The Alternative Star.com

All Time Low 

Life has been good for All Time Low. By the time they graduated high school, they weren’t getting ready for university. Instead, they had an EP coming out on Hopeless Records and the opportunity to hit the road, which would only further enable them to live their dream playing music for a living.

Now in 2007, the band has only been gaining more momentum. On September 25, they released So Wrong, Its Right; a full length filled to the brim with catchy pop punk gems that you can’t get out of your head no matter how hard you try. It won’t be the most original CD you’ve heard but it’s a ton of fun and at least its void of the ridiculously cheesy lyrics present on many pop punk records today.

At the sold out Winnipeg stop of their current tour headlined by Boys Like Girls, I had the chance to chat with the band’s frontman Alex Gaskarth on their snazzy tour bus. We discussed many topics, such as his love of blink-182, working with Matt Squire and the state of pop music today. Special thanks go out to Mike Cubillos and Matt Flyzik for setting this up!

You guys have been on Tourzilla for awhile now. What has been your most memorable experience so far?

Alex Gaskarth: So far on the tour I would have to say that playing at home, at the Ram’s Head show, was totally insane. It was really cool just to see that many kids in a club in our hometown. It was really neat and it felt like it could have been our show.

Has anything really crazy happened on the tour?

Gaskarth: Yes and no, I mean nothing too insane. We’ve had a lot of parties and there have been many instances when people have played pranks on one another. It was when the band We The Kings was on the tour before, we kept stealing stuff of theirs and it kind of became this big back and forth thing where we’d each take useless stuff that belongs to each other but we always got really mad about it.

What did you take?

Gaskarth: They had these plastic pigeons on their windshield wipers and we kept stealing those. They had a rubber chicken too so we took that. They got so mad over it though they would take our X Box controllers and candles.

What is your favourite song to play live and why?

Gaskarth: Dear Maria, Count Me In is probably my favourite song to play live right now. It’s just gotten such a cool response from the crowd. Every time we played it, even before the CD came out it was rad. There were a lot of people who were really into that song.

Is there any specific routine you do before each show?

Gaskarth: Nothing crazy, I warm up my voice, Rian warms up his hands. We really don’t have any weird rituals like some bands do.

Moving on to the new CD, what song best represents what All Time Low is all about?

Gaskarth: Man, I mean all the songs really. They all kind of show where we are at this point in time. I think the ones that kind of reflect our attitudes towards the CD and life in general are the first and last songs. Those songs are kind of tongue and cheek. Both songs it’s about being sarcastic and a lot of people took them seriously. I think that was a misinterpretation since the songs are very much poking fun at the mentality that I’m singing about. So yeah, those definitely reflect us right now.

But not just one in particular?

Gaskarth: Probably just Poppin’ Champagne for me personally. Just because that song is kind of about existing in a world where the kind of music we’re playing is criticized a lot. The fact that we’re playing pop music, we love it but a lot of people don’t. A lot of bands who play our type of music are criticized for not being intellectual enough with their music. Basically, that song is saying we’re OK with that. That’s not why we’re doing it; we’re not trying to prove anything to anybody. We just want to have a good time.

Why do you think people are so against poppy music, especially nowadays?

Gaskarth: I don’t know. It bums me out because I’ve always been a fan of pop. I guess there’s just this whole mentality everywhere that music needs to be more thought out and challenging. I don’t necessarily think that’s true because I think it’s something you should be able to listen to easily and enjoy. It’s more about feeling than math so it kinda contradicts itself there. We’re basically just from the standpoint that you can hear our songs and just have fun.

What was the best thing about working with Matt Squire?

Gaskarth: I think it’s basically because he’s not scared to admit what I just admitted. When we got in the studio with him he was very much on the same page. He was like “Yeah, I think what we want to do is write an amazing pop record” and that’s what you know, we set out to do. I think we accomplished it and I’m stoked on all the songs on it. He has a much deeper sense of how songs should be written. To have him sitting over our shoulder at all times guiding us was really helpful and very cool.

Was he always your first choice?

Gaskarth: Yeah! Matt Squire found us kinda just before we started getting attention from labels and what not. He was like “You have a great EP out and a bunch of great songs, this is what you need to do” and so he mentored us before he even wanted to put out our record. Like before we even signed to Hopeless he was there and like you should do this and this and this. When it finally became the time to record a batch of new songs, it totally made sense for us to go with him. He set himself up for it and we love him.

It’s no secret you guys are influenced by blink-182. What is your favourite record by them and why?

Gaskarth: My favourite blink record is Enema of the State. The production on that record is awesome, I really like the way that record sounds. Overall, I think all the songs are cool on that CD. I think that was kind of like when blink hit their prime. Like Dude Ranch and before that, the songs are good but for me it’s more of like a nostalgia thing, rather than these songs are great! Like they’re obviously not great, you know what I mean? And not to talk shit on my favourite band, don’t get me wrong. But at that point, they still had a huge amount to learn song writing wise and so I think with Enema and Take off Your Pants and Jacket they finally did that.

Do you have an all time favourite blink-182 song?

Gaskarth: That’s so hard, there’s so many! Going Away to College is one of my favourite blink songs ever. Anthem was an amazing song too.

What do you think of all the blink-182 side projects?

Gaskarth: The weird thing about all their side projects is that, with the exception of the Transplants, all those bands are just blink-182 from another point of view really. I mean obviously the Transplants are not because Travis didn’t write the music, he just wrote the beats. The Transplants are more of a Rancid meets hip hop thing. +44 is what I think Mark wanted to do, he wanted to be more on the upbeat, dancey side of things. It became obvious Tom was going down a darker path with his songs when he started Boxcar Racer and because he had nowhere to vent that in blink. And with Angels and Airwaves, I don’t know. I think with what they used to do and what he’s trying to do with Angels, I think it’s a pretty hefty step. I’m not sure if I’m into it.

I just wish they never broke up.

Gaskarth: Me too. Yeah, here I am psycho analyzing their band. But for me, its blink and my favourite of the side projects is probably +44. Blink will always be up there. In fact, we had our first crazy blink experience recently. Rian got a blink tattoo last week and we do videos for this website called Buzznet. We did a video showing his tattoo and Mark posted a post about it.

That’s awesome!

Gaskarth: Yeah, it’s insane! He was like “I’ll have to check out their record now.” The fact that he is listening to our band is crazy.

Hopefully you’ll get to meet him soon.

Gaskarth: That would be insane. I don’t even want to think about it, I’d probably act like a total creeper. It’s a landmark for me, recognition from a blink member. We’re doing something!

Is Mark your favourite musician?

Gaskarth: No, he’s not my favourite musician. My favourite musician would probably have to be from Jimmy Eat World. But he’s definitely one of my favourite music personalities, I guess. We get a lot of our stage interaction from the way they did it. Like the whole not taking anything too seriously vibe is definitely something that we go for because I don’t think enough bands do. I think it works.

Moving on, do you know what the next single will be?

Gaskarth: Yeah, actually we’re shooting a video this December for the next single. I don’t think I’m allowed to say what song it is yet so I’m not going to say but it should be out by January or February. It’s going to be cool, I’m excited!

Do you know who will be directing it?

Gaskarth: I really don’t know. I know we’re going to be talking to directors tomorrow and we’re going to narrow it down to see who will direct it so we’ll see. I’m excited! That process is always really fun; I like to be really hands on with all the videos. The videos we’ve done so far, a lot of it has been my ideas and stuff. I’m excited to start brainstorming for this one because I think this will be our best video yet. We’re going to try to go for more of a storyline this time.

You guys did a fairly interesting photo shoot for a side story in Alternative Press. How did you come up with that concept?

Gaskarth: We just once again wanted to stay true to having fun with everything. I see too many photo shoots of bands looking serious and we wanted to do something a little different. I don’t think I’ve seen that before so we went for me kicking a kid across a room. I mean, why not? That’s pretty sweet.

Did you used to take martial arts?

Gaskarth: Actually yes. I used to take karate when I was 6. I got all the way up to a blue belt I think, I was pretty kick ass.

What are the band’s plans for 2008?

Gaskarth: To be honest, I don’t know for sure yet. We will be taking December off to relax since we haven’t had any off time since March. We’ll spend a few days making the video and we’ll stay at home to enjoy Christmas and the New Year and all that stuff. We’re going to do a couple of holiday shows from like the 22nd to something. For the New Year, nothing is confirmed. I don’t want to say we’re going to do something and then have it end up not happening. It should be confirmed soon though, I will say that.

Are there any bands in particular who you’d really like to tour with?

Gaskarth: I would really like to tour with Paramore because we’ve hung out with them a lot on Warped Tour. I’d think we’d have a lot of fun on the road with them so depending on their schedules, hopefully you’ll see an All Time Low and Paramore tour in the future!