A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a party that felt like an absolute fever dream: a barbecue and skate jam at the American Football house sponsored by OTW By Vans. The event would commemorate the Midwest emo legends getting their own pair of Vans, featuring the iconic artwork from their eponymous debut album. I’ve been listening to American Football since high school and needed to get my hands on these shoes, which are the best pair of Vans I’ve ever seen—and I say this as someone who owns too many Vans—so there was no way I’d miss out. That’s how I found myself on a tour bus at noon on Saturday, riding from downtown Chicago to Urbana with the band, pro skaters, the Vans team, Yvette Young from Covet and Novo Amor (both whom contributed to American Football’s 2024 LP1 covers album), and other guests.
Days before traveling to Illinois, I caught up with American Football, who gushed over their Vans collab being a dream come true. Frontman Mike Kinsella told me he has two Vans tattoos—one is a stick-and-poke on his ankle, done by his girlfriend Justine Correne, and the other is a logo on the top of his foot that mimics the shoe’s branding. Their friend Ako Jefferson, who is the Creative Director at Vans, and Ako’s twin Atiba, a renowned photographer who co-purchased the Urbana home with the band and also works for the shoe brand, had the idea to not only launch an American Football shoe, but also throw an epic house party to celebrate, complete with its own built-in skate park.
“The 15-year-old version of all of us who grew up skating and wearing Vans are mind blown that we’re gonna have our own Van with the house on it, which is absurd,” said guitarist Steve Holmes. “[The gathering] is basically just an excuse to have a cool party where [Ako and Atiba] will DJ and everyone in the band who plays drums can play drums over the DJ set, which means everyone but me. I might do it anyway.”
Drummer Steve Lamos pointed out that skating has always been part of American Football’s story, as he first crossed paths with Kinsella and Holmes at a house show thrown by a neighbor, who had a half-pipe, in the early nineties. “I met these guys through skating, so there’s this interesting [connection]. I’m a terrible skater but I love that culture,” he shared. “I’ve always taken a lot of inspiration from those videos and the dress and the kind of music, so this is pretty exciting.” Throwing the party alongside longtime friends Atiba and Ako means a lot to him, as the twins have “always been so kind and supportive.” This was also going to be a big day for Lamos: Despite being one of the owners of the house, he confessed he had actually never been inside. Besides getting to see the interior, it’d be a major moment for the drummer, as he’s lived in Colorado for fifteen years, where he’s an associate professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder and hadn’t been back to Urbana in about a decade.
Alongside Atiba, Polyvinyl, and Chris Strong (the photographer of the album art for LP1), the band bought the house in 2023, preserving the 132-year-old home. Looking back at that decision, Kinsella explained that the band had “joked about [buying it] for a long time” before actually acting on it. “I think me and Nate [Kinsella] played a show in our other band Lies in Champaign [Illinois], so the Polyvinyl crew was there and there were some beers involved and then my buddy Matt [Lunsford, co-owner of Polyvinyl] and Chris [Strong]—everybody kind of who wanted [in on buying it was there],” the frontman explained. “We thought it was like the funniest joke ever and then we did like the littlest bit of research and realized we actually could buy it. It wasn’t really for sale, but somebody was trying to essentially sell the whole block or most of the block and tear them all down. And we were like, ‘Let’s buy and save the house.’”
The band intends to use the house not only as an event space to give back to their community, but as a haven for creatives to make art. “Anamanaguchi, who are also on Polyvinyl, lived there for a month and wrote their latest record there,” said Holmes. “[We like to have it] be a space where artists can come and do work residencies, whether they’re a band or an author, artist, whatever and still have house shows and other cool things.”
In the days leading up to the big barbecue bash, I had tried to picture what it would look like, but nothing could have prepared me for how delightfully bonkers the whole experience was. On the bus, Mike Kinsella made sure to introduce himself to everyone he hadn’t met yet before the 2-hour drive. When we arrived, we were greeted by some of the band’s friends and the Polyvinyl team, who were gathering for the first time since 2019. There was a barbecue station set up with smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, tofu sandwiches, and sides like mac ‘n’ cheese, pimento cheese, and delicious brussels sprouts; an open bar with custom drinks Unclouded Day, Happy Gilmore, and Paloma Highball; and shots of Malört abounding. The band sweetly and belatedly celebrated Lamos’ birthday with two cakes: a chocolate cake for the drummer and an LP1 cake for everyone else.
The backyard had a half-pipe for young up-and-coming and pro skaters to show off their tricks, turning it into a makeshift skate park. There was also a quarter pipe in front of the house, where a large group of attendees gathered to witness Atiba and other photographers capture the coveted shot of skaters in the air from the same angle as the LP1 album art.
I thought the last thing American Football would want to do while at a party with some of their oldest and closest friends is mingle with music writers, but Kinsella checked in throughout the day, making sure I was enjoying my time there, whether it was asking if I’d gotten a beverage, had tried some of the vegetarian options (he was concerned upon seeing my measly plate of crackers and pimento cheese after going full-out a few hours earlier), and offered me a shot of Malört (I’m currently alcohol-free so I had to decline, though doing shots with Mike freaking Kinsella would’ve made a great story). Nate Kinsella, who is Mike’s cousin and contributes to many of Mike’s projects, including American Football, introduced himself and Holmes asked me how my tofu sandwich was. (It was delicious!)
Hanging out with American Football all day would’ve sufficed, but the highlight of the day came when, while the band sat on the awning of the house to watch the pro skaters, Hayley Williams rolled in through the window. Kinsella had mentioned the possibility of Williams dropping by, but I brushed it off as too good to be true. When you’re in a line of work that requires you to often talk to figures who’ve shaped your life, it’s easy to become jaded. But like everyone else at the party, I was so excited to see Williams—who has one of the best albums of the year—come through and party like a civilian. Some attendees even asked for selfies with her, which she politely obliged to. The band had also teased that they would take turns playing drums along to music picked by the Jefferson brothers, which turned out to be the best part of the day.
The Kinsellas and Lamos took turns playing drums, with Mike drumming along to “Never Meant.” Nate ended up manning the kit for most of the event, performing along to pop hits by Charli XCX and Robyn. There was even some karaoke, with Correne performing Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” Williams found a spot on the floor next to the drum kit and would playfully tap it, joining in on the fun. At one point, the Jeffersons polled the room, asking us to choose between Nirvana and Destiny’s Child. Williams voted for the latter, leading to the next song played on drums by Nate to be “Survivor.” She was thrilled, belting out and dancing along. It was a wholesome time and I had so much fun seeing American Football and their friends being overjoyed to spend time together that I almost missed the bus back.
Those who didn’t attend the party are thankfully still able to own a pair of the American Football Vans. They go live tomorrow, October 28, on American Football’s website.
Tatiana Tenreyro is Paste‘s associate music editor, based in New York City. You can also find her writing at SPIN, NME, PAPER Magazine, The A.V. Club, and other outlets.
