From left: Alex Gaskarth, Zack Merrick, Jack Barakat, Rian Dawson
Pop punk lady-killers All Time Low have been breaking hearts and selling out venues for the better part of the past four years. They’ve released three critically acclaimed records, toured in support of Fall Out Boy and registered almost 70 million plays on their MySpace page. However, it wasn’t until last month that they blindsided the mainstream with a new record that debuted at No. 4 in its first week of sales. Touting an impressive pedigree of some of the industry’s most respected producers (Matt Squire, the Dream, Butch Walker), Nothing Personal created quite a buzz on blogs and social networks around the Web, leading to massive amounts of hype and high expectations before the recording of the album had even been completed. Rhapsody caught up with frontman Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat during the band’s fourth Warped stint to discuss writing and recording Nothing Personal, touring with blink-182 and what it means to have their own clothing line.
Pop punk lady-killers All Time Low have been breaking hearts and selling out venues for the better part of the past four years. They’ve released three critically acclaimed records, toured in support of Fall Out Boy and registered almost 70 million plays on their MySpace page. However, it wasn’t until last month that they blindsided the mainstream with a new record that debuted at No. 4 in its first week of sales. Touting an impressive pedigree of some of the industry’s most respected producers (Matt Squire, the Dream, Butch Walker), Nothing Personal created quite a buzz on blogs and social networks around the Web, leading to massive amounts of hype and high expectations before the recording of the album had even been completed. Rhapsody caught up with frontman Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat during the band’s fourth Warped stint to discuss writing and recording Nothing Personal, touring with blink-182 and what it means to have their own clothing line.
So during fall and spring, you tour with a lot of
bands that are on Warped and then reunite every summer for Warped.
Gaskarth: Yeah, that’s what makes Warped Tour awesome. A lot of the bands we’ve toured with previously are here on the Warped Tour, and also a lot of bands that we generally wouldn’t have the chance to tour with are also here, so we get to hang out with them, too, which is really cool.
I feel like a lot of bands gauge their success by whether or not they play Warped, but once they actually play it, reality strikes about how brutal it really is.
Gaskarth: Yeah. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but we love it, dude. There’s a reason we come back four times in a row. We just really enjoy it.
There’s been a lot of controversy with bands like Millionaires, Brokencyde and Jeffree Star thrown into the mix this year. How do you guys feel about it?
Gaskarth: It’s a new day, man. I think whether you like the music or not, you have to accept the fact that they are around; you have to accept the fact that there is a group of people out there who do listen to that music. I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and hate on all of those bands. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of those people now, and you realize that they are just trying to do the same thing that we are. Whether you support the way they are doing it or not, it’s whatever. I probably wouldn’t choose to listen to the music but I actually really, really like Jeffree Star and the girls in Millionaires. I haven’t really met Brokencyde, but as people everyone else is really rad.
You guys just released a new record a few weeks ago. What do you have to say about Nothing Personal?
Gaskarth: Um … please go buy it. [Laughs] It’s the most fun we’ve ever had making a record; it’s the best record we’ve ever made to date, in my opinion. I hope people continue to receive it as well as they have so far.
There was a lot of hype leading up to Nothing Personal's release. Did you feel like you had to live up to people’s expectations as you were writing and recording?
Gaskarth: It’s kind of a seesaw effect, where you definitely want to get it right and you don’t want to step too far outside of your box, where people can’t appreciate you for the band that you have been, but there’s also a level of having to grow. We have to mature with our fans and also mature in a way that more people can come onboard and embrace it. It’s a delicate balance, but I think the fact that we brought on five different producers for this record kind of helped us expand our horizons. We knew how we wanted to sound and where we wanted to be at the end of the record, but working with five separate producers really helped us to kind of, with each set of songs, go off in a slightly different direction. At the end of the day, we ended up with a product that was very varied but also still sounds like All Time Low, no matter who produced a song. You can go from song to song and a lot of people can’t figure out who did what, which is really cool.
With Put Up or Shut Up, your sound was harder and more punk-influenced. Then you released So Wrong, It’s Right, which had a drastically different, pop-influenced vocal style to it that has carried over to Nothing Personal.
Gaskarth: [Laughs] Definitely. I learned how to sing. A lot of people say my voice doesn’t sound as deep or as low as it used to, and there are people who back it and some who don’t, but it’s really just the fact that I used to lose my voice all the time. That’s how my voice sounded back then, and it was the sound of me singing incorrectly. Since then, I learned how I should sound and how I am supposed to sing, and I don’t lose my voice very often anymore.
Did you get a vocal coach or just watch YouTube videos to learn how to sing?
Gaskarth: I’ve had the opportunity to talk to coaches. I would spend like an hour here and there with people, but I’ve never had formal lessons. Everyone is different, and it takes a little while for you to find your sound.
So blink-182 are back together.
Barakat: They are?
Yeah, dude. I can’t believe I just told you that.
Gaskarth: [Laughs] Wow. I’ve been hanging out with Bear Grylls.
So what was that like for you guys to hear when they got back together a few months ago? I know you recorded a song with Mark Hoppus.
Gaskarth: We didn’t record it with him, we wrote it with him.
Why isn't it on Nothing Personal?
Gaskarth: It was written so far in advance that by the time we got around to doing the rest of the album, it just didn’t really sonically make sense.
Do you think it will ever come out?
Gaskarth: I don’t know … I don’t know.
After working with Mark and staying in touch with him, I sort of assumed you guys would be on the blink tour. Is there a reason you aren’t?
Gaskarth: [Laughs] Maybe because we never put the song out.
Barakat: Yeah. "F*ck you kids." [Laughs] I think honestly it’s because of us doing Warped Tour. Warped is booked by the same person that books blink.
Gaskarth: I think the biggest thing is that they have been gone for five years, and everyone wants to tour with them.
Barakat: It’s a long line.
Gaskarth: They owe a lot of bands favors. It’s a long list of people they promised they would take out with them.
Barakat: Some 21-year-old kids who love their band probably aren’t on the top of blink's list. Gaskarth: We just kind of came into the picture, so if we continue to tour, hopefully one day it will happen.
Jack, you have your own Glamour Kills clothing line. Usually these sorts of things are reserved for frontmen. Alex, where is your clothing line?
Gaskarth: Dude, I don’t have the time or the patience to f*ck with that.
So Jack, you design the clothes yourself?
Barakat: Not really.
Gaskarth: Jack doesn’t really do sh*t. He just kind of threw his name onto it. I named the company, for chrissake. I’m sure down the line, we are talking about all joining forces to do something even bigger. We’ve done stuff with Hurley, and we're even talking to Nike about doing some things.
What are your plans for after Warped?
Gaskarth: Tour, tour, tour, tour, tour.
Do you guys have any crazy fan-girl stories?
Gaskarth: Well, Jack had a five-some.
Barakat: What?!
With five guys or five girls?
Gaskarth: Five dudes.
Well, who hasn’t done that?
Barakat: [Laughs] Yeah …
Gaskarth: Yeah, that’s what makes Warped Tour awesome. A lot of the bands we’ve toured with previously are here on the Warped Tour, and also a lot of bands that we generally wouldn’t have the chance to tour with are also here, so we get to hang out with them, too, which is really cool.
I feel like a lot of bands gauge their success by whether or not they play Warped, but once they actually play it, reality strikes about how brutal it really is.
Gaskarth: Yeah. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but we love it, dude. There’s a reason we come back four times in a row. We just really enjoy it.
There’s been a lot of controversy with bands like Millionaires, Brokencyde and Jeffree Star thrown into the mix this year. How do you guys feel about it?
Gaskarth: It’s a new day, man. I think whether you like the music or not, you have to accept the fact that they are around; you have to accept the fact that there is a group of people out there who do listen to that music. I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and hate on all of those bands. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of those people now, and you realize that they are just trying to do the same thing that we are. Whether you support the way they are doing it or not, it’s whatever. I probably wouldn’t choose to listen to the music but I actually really, really like Jeffree Star and the girls in Millionaires. I haven’t really met Brokencyde, but as people everyone else is really rad.
You guys just released a new record a few weeks ago. What do you have to say about Nothing Personal?
Gaskarth: Um … please go buy it. [Laughs] It’s the most fun we’ve ever had making a record; it’s the best record we’ve ever made to date, in my opinion. I hope people continue to receive it as well as they have so far.
There was a lot of hype leading up to Nothing Personal's release. Did you feel like you had to live up to people’s expectations as you were writing and recording?
Gaskarth: It’s kind of a seesaw effect, where you definitely want to get it right and you don’t want to step too far outside of your box, where people can’t appreciate you for the band that you have been, but there’s also a level of having to grow. We have to mature with our fans and also mature in a way that more people can come onboard and embrace it. It’s a delicate balance, but I think the fact that we brought on five different producers for this record kind of helped us expand our horizons. We knew how we wanted to sound and where we wanted to be at the end of the record, but working with five separate producers really helped us to kind of, with each set of songs, go off in a slightly different direction. At the end of the day, we ended up with a product that was very varied but also still sounds like All Time Low, no matter who produced a song. You can go from song to song and a lot of people can’t figure out who did what, which is really cool.
With Put Up or Shut Up, your sound was harder and more punk-influenced. Then you released So Wrong, It’s Right, which had a drastically different, pop-influenced vocal style to it that has carried over to Nothing Personal.
Gaskarth: [Laughs] Definitely. I learned how to sing. A lot of people say my voice doesn’t sound as deep or as low as it used to, and there are people who back it and some who don’t, but it’s really just the fact that I used to lose my voice all the time. That’s how my voice sounded back then, and it was the sound of me singing incorrectly. Since then, I learned how I should sound and how I am supposed to sing, and I don’t lose my voice very often anymore.
Did you get a vocal coach or just watch YouTube videos to learn how to sing?
Gaskarth: I’ve had the opportunity to talk to coaches. I would spend like an hour here and there with people, but I’ve never had formal lessons. Everyone is different, and it takes a little while for you to find your sound.
So blink-182 are back together.
Barakat: They are?
Yeah, dude. I can’t believe I just told you that.
Gaskarth: [Laughs] Wow. I’ve been hanging out with Bear Grylls.
So what was that like for you guys to hear when they got back together a few months ago? I know you recorded a song with Mark Hoppus.
Gaskarth: We didn’t record it with him, we wrote it with him.
Why isn't it on Nothing Personal?
Gaskarth: It was written so far in advance that by the time we got around to doing the rest of the album, it just didn’t really sonically make sense.
Do you think it will ever come out?
Gaskarth: I don’t know … I don’t know.
After working with Mark and staying in touch with him, I sort of assumed you guys would be on the blink tour. Is there a reason you aren’t?
Gaskarth: [Laughs] Maybe because we never put the song out.
Barakat: Yeah. "F*ck you kids." [Laughs] I think honestly it’s because of us doing Warped Tour. Warped is booked by the same person that books blink.
Gaskarth: I think the biggest thing is that they have been gone for five years, and everyone wants to tour with them.
Barakat: It’s a long line.
Gaskarth: They owe a lot of bands favors. It’s a long list of people they promised they would take out with them.
Barakat: Some 21-year-old kids who love their band probably aren’t on the top of blink's list. Gaskarth: We just kind of came into the picture, so if we continue to tour, hopefully one day it will happen.
Jack, you have your own Glamour Kills clothing line. Usually these sorts of things are reserved for frontmen. Alex, where is your clothing line?
Gaskarth: Dude, I don’t have the time or the patience to f*ck with that.
So Jack, you design the clothes yourself?
Barakat: Not really.
Gaskarth: Jack doesn’t really do sh*t. He just kind of threw his name onto it. I named the company, for chrissake. I’m sure down the line, we are talking about all joining forces to do something even bigger. We’ve done stuff with Hurley, and we're even talking to Nike about doing some things.
What are your plans for after Warped?
Gaskarth: Tour, tour, tour, tour, tour.
Do you guys have any crazy fan-girl stories?
Gaskarth: Well, Jack had a five-some.
Barakat: What?!
With five guys or five girls?
Gaskarth: Five dudes.
Well, who hasn’t done that?
Barakat: [Laughs] Yeah …
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