Plain White T's

MEMBERS:

Tom Higgenson (guitar/lead vocals),
Dave Tirio (guitar),
Maike Retondo (bass/vocals),
De'Mar Hamilton (drums),
Tim Lopez (guitar/vocals).

Album:

Every Second Counts.

Release Date:

In stores now.

You'll Like 'Em If You Like:

Sugarcult, Simple Plan, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World.

Plain White T's on Plain White T's in Five Words or Less:

Dedicated, friendly, ridiculous, nerdy, talented (they told us to put a question mark, but we're giving them an exclamation point)!

Video games and rock music -- what could be better? (Your BF would definitely agree, but how about some hot rock stars, too!) That's what you get when you see a Nintendo Fusion Tour show. This year's lineup includes Hawthorne Heights, Emery, The Sleeping, Relient K, and Chicago band, Plain White T's. PWT has been in the music scene for a while, but it's taken some time for them to be totally embraced. Now, thanks to the emergence of Chicagoland as a rock mecca (Fall Out Boy, Alkaline Trio, The Academy Is�, and Kill Hannah are also from the area), Plain White T's are dressed for success. We caught up with guitarist, Dave Tirio before their Philadelphia, PA show to chat about video games and how the band propelled its sound from the Windy City to the coasts.

How is being on the Nintendo Fusion tour different than other tours you've been on?
It's really different. They have all this Nintendo stuff set up in the lobby, and a new system is coming out in a month -- we were some of the first people in the country to try it. That was pretty exciting. They gave us those free DSs -- it's Gameboy on steroids. We've been pretty much glued to them ever since. We've been battling each other on Mario Kart nightly -- it's pretty funny.

Is it hard to play a show when kids' attention is divided between playing games and listening to music?
No -- there's plenty of time for everything. I think when you get a new toy you kind of get attached to it for a while, but the balance between music and video games. This tour is kind of genius for bringing it together. It's a perfect fit because I know a lot people are coming to the show because they're fans of the bands, but it's pretty big bonus to be able [play new games from] Nintendo. It adds a different, fun component.