Alex Gaskarth - All Time Low (12/01/2013)
The 59th Sound recently spoke to Alex Gaskarth, lead singer of All Time Low about their big changes over the last 12 months and their return to Australian on the 2013 Soundwave lineup.
Hey Alex, my name's Beth. Thanks for talking to us today.
Hey no worries, thanks for having me.
How have you been today?
I’ve been great. We’re just home right now, relaxing, taking it real easy before the new year
You guys have had a pretty big year; do you have a highlight of the year?
The biggest highlight was really re-signing with Hopeless Records and putting out this album. It’s been a rollercoaster, and leaving Interscope (Records) was a huge part of the rollercoaster. So to be able to pick ourselves back up and have a successful year, and an album that seems like it’s going to carry us on for a little while longer is a great feeling.
And how have you found the move back to Hopeless Records?
It’s great. It’s like going back with a family that you know cares about you. They embrace us for what we are and they know how to work with us, they know how this band is meant to function.
As you mentioned, you recently released Don’t Panic your 5th studio album. How have you found the fan response to the album?
It’s been amazing! It sold really well in the States, and it debuted high overseas as well. It’s been the biggest selling record we’ve ever had as far as how fast it’s selling and the numbers we’re putting out, and things like that.
Usually that stuff doesn’t matter to me, but just to see the incremental growth. I mean, we’ve been a band for 10 years and the fact that people still give a crap, that’s incredible to me.
How did you approach writing and recording the album? Did it differ to your previous albums?
Yes and no. We’d used this approach before on earlier stuff. But with the past two records, Dirty Work and Nothing Personal we kinda split it up among producers and did some co-writing here and there and stuff like that. But this new record Don’t Panic was really all about getting back to just focusing on what we wanted to write about and the story that we had to tell.
So rather than kinda splitting the efforts up among different people and getting different inputs we went in with one producer, Mike Green, who did some of the work on Dirty Work and it was really just the five of us sitting down and writing the songs that we wanted to represent us for the next couple of years.
All Time Low has been confirmed on the 2013 Soundwave lineup, are you guys excited to come back to Australia?
Absolutely! We’re so ready! We always have a blast over there and I think we’re excited just to be there. You know it’s the best time of year to come down and before that we’re doing Canada in January and the UK in early February and it’s going to be miserable and cold. So I think it will be like a welcome vacation from the winter weather.
Well we’ll make sure to keep a spot for you guys on the beaches!
Hell yeah!
All Time Low wasn’t on the first lineup release for Soundwave, what was the decision behind getting your name on the lineup?
It’s a funny story actually. We saw the lineup when AJ first announced it and we got super jealous because we saw that it was probably one of the better lineups of Soundwave to date. And our guitar player Jack (Barakat) texted AJ and was like "Dude, please put us on Soundwave next year. It’s just amazing and we want to come to Australia again, what better time to do it." We just kind of did it jokingly and he (AJ) was like "do you really want to do it?" And we were like "hell yeah!" And it just came to be.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing on the lineup?
Ah, I think the big one for me is going to be The Offspring. And I’ve never seen Metallica live so that will be rad.
In 2011 All Time Low was on the Soundwave Counter Revolution tour, how did you find that tour?
It was cool. It sort of came together when the original idea didn’t work out and a lot of the bands couldn’t be a part of it. And it was a collection of the bands that were left over and really wanted to go to Australia and play those shows. So some of them weren’t quite as big as they originally planned them to be, but it was rad to see all those bands band together, pardon the pun, and get over there and still put on great shows for kids that were really passionate about the music.
And do you have a highlight from the tour?
I can’t remember where it was but there was one show, maybe it was Melbourne but I don’t remember exactly where it was, but it was in this weird, crazy theme park kind of thing and it was indoors.
Sounds like the Sydney show at Luna Park.
Yeah, that show was incredible! It was just packed to the brim with sweaty, shirtless people and that definitely stood out as a highlight show. I remember Panic! At The Disco covering The Darkness (I Believe In A Thing Called Love.)
As you mentioned earlier, you guys have been together as a band for 10 years, has their been any real changes in your relationships with each other?
I think we’ve all gotten closer. After 10 years you become less like friends and more like family.
Has it changed the way you approach your shows and touring?
If anything, I think we’ve gotten more serious about our shows. We strive to put on a memorable live show that people are going to walk away from and talk about.
What are your plans for next year after you’ve finished Soundwave?
I think once we’ve done Soundwave while we’re over there we’re going to do some stuff in South-East Asia and countries like that, that we don’t get to do enough.
And beyond that I think we come back and start a US tour.
So there are still quite a lot of Don’t Panic tours to look forward too?
Oh yeah. I mean the record’s only been out for two months and we’ve got the time.
Is there anything you can’t live without on tour?
I don’t know, it’s just such mundane stuff like my laptop and my phone. I have to stay in contact with the people I’m used to talking to on a regular basis.
Do any of the members of the band name their instruments?
Yes we do. We have all different names for them. PRS has been very generous to me and I have 9 or 10 guitars now and they all have weird names that we’ve given them.
For my two favourites I have a pink one and a green one and they look like Miss Piggy and Kermit.
Do you have a hardest song to play live?
I don’t know, we started playing Therapy as a full band again. I wouldn’t say it’s the hardest song to play but we weren’t used to playing the way we’ve started playing it again. It posed as a challenge when everything else was very familiar and that one threw us for a loop every now and again.
Would you be able to briefly explain your song writing process?
Well, at least on the last record, I would kinda start with a loose idea and develop it from there and take it to a producer and we sort of mock out the backbone of the song and then the other guys would come in and lend their input and opinions and then kinda just develop it into a full song.
A lot of the time it starts as a concept and builds out from there.
And where do you look for for inspiration when you’re writing songs?
Everyday life. The things that we go through on a day to day basis and the trials and tribulations that come about because we’re away from home a lot, constantly moving and with different people. Things like that, good times and bad times that we might have.
Are there any bands or artists that you are inspired by as well?
No actually I’ve never listened to music in my life. It was this crazy thing, like I became a song writer but never once have I heard another song.
Nah, I mean like yeah the Foo Fighters is a huge one. Going back Blink 182, Green Day; they’re all bands we grew up listening to and are bands that moulded us.
Fair enough. Well thank you for talking to me today and we hope to see you when you’re down in Australia.
Thanks so much, I appreciate you taking the time.
Bethany Williams
Search tags - Soundwave, All Time Low
Hey Alex, my name's Beth. Thanks for talking to us today.
Hey no worries, thanks for having me.
How have you been today?
I’ve been great. We’re just home right now, relaxing, taking it real easy before the new year
You guys have had a pretty big year; do you have a highlight of the year?
The biggest highlight was really re-signing with Hopeless Records and putting out this album. It’s been a rollercoaster, and leaving Interscope (Records) was a huge part of the rollercoaster. So to be able to pick ourselves back up and have a successful year, and an album that seems like it’s going to carry us on for a little while longer is a great feeling.
And how have you found the move back to Hopeless Records?
It’s great. It’s like going back with a family that you know cares about you. They embrace us for what we are and they know how to work with us, they know how this band is meant to function.
As you mentioned, you recently released Don’t Panic your 5th studio album. How have you found the fan response to the album?
It’s been amazing! It sold really well in the States, and it debuted high overseas as well. It’s been the biggest selling record we’ve ever had as far as how fast it’s selling and the numbers we’re putting out, and things like that.
Usually that stuff doesn’t matter to me, but just to see the incremental growth. I mean, we’ve been a band for 10 years and the fact that people still give a crap, that’s incredible to me.
How did you approach writing and recording the album? Did it differ to your previous albums?
Yes and no. We’d used this approach before on earlier stuff. But with the past two records, Dirty Work and Nothing Personal we kinda split it up among producers and did some co-writing here and there and stuff like that. But this new record Don’t Panic was really all about getting back to just focusing on what we wanted to write about and the story that we had to tell.
So rather than kinda splitting the efforts up among different people and getting different inputs we went in with one producer, Mike Green, who did some of the work on Dirty Work and it was really just the five of us sitting down and writing the songs that we wanted to represent us for the next couple of years.
All Time Low has been confirmed on the 2013 Soundwave lineup, are you guys excited to come back to Australia?
Absolutely! We’re so ready! We always have a blast over there and I think we’re excited just to be there. You know it’s the best time of year to come down and before that we’re doing Canada in January and the UK in early February and it’s going to be miserable and cold. So I think it will be like a welcome vacation from the winter weather.
Well we’ll make sure to keep a spot for you guys on the beaches!
Hell yeah!
All Time Low wasn’t on the first lineup release for Soundwave, what was the decision behind getting your name on the lineup?
It’s a funny story actually. We saw the lineup when AJ first announced it and we got super jealous because we saw that it was probably one of the better lineups of Soundwave to date. And our guitar player Jack (Barakat) texted AJ and was like "Dude, please put us on Soundwave next year. It’s just amazing and we want to come to Australia again, what better time to do it." We just kind of did it jokingly and he (AJ) was like "do you really want to do it?" And we were like "hell yeah!" And it just came to be.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing on the lineup?
Ah, I think the big one for me is going to be The Offspring. And I’ve never seen Metallica live so that will be rad.
In 2011 All Time Low was on the Soundwave Counter Revolution tour, how did you find that tour?
It was cool. It sort of came together when the original idea didn’t work out and a lot of the bands couldn’t be a part of it. And it was a collection of the bands that were left over and really wanted to go to Australia and play those shows. So some of them weren’t quite as big as they originally planned them to be, but it was rad to see all those bands band together, pardon the pun, and get over there and still put on great shows for kids that were really passionate about the music.
And do you have a highlight from the tour?
I can’t remember where it was but there was one show, maybe it was Melbourne but I don’t remember exactly where it was, but it was in this weird, crazy theme park kind of thing and it was indoors.
Sounds like the Sydney show at Luna Park.
Yeah, that show was incredible! It was just packed to the brim with sweaty, shirtless people and that definitely stood out as a highlight show. I remember Panic! At The Disco covering The Darkness (I Believe In A Thing Called Love.)
As you mentioned earlier, you guys have been together as a band for 10 years, has their been any real changes in your relationships with each other?
I think we’ve all gotten closer. After 10 years you become less like friends and more like family.
Has it changed the way you approach your shows and touring?
If anything, I think we’ve gotten more serious about our shows. We strive to put on a memorable live show that people are going to walk away from and talk about.
What are your plans for next year after you’ve finished Soundwave?
I think once we’ve done Soundwave while we’re over there we’re going to do some stuff in South-East Asia and countries like that, that we don’t get to do enough.
And beyond that I think we come back and start a US tour.
So there are still quite a lot of Don’t Panic tours to look forward too?
Oh yeah. I mean the record’s only been out for two months and we’ve got the time.
Is there anything you can’t live without on tour?
I don’t know, it’s just such mundane stuff like my laptop and my phone. I have to stay in contact with the people I’m used to talking to on a regular basis.
Do any of the members of the band name their instruments?
Yes we do. We have all different names for them. PRS has been very generous to me and I have 9 or 10 guitars now and they all have weird names that we’ve given them.
For my two favourites I have a pink one and a green one and they look like Miss Piggy and Kermit.
Do you have a hardest song to play live?
I don’t know, we started playing Therapy as a full band again. I wouldn’t say it’s the hardest song to play but we weren’t used to playing the way we’ve started playing it again. It posed as a challenge when everything else was very familiar and that one threw us for a loop every now and again.
Would you be able to briefly explain your song writing process?
Well, at least on the last record, I would kinda start with a loose idea and develop it from there and take it to a producer and we sort of mock out the backbone of the song and then the other guys would come in and lend their input and opinions and then kinda just develop it into a full song.
A lot of the time it starts as a concept and builds out from there.
And where do you look for for inspiration when you’re writing songs?
Everyday life. The things that we go through on a day to day basis and the trials and tribulations that come about because we’re away from home a lot, constantly moving and with different people. Things like that, good times and bad times that we might have.
Are there any bands or artists that you are inspired by as well?
No actually I’ve never listened to music in my life. It was this crazy thing, like I became a song writer but never once have I heard another song.
Nah, I mean like yeah the Foo Fighters is a huge one. Going back Blink 182, Green Day; they’re all bands we grew up listening to and are bands that moulded us.
Fair enough. Well thank you for talking to me today and we hope to see you when you’re down in Australia.
Thanks so much, I appreciate you taking the time.
Bethany Williams
Search tags - Soundwave, All Time Low