Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, his interest in music formed when he began playing drums at the age of 10. He says that he came home one day and his mom told him that she had signed him up for drum lessons. He states that those lessons are the main reasons he is where he is in music today. By the age of 14 he was playing in bands, playing drums while getting more familiar with other instruments, and by the age of 16 he was touring in them. He later found a different outlet for his creativity through writing lyrics and music in an acoustic duo, which eventually led to the formation of The Ready Set. He was a member of a ska band, "Take Sides", an acoustic band, "brideandgroom" and a hardcore band, "Saints Never Surrender" before creating The Ready Set in the fall of 2007.
During the summer of ‘07, Jordan wrote a few songs and kept them to himself, as his main focus was the acoustic duo he was a part of. When the other member left to pursue a different career, Jordan decided to take the songs he had started, finish them up, and put together a Myspace page just for fun. In January of 2008, he released his first EP “Syntax and Bright Lights”, which was completely written and recorded in his basement. He soon after began writing for his second release, a full-length titled “Tantrum Castle”, also recorded in his basement.
Shortly after his high school graduation, he began touring in other bands, which made it clear to him where his heart was: The Ready Set. In July of 2008 he released “Tantrum Castle” and began touring full-time as The Ready Set. His live performances have evolved greatly since his early days, changing from a two-man show with keys, vocals, and a computer, to a complete full-band show with bass, drums, and lights. Witzigreuter says that his first performance for The Ready Set was at a coffee shop (The Mocha Lounge) where he worked in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Since then, The Ready Set has toured with numerous bands, including a supporting slot on a full US tour with Boys Like Girls, both The Bamboozle and Bamboozle Left, the Bamboozle Roadshow, the MTV VMA Tour, as well as many smaller tours.
The Ready Set has also made performances on MTV on multiple occasions, including an appearance on MTV's TJ Search Live Finale and being the "One to Watch" on MTV's 10 on Top. Witzigreuter has also been featured twice on MTV's Buzzworthy: once on December 11, 2009 as an up and coming artist, and again the following year on September 7, 2010, complete with an interview video and a live performance video.
Throughout multiple self-booked tours, The Ready Set has continued to prove itself as a show worth seeing as well as hearing with it’s abundant energy and emphasis on showmanship. In November 2009, Witzigreuter signed with Decaydance Records and Sire Records, both subsidiary labels of Warner Bros. Records. He released his first full–length studio album, I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming, on June 15, 2010.
The lead single, "Love Like Woe" has reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on the Billboard pop chart, and #15 on the Mediabase Top 40 Radio chart.
The Bandit
The Ready Set Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A bowler hat, and a pinstripe pair of slacks
He's got a cane but he's got no limp,
He does it for the image, oh it's for the image.
"Knife" is what they call him back home,
He's got a reputation, what he condones,
A practice common men consider quite unethical,
She came running down old stairs, no sounds.
Just breathing, and heirloom dependency.
She said "Where have you gone? I've grown from you, shone from you",
Stockpiled the thoughts and the memories, and what it means to me.
You've been talking that all night.
Everybody sing along and scream out.
La da da, tonight he'll be found out,
La da da, tonight we'll shine a light and find your motivation,
And everyone of your friends who's involved.
If you knew word of this you're guilty by association.
Ironic thing is that you can't do much unless you know law/love,
And it's crazy to believe in this.
Darling, I hate to apologize,
You know it's how we do it midwest style.
10 steps and stay awake, 5 steps, so far away.
The sound and the silence, a music box and melodies.
So calm the West side down,
Calm the ocean and the underground.
I'm a jack inside a box and know you've got me,
You wound me up and let me out and then you shot me down.
To the leg or to the face, you know it doesn't matter.
Tonight we'll be found out,
Tonight they'll shine a light and find our motivation,
And every one of our friends who's involved.
The lyrics to The Ready Set's song, The Bandit, paint a vivid picture of a mysterious figure who emerges from a big black Cadillac in a bowler hat and pinstripe slacks. Despite carrying a cane, the name "Knife" follows him, and his reputation precedes him as a man who condones unethical behavior. However, the singer of the song also points out their own questionable actions and sees a similarity between themselves and "Knife."
The song then shifts to a woman who comes running down old stairs. Her words imply a loss of connection with the singer, as she claims to have grown and shone from them in their absence. The chorus calls out those who have been involved with "Knife" and suggests that they will be found out and held guilty by association. The irony is that one cannot do much without knowledge of either law or love, a pointed observation about the world we live in.
The final verse speaks of the singer as a "jack inside a box," wound up and let out only to be shot down. The lyrics suggest that this cycle of deception and betrayal perpetuates itself, with no clear end in sight. The song's title makes perfect sense as a metaphor for the bandit, someone who takes what they want without regard for consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
You take one step out a big black cadillac
Emerging from a fancy car, dressed to impress
A bowler hat, and a pinstripe pair of slacks
Wearing fashionable clothes to maintain a certain image
He's got a cane but he's got no limp
Using a cane as a prop for appearance
He does it for the image, oh it's for the image.
All the attention-seeking choices are made for the sake of public image
"Knife" is what they call him back home
The guy has a notorious reputation
He's got a reputation, what he condones
He approves of his own actions that earn him a bad reputation
A practice common men consider quite unethical
Doing things that are frowned upon by society
But I see it as questionable, I see a similarity, oh.
The singer thinks that there is something to be debated about the ethics involved
She came running down old stairs, no sounds.
A description of someone coming down the stairs silently
Just breathing, and heirloom dependency.
The person relies on some particular relics handed down as inheritance
She said "Where have you gone? I've grown from you, shone from you"
She asks where he was because she's grown a lot in his absence
Stockpiled the thoughts and the memories, and what it means to me.
She has stored the memories and her thoughts about him and their past together
You've been talking that all night.
He's heard the person talking for the whole night
Everybody sing along and scream out.
The atmosphere is rowdy with everyone singing and screaming along
La da da, tonight he'll be found out,
The person doing something wrong will be exposed tonight
La da da, tonight we'll shine a light and find your motivation,
We will discover why the person did something wrong
And everyone of your friends who's involved.
Not only the person who did it, but everyone involved will be implicated
If you knew word of this you're guilty by association.
Just knowing about the wrong thing makes you guilty as well
Ironic thing is that you can't do much unless you know law/love,
The irony is that all people can do to talk about this is as if they knew the topic well, even if they don't
And it's crazy to believe in this.
It's absurd to consider or think that discussions would have any effect
Darling, I hate to apologize,
The artist feels bad for wanting to say sorry but doing nothing to help
You know it's how we do it midwest style.
This is simply their way of doing things
10 steps and stay awake, 5 steps, so far away.
There is a certain distance that needs to be maintained, and the singer is vigilant to stay within it
The sound and the silence, a music box and melodies.
This is a metaphorical description of how events unfold
So calm the West side down,
The singer wants the people on the West side to chill out
Calm the ocean and the underground.
The singer wants a quiet and peaceful environment
I'm a jack inside a box and know you've got me,
The singer feels boxed up by the situation they are trapped in
You wound me up and let me out and then you shot me down.
Someone caused them to start something dangerous, but then let them take the blame for the result of that action.
To the leg or to the face, you know it doesn't matter.
No matter how the person fails, the end result will still be the same
Tonight we'll be found out,
Tonight, the truth will come out
Tonight they'll shine a light and find our motivation,
They will uncover the reason for the deed
And every one of our friends who's involved.
Everyone who had something to do with it will be exposed
Contributed by Kaelyn M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.