me moments of fame arrive more quietly.
Growing up, McCoy idolized the Brooklyn rap group Boot Camp Clik. He even used his dad’s credit card to buy a Boot Camp hoodie without permission. Years later, he spotted group member Sean Price while traveling and told him the story.
“Two days later, I had a huge, 100-pound box of Boot Camp Clik merch,” McCoy said. He even got to join them on stage and freestyle. “It really is moments like that.”
Fossitt is likewise happy to be on his own journey, and pleased to be receiving the hall of fame honor alongside McCoy. They hadn’t seen each other in over a decade and spent the first few minutes of the dinner catching up on musicians who had played in and out of touring bands through the years.
And, of course, exchanging memories of visiting Midtown Plaza in their youth.
Patrick Hosken is CITY’s arts reporter. He can be reached at patrick@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
