A truly special moment in the creation of The Quilt came when Travis McCoy got to collaborate with one of his heroes, Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates fame. "At the end of the song [when they were recording it in Hall's studio], [Hall] did this stream of consciousness, freestyle improv thing," McCoy recalls. "I'm 27 years old, and I broke down uncontrollably, crying my eyes out."

While working in a Miami studio with Cool & Dre -- who produced a number of tracks on his band's new album, The Quilt -- Gym Class Heroes frontman stumbled across a YouTube favorite, thanks to a tip from Cool.

On a rare off-day from this summer's Warped Tour, SPIN met Gym Class Heroes in Las Vegas to shoot the band for their feature in our September issue.

While in Vegas last year for the VMAs, Gym Class Heroes bassist Eric Roberts discovered a new favorite band -- the Thermals -- via a music video channel playing in his hotel room at the Palms. "They're just young kids bouncing around the room playing awesome punk rock music," says Roberts of the Thermals' video for "Pillar of Salt."

The last time the Cure-meets-Morrissey heart-tuggers Ra Ra Riot hit Chicago, the quintet could be seen conga-lining through a sea of hipsters post-gig at the Wicker Park street festival. That was before they were all about the 'Rhumb,' as in their August 19 debut Barsuk set, The Rhumb Line.

After discovering Metric via an MTV show on new bands, Gym Class Heroes guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo went straight to the almighty Internet to learn more. "I liked them so much that I bought their albums," he tells SPIN.com.