{"id":26262,"date":"2015-04-06T16:29:08","date_gmt":"2015-04-06T06:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=26262"},"modified":"2015-04-06T16:29:19","modified_gmt":"2015-04-06T06:29:19","slug":"alex-gaskarth-of-all-time-low-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2015\/04\/alex-gaskarth-of-all-time-low-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n<\/a>\u201c\u2026the record started taking shape as we started writing songs but we definitely knew we wanted to push things, we wanted to make a dynamic record, we didn\u2019t want to do a repeat of the one we had just put out before. Those were all the things that we went in with to start and then I think when we wrote a couple of songs that felt like they were going to be winners for the album, that\u2019s when we started pushing it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

From release: American rock band\u00a0All Time Low\u00a0has topped the charts, sold over 1.1 million albums worldwide, raked in 100+ million views on YouTube, toured with bands like\u00a0Fall Out Boy,\u00a0Green Day\u00a0and\u00a0Foo Fighters, and have played major festivals like\u00a0Soundwave in Australia and\u00a0Vans Warped Tour\u00a0in America. All Time Low\u00a0burst onto the scene in 2003 with their debut album,\u00a0The Party Scene<\/em>,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and have released five studio albums to date. The band hit #1 with multiple album releases on Billboard’s\u00a0Rock Albums<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Alternative Albums<\/em>\u00a0chart and debuted their last three consecutive albums in the Top 10 on the\u00a0Billboard 200<\/em>. All Time Low’s sixth studio album,\u00a0Future Hearts<\/em>,<\/em>\u00a0is their most anticipated new album to date and the band will tour throughout 2015.<\/p>\n

At home on a quick stop between tours we chatted to All Time Low front man, Alex about the band\u2019s new album \u2018Future Hearts\u2019, Australia, working with heroes, learning experiences and much more\u2026<\/p>\n

To start us of, in relation to the new album, can you tell us about the title \u2018Future Hearts\u2019 and what it represents to you personally?<\/strong>
\nThe title kind of comes from all these moments throughout our career where we sort of felt free or kind of the most alive that we ever felt, you kind of have those moments as a kid when you first start feeling the shackles of your youth kind of come off and suddenly the whole world\u2019s at your fingertips and it\u2019s kind of sort of about that. Aligning with that past of freedom and self-discovery and doing what makes you happy and sticking to that path and how we sort of chased that for our career.<\/p>\n

Obviously after twelve years a band needs to evolve a little and I love what you\u2019ve done on \u2018Future Hearts\u2019 did you go into this album with an idea of how you wanted it to come together?<\/strong>
\nI think so, not a clear cut one at first, the record started taking shape as we started writing songs but we definitely knew we wanted to push things, we wanted to make a dynamic record, we didn\u2019t want to do a repeat of the one we had just put out before. Those were all the things that we went in with to start and then I think when we wrote a couple of songs that felt like they were going to be winners for the album, that\u2019s when we started pushing it and saying alright, we have a story here and the story is basically about what I just told you before.<\/p>\n

Six albums in now does it get easier with each release or is it the opposite and you continually try to or feel you need to do something different?<\/strong>
\nYou know it\u2019s kind of weird because it gets easier in the sense of you know how to approach it and you know there are a lot of similar steps and all of that so a lot of that gets easier, but at the same time there\u2019s obviously a strive to keep things original and to not keep making the same record and to push yourself to grow, and also on the other side of that coin, we as a band also know what we do and are familiar with what people come to expect from us, so there\u2019s also an aspect of that we don\u2019t want to betray our fans, we don\u2019t want to let people down by making a record that completely throws them for a loop. There\u2019s a time and a place for change but we didn\u2019t feel we were quite there yet as in taking a massive left turn or anything like that, so it\u2019s sort of a balancing act of creatively growing enough but not so much that we end up with a product that no one recognises anymore.<\/p>\n

On this album you\u2019ve worked solely with John Feldman as producer, a guy you worked with a little on \u2018Dirty Work\u2019 why was he the choice for this record and what did he bring to the band?<\/strong>
\nYou know John has just been a good friend for a long time. We\u2019ve worked on other stuff together and he\u2019s just a really talented guy, he knows our genre, he knows our band, he gets it, and that was a big thing, having a guy that gets what he\u2019s coming into. We didn\u2019t want someone to helm this thing that was going to try and take us off in a bizarre direction because it just wasn\u2019t what we were looking for and he just kind of fit the mould for that and he\u2019s such a good creative force, he\u2019s done a bunch of albums that we\u2019re fans of and all sorts of things so it seemed like a no brainer at the time.<\/p>\n

Listening to the album ‘Runaways’ stood out for me, man, what a song and hook, is there a story behind that one specifically?<\/strong>
\nOh dude thank you. Yeah essentially it\u2019s kind of about young love and how young love can end up lasting and sort of really about me and my now fianc\u00e9 and how we\u2019ve been through a lot of stuff together\u2026 years of stuff *laughs* and good times, bad times and all of it. It\u2019s kind of about just those celebrating that we\u2019ve managed to escape all the negativity and we sort of ended up in this really great place together. When that happens it feels like you\u2019ve escaped some sort of crazy catastrophe, what did you do to get here and that\u2019s sort of what that song is about.<\/p>\n

I do have to bring up your recent Soundwave experience in Sydney, let\u2019s talk about the rain\u2026 what goes through your head when that starts to go down?<\/strong>
\nOh it was a bummer, I mean, when it first starts happening I love it because it kind of creates pandemonium which for our kind of show we embrace it, I always love it, I thought it was rad but at the same time there\u2019s definitely, when it started getting bad we were like \u2018shit\u2026\u2019 we knew there was a big storm coming and we were just afraid we were going to get cancelled or postponed or whatever and so when that ended up happening that was definitely a bummer. We really didn\u2019t want to stop but there\u2019s not much you can do, when it\u2019s the elements you can\u2019t really fuck with it *laughs* there\u2019s a lot on the line\u2026<\/p>\n

Do you think we could expect to see you back soon though?<\/strong>
\nAbsolutely, that was a such a positive tour for us, we had such a blast out on that one, so I really think we\u2019ll try to get there again hopefully this year, if not then very early next year to do some of our own shows I think.<\/p>\n

Now I have been able to witness one of your live shows before, it was so ridiculously fun, upbeat and entertaining, how important is the live aspect of the band to you?<\/strong>
\nI think personally it\u2019s the most important, I love a good live show and I really try to hold up to a high standard when it comes to that. For us I think our recorded music is sort of a vessel that carries us to the stage and just gives people something to sing along to, but really for me it\u2019s all about actually getting on the stage and putting on an amazing show. So that fun energy and that dynamic is I think what this band is built around.<\/p>\n

Australia has always been good to you, do you have a particular stand out memory of a previous trip here?<\/strong>
\nWe\u2019ve been over there a bunch of times now so there\u2019s a lot of good memories but I remember a few years back it was another Soundwave tour and Story Of The Year was there and Yellowcard was there and they\u2019re some of our really good friends and we were all in the same travel group and so pretty much every city we got to we were out to 3am every night, 4am every night, just raging, tearing up the streets with those guys and that definitely made for some really fond memories with those guys.<\/p>\n

In your career thus far, has there been an All Time High for All Time Low?<\/strong>
\nOh man there\u2019s a lot of really amazing moments, it\u2019s a tough question because it\u2019s hard to pinpoint one, we\u2019ve been really lucky in that we keep having these awesome moments for our band and these awesome accomplishments, but I think there was a big one recently, we sold out Wembley Arena and we were shooting a DVD there of the show and that was pretty incredible. That stage is very well known and it\u2019s sort of legendary in a lot of ways, a lot of amazing bands have played there over many years and to step out on that and know that it\u2019s sold out for us and only *laughs* that was a really cool thing to be a part of and to accomplish.<\/p>\n

So starting a band is fun and everything but over the years what have you learned about being in a band that you didn’t expect would be a part of the whole thing?<\/strong>
\nOoh\u2026 Until you\u2019re in it I don\u2019t think you know just how much travelling and oh you know what? I don\u2019t think people know how much down time there is\u2026 and when I say down time I don\u2019t mean down time at home and relaxing down time, I just mean that you spend a lot of time sitting in dressing rooms and in airports and stuff like that *laughs* maybe it\u2019s not the worst thing in the world obviously but I would say that\u2019s probably the most boring aspect of being in a band, all those moments where you\u2019ve just played a show, it\u2019s 4am, you\u2019re at the airport, still sweaty from the show the last night, maybe a little hungover and waiting for a flight to get to the next place and your flight\u2019s stuck on the tarmac\u2026 there\u2019s a lot of that, a lot less glamourous side to it that I think a lot of people don\u2019t acknowledge or see because that\u2019s kind of the behind the scenes stuff, but it\u2019s not all fun and games\u2026<\/p>\n

You should write a book about the opposite of being a rock star, all the stuff that actually doesn\u2019t happen when you\u2019re on stage\u2026<\/strong>
\nYeah *laughs* I don\u2019t know, like when the valet can\u2019t find your car and shit like that? *laughs*<\/p>\n

Now anyone that’s worked with Butch Walker in the past we always have to ask about because we think he’s a genius, so… How much of a genius is he? *laughs*<\/strong>
\nHe is a genius, I can confirm *laughs* no, Butch is amazing I really love that guy, I\u2019m such a fan of him as a song writer and it was really cool that we got to work with him, he taught me a lot at a young age which I still hold on to now, and I just feel like he moulded me as a writer in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n

OK so let\u2019s do a quick fire insight into you with a few questions\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

What was the last album you bought?<\/strong>
\nOh last album I bought was The Maine\u2019s new record \u2018American Candy\u2019 it\u2019s awesome. They\u2019ve been so consistent over the last few records, they\u2019re great.<\/p>\n

What band or artist made you want to be a rockstar?<\/strong>
\nI think ultimately it was probably Green Day, followed closely by Blink and The Foo Fighters\u2026<\/p>\n

Speaking of Blink, you got Mark Hoppus to work on a track on the new album, how good was that?!<\/strong>
\nAmazing, it\u2019s awesome that we grew up fans, kind of became friends and now to have him contribute that to the record is definitely big for us.<\/p>\n

Does it freak you out in a way? For instance, I\u2019m a huge fan of music obviously and if I had one of my heroes come and work with me it\u2019d be like a head exploding moment, is it like that for you?<\/strong>
\nIt definitely was, I was trying to keep it cool when it was happening *laughs* but no, the record comes out next week and I haven\u2019t listened to it in a long while, typically when we finish a record I have to step away from it for a while otherwise I kind of end up hating it. I was driving the other day and had just received a physical copy of it and so I popped it in gave it a listen and it came onto that song and it definitely made me take a step back and really appreciate how far we\u2019ve come to make that happen.<\/p>\n

Sorry for the tangent *laughs* back to the questions\u2026\u00a0 Who is your favourite band to see live?<\/strong>
\nFoo Fighters, one of the best.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been doing this now for twelve years, what is it that you still enjoy about being part of this band?<\/strong>
\nOh there\u2019s so much to enjoy, first and foremost is getting to travel the world, see all these new places and experience things that a lot of people never get to experience, we\u2019re very lucky to be able to do that. Then second, to be able to do that with your brothers, your friends you know? It\u2019s a unique position to be in when you get to travel in a band because you\u2019re touring with basically what becomes your family on the road so that\u2019s always special to share it with good friends like that. Above all else just to be able to do something that\u2019s creative, I\u2019m a creative person, I don\u2019t do very well in other environments, so it\u2019s super cool to be able to do what you\u2019re passionate about.<\/p>\n

I love that it\u2019s still the four original guys too, nothing\u2019s changed there\u2026<\/strong>
\nOh hell yeah man, like I said it\u2019s a family.<\/p>\n

Lastly, let\u2019s predict the future, finish this sentence for me, by the end of 2015, All Time Low will\u2026<\/strong>
\nShit\u2026 do something absurd at The Grammy\u2019s *laughs* I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re even getting an invite to The Grammy\u2019s but if not we\u2019re going to have to sneak in. *laughs*<\/p>\n

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Essential Information<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> Towson, Maryland, USA<\/p>\n

Band members: <\/strong>Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Rian Dawson, Zack Merrick<\/p>\n

Latest release:<\/strong>\u00a0Future Hearts \u2013 (Out Now \u2013 Hopeless Records \/ UNFD)<\/p>\n

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Website:<\/strong>\u00a0https:\/\/www.alltimelow.com<\/a><\/p>\n