Back in high school, I had my fair share of favorite bands. I'd play those CD's on repeat for months at a time and beg my parents to let me to go to concerts alone with friends. Hell, 10 years later, I still can't get over my crush on Andrew McMahon. Love that guy. I was very much that girl. That kind of fan. And in turn, I can appreciate fans like that.
Enter All Time Low. The pop-punk, Baltimore-based ensemble has some of the craziest fans out there. Guys and girls alike can't help but blast ATL songs and fill up their Twitter feeds with lyrics, day after day. Not to mention, the love for lead singer Alex Gaskarth has hit an all-time high (see what I did there? Hah. Lame, I know.). And now I know why. Not only is Alex adorable, but the 23-year-old talent is a complete doll to chat with. We talked about the success of the band's latest album, Dirty Work, and how he deals with working in an industry riddled with constant breakups and sh*tty labels. He answered everything in stride. Check out our interview below to get the deets on their upcoming video for "Time Bomb" too!
Check out All Time Low's website for tour info and follow them on Twitter!
Hi Alex! So you guys are touring right now. What's your pre-show ritual like?
We don’t really have a pre-show ritual, you know. It’s really just more about warming up and getting ready for the show. You know, trying to find a way to get amped up. We’ll have a couple drinks, listen to some good tunes, and that’s pretty much all it takes.
Any favorite cities?
Um, yeah, yesterday was really cool. We’ve playing a lot of, like, random, obscure cities on this tour. It’s more of like a B/C market tour –- and a lot of cities that we’ve actually never played before. Yesterday, we played Columbia, Missouri. It was a cool area and an amazing crowd, so maybe yesterday.
I have to tell you that we have HUGE All Time Low fans on Ology (shoutout to @WeloveeATL!) Do you follow them on Twitter? Do you see all of the hype?
We do see some of it. We try to stay pretty on top of our online presence, so yeah, we see how amazing some of our fans can be, and how present they are online. They do get pretty crazy, but we love it. We think it’s rad.
You were on Conan a couple of weeks ago. Tell me about that.
Conan was great. It was a great experience. It was our second time on the Conan show. Last time we were on it, it was on the other network, right after he took over Leno’s spot. It seemed a little disorganized at the time, and this time it was really, really cool. They took really good care of everybody and everyone was really nice. It was fun.
The next single is "Time Bomb." When are we getting the video!?!
Yeah, the video is in the editing process right now. It’s almost done. So we should have it out, pretty much as soon as we get it finalized.
Awesome. Can you tell us anything about the concept?
Yeah, it’s pretty cool. We kind of went for this love story -- this struggle between two people running from forces that kind of think that the victims are bad or wrong –- and there’s like a twist at the end. I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s a big chase sequence, which is awesome.
I know you guys collaborated with a few different songwriters on this album. What is your songwriting process like?
It pretty much is... we’ll kind of start with an idea, and have a concept, or a melody, or a riff that one of us will roll with. We kind of just develop it from there. I’ll kind of come up with a skeleton of a song, and the rest of the guys will come in and give their input and advice. And I will come in and make tweaks and adjustments where they need to be made. That’s how we get it done.
Dirty Work obviously did really great. And now you’re on tour for a while. When do you think you'll put out a new album.
You know, I think sooner than later. I’m not entirely sure on the date yet obviously, but I can tell you that, as of lately, I’ve been really inspired. I’ve got a lot of material pouring out of me. You know, it’s gotta go somewhere. We’re gonna spend some time writing this winter and next year as well. We’ll see happens, what gets done.
Now, I did want to ask you. I go to shows a lot and I’ve seen you guys live before. Something that always bothers me is when people start screaming out song names that obviously piss the band off. Does that annoy you at all? When people scream out requests of songs you don't want to sing?
Annoying as in, people are being like, hecklers about it? No. You know, if someone wants to hear a song, that’s cool. As long as it’s not interrupting the show or bumming anybody else out, I don’t really care.
The other thing in this genre seems to be the constant band breakups (or rumored breakups). Do you feel lucky that you're still going strong?
Absolutely. I mean, it’s definitely been a struggle at certain times. We’re four guys that have been together a long time. And it’s more of a family now, then anything else. So yeah, I feel very fortunate that it’s worked out and that we’ve managed to get through the rough patches.
It's also pretty easy to be labeled a "sell-out," which... who knows what that even means these days? Just a lot of negativity and backlash sometimes. What would you consider selling out? Do you think that’s even a real thing?
I think at this point, when you’re doing it, and no part of you is doing it for creative reasons, that’s when you sell out. When it’s purely for the paycheck. But to be honest, it’s so vague, and the whole thing of people being sell-outs is pretty stupid. Because if you’re having fun doing it, and you enjoy what your doing, that’s all that really matters. You know, I don’t necessarily understand or agree with the other aspects of how that gets thrown around.
So who are you listening to right now?
I’m thoroughly into playing the new We Are The In Crowd CD. And I’ve delved back in to my Frank Sinatra collection, which has been awesome.
You’ve been on tour with a lot of your favorite bands. Anyone else you're still dying to collaborate with --either on tour or on an album?
I think it’d be really cool to play with the Foo Fighters. That’s one band we really look up to and admire. That’d be very cool for us. We did some dates with Blink already, overseas, but we’d love to do some stuff in the states with Blink. That would be a big one.
Our site is all about passions, obsessions. We call them ologies. What are your top 3 ologies?
I think, definitely, obviously music. That’s a pretty straightforward one. I think, aside from that, conversation is a big one. I’m a big fan of making friends and talking about life. And I think, maybe the third would have to be travel. I love traveling, I love seeing new places. And experiencing that is definitely a big part of what we do.
Yes, a lot of your fans tweeted us wanting to know when you were coming to their respective countries. You guys have a huge international fan base.
Yeah, it’s amazing. Our worldwide fan base has grown so, so quickly. And our fans overseas are some of the most avid fans we have out there. So, it’s very cool to see that.
Obviously, you’re the lead singer. We also see girls gushing over you and labeling you a heartthrob. Are you OK with that title? How does that feel?
Ha. I don’t really pay that much attention to be honest with you. It is what it is. I know that it does happen and everything, but it doesn’t really affect me. I just roll with it. And enjoy it (laughs).
Who would you say is your biggest celebrity crush?
I have a big crush on Taylor Swift, I have to say. She seems pretty rad.
Love her! I feel like she would totally do a duet with you too.
If you piss her off, she’ll write a song about you.
Yeah, but that’s kind of the beauty of it.
Yeah, true.
Is there a favorite song you love playing on this tour?
Off our new record, there is a song “Forget About It” that I absolutely love playing live. It’s really funny to sing. It’s fun to play. And it goes off with the crowd. So that’s always a great sign and a great feeling.
--
Are you a big All Time Low fan? What do you think about Alex's answers?
Connect with other ATL fans on My.Ology!
Follow Sharon Tharp on Twitter: @sharontharp
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment!