The All-American Rejects' members, Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler, stopped by the Billboard House @ SXSW to discuss their upcoming comeback with their first album since 2012, Sandbox, which is set to arrive in May. The band members discussed shifting to an independent model after dominating the mainstream with Interscope Records and their backyard tour across America. The idea for the backyard tour came from their manager, Meghan Kraemer, and Ritter described it as nostalgic and bringing the band closer together. After dominating the 2000s, the band chose to pursue an independent route for its new music out of necessity. They focused on new music rather than attempting to recreate the magic of decades past.