Eastscene was very fortunate to be able to sit down and have a chat with All Time Low frontman, Alex Gaskarth.
Eastscene: So, this isn’t your first time touring with Cobra Starship. Is it nice to play with bands you’ve already played with?
Alex ATL: Yeah, definitely. Especially Cobra, they’re actually some of our really good friends, so it’s always a party.
Eastscene: You guys are going to Australia and Japan soon, is there anything specifically you want to do while you’re there?
Alex ATL: Not really, I mean, just playing a foreign country. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan, so we’re really, really excited about that.
Eastscene: Have the fans from over there been really responsive?
Alex ATL: So far! I mean, we’ve never been there, so we’re getting a bit of hype starting.
Eastscene: How does it feel to be touring with Fall Out Boy? They’re a pretty big band, have they always been a band that you’ve kind of looked up to?
Alex ATL: Definitetly, we used to listen to them back in the day, so it’s very surreal to be touring with them.
Eastscene: You guys got signed practically right out of high school, did that change your future plans? Were you guys like all ready to go to college?
Alex ATL: A little bit, yeah. We were all planning on going to college, so we had to make a very quick decision. And obviously, we decided to stick to this.
Eastscene: Did you guys have jobs at that point?
Alex ATL: Yeah, a few of us did, I didn’t (laughs).
Eastscene: Did you guys have a back up plan? Like, if you were to.. not make it?
Alex ATL: I didn’t! Everyone else had applied to college… I didn’t, I kind of took a leap of faith.
Eastscene: You guys worked with Mark Hoppus on a song.. How was working with him?
Alex ATL: Mark is great. Unfortunately the song didn’t make it onto the new record, but working with Mark was very, very cool.
Eastscene: What did you learn from him?
Alex ATL: It was really just a collaboration of ideas, it wasn’t like he was sitting there telling me how to write songs, it was just cool to see him work, and to work with him.
Eastscene: How much do you think you guys have changed since the first demo? Either personally, or musically… or both?
Alex ATL: There hasn’t been very dramatic changes, we just have a better understanding of what we’re doing I guess.
Eastscene: Are there any songs that you never get sick of playing, night after night?
Alex ATL: I will NEVER get sick of playing Jasey Rae.
Eastscene: You guys started out covering Blink 182 songs and New Found Glory songs, are they still bands that you look up to, or turn to for inspiration?
Alex ATL: For sure, I still listen to Blink songs. I wouldn’t say so much I use it for inspiration, but Blink’s attitude is definitely something that we work on having.
Eastscene: How do you feel about them reuniting?
Alex ATL: I’m excited!
Eastscene: You guys were Band of The Year in Alternative Press in 2008, was that a dream? Was it weird seeing yourself on the cover of a magazine?
Alex ATL: Yeah, definitely, it was surreal. We’ve all been readers of that magazine for so long, so it was really surreal. But it was very cool, we never expected it, I mean Band of The Year is a big deal.
Eastscene: Yeah, I would say it’s a pretty big deal. You did some guest spots on a few songs with various artists, which one was your favourite?
Alex ATL: Aaaah, that’s a good question… Probably the one that’s on the Hit The Lights record, they’re all rad dudes.. But the Sing It Loud was probably the most fun…
Eastscene: Is there any bands that you haven’t gone on the road with yet that you would love to?
Alex ATL: Uhh… Blink.
Eastscene: What was the bands first show like?
Alex ATL: It was a… a birthday party, or a talent show. It was proably terrible, I have a feeling it might have been.
Eastscene: A lot of bands these days change lineups, people leave, new ones come in, what keeps you guys together?
Alex ATL: We just have a really strong bond, I don’t know what it is. When we fight, we just argue about petty shit, we move on very quickly. It just never drags anybody down.
Eastscene: Do you feel any pressure to release this new album, because the last one was so successful?
Alex ATL: Definitely, there’s always the worry that this one won’t live up to the last one. You can’t let it worry you too much though.
Eastscene: Between the two, which one was your favourite to make?
Alex ATL: This one. We did it with so many different producers, in so many different places. So it was cool to take breaks and hop to different places.
Eastscene: Do you guys like to get involved as much as possible, as far as mixing and producing goes?
Alex ATL: Yeah, yeah, of course. We’re very on top of things.
Eastscene: Alright, last one. What’s the most important thing for you, in this band. Like a proudest moment, or something??
Alex ATL: Something I’m most proud of is probably… there’s been a lot of cool moments.. Oh! Like a big one on this tour, was playing the arena in our hometown, you know we saw Blink play there way back when. That’s where all the big bands play, so for us to play there was really cool.
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