Q&A with ALL TIME LOW – Working with JOEL MADDEN + BLINK 182’s MARK HOPPUS On Their Sixth Studio Album, a Movie Debut and More!

With earned titles like “Best Pop Punk Band” and “Band of the Year“, pop-rock group ALL TIME LOW has sold over 1.1 million albums worldwide, toured sold out arenas with the likes of Green Day, Eminem and KISS, raked in 100+ million views on YouTube, and debuted their last three albums in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. A pop culture sensation, the band has appeared on countless television shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show and have had their music featured in popular video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, as well as in Disney‘s Johnny Depp blockbuster, Alice in Wonderland.

ALL TIME LOW released their sixth studio album, Future Hearts on April 7, 2015 via Hopeless Records. The new album features exciting collaborations with the likes of Joel Madden and Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus and was dubbed the “most anticipated album of 2015” by Alternative Press. Their first single off the new album is entitled, “Something’s Gotta Give” and the second single, “Kids In The Dark“, was released on March 9, 2015.

Last year, the band toured with Fall Out Boy, SlipKnot and The Smashing Pumpkins . They also hopped over to Australia to join the likes of Incubus, Soundgarden and Marilyn Manson for the Soundwave Festival. And if that wasn’t enough, the band also made their big screen debut (and provided the soundtrack) for the Meg Ryan film, Fan Girl, last spring.

In 2016, ALL TIME LOW will be performing in Los Angeles on February 20 and 20st at AIR + STYLE (along with Incubus, J. Cole, HAIM and many others) and heading to the Netherlands in June with Sir. Paul McCartney, Lionel Ritchie, Kygo and many others for the Pinkpop Festival!

All Access Music writer, Nicole DeRosa had a chance to catch up with vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth before gigs. Check out their Q&A below!

Hi Alex! Where does this interview find you today? What’s on the agenda today besides our interview?

Hey! Right now I am just back home from London, having premiered our new single and released all the info about Future Hearts. It feels good to finally let the cat out of the bag! We’ve been trying to keep it all under wraps for quite some time now, so it’s great to share it with the world!

As far as what I plan on doing today? A whole lot of nothing! I’m soaking up the last couple weeks of down time before we hit the road forever in February. Well, that said, I have been making a point to practice all our old songs again, so I’m not completely rusty when rehearsals roll around in a couple weeks.

You guys released your first new radio single in two years, ’Something’s Gotta Give’, off your sixth studio album, Future Hearts. What was the inspiration behind that song?

“The song is about being in a hopeless place, and desperately wishing for that one thing to come along and pull you out, only to find that it’s you who has to do the pulling yourself. I’ve found myself in that very position plenty of times, and the most rewarding thing you can do, is attack it head on and make your own situation better.”

The album features exciting collaborations with the likes of Joel Madden and Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus, and was dubbed the “most anticipated album of 2015” by Alternative Press. What was it like collaborating with Joel and Mark? What did you learn from working with them?

Joel and Mark are two guys we’ve grown up listening to, and have now become good friends with. It’s the best of both worlds when you can collaborate with friends who also happen to be musicians that you really appreciate and respect from a creative stand point.

They each bring so much character to the songs they appear on, so we’re unbelievably excited to have them on board.

“Joel taps into a pop sensibility that not many other people have, so he brings something really unique to the table when he writes. And Mark has one of the most signature voices in the pop/punk/rock world, so just hearing him do his thing makes me really happy.”

All Time Low have officially re-signed with Hopeless who released your previous albums, So Wrong It’s Right (2007) and Nothing Personal (2009). Does it feel like you are “back at home,” so to speak? How has that been going?

Absolutely! All Time Low and Hopeless Records have, in a lot of ways, grown up together. Obviously they were already well established when we first came along, but over the course of our work together, the music industry has changed a lot, and we’ve both been exploring the new landscape together… I think it leveled the playing field for us to really work with them as partners and collaborators, and that’s created a much healthier atmosphere for everyone.

Future Hearts was produced by John Feldman, the writer/producer behind hits for The Used and 5 Seconds of Summer, how was that experience?

John is a creative madman. He works harder than anyone I’ve met before, and his ability to push artists to their creative limit is, I think, what brings out the best in the people he’s working with. He’s also a guy that comes from our world, so he understands what our band is all about and helped us achieve something that grows the band, without betraying our roots.

A little birdie told me that All Time Low made their big screen debut (and provided the soundtrack) for the Meg Ryan film, Fan Girl, last spring. How did that all come about? What was it like working on your first film?

To be honest, it kind of came out of nowhere for us. The script was being developed, and we were the band they’d chosen to center some of the story around. The production company came to us with the idea, and asked if we’d like to be involved, and the rest is history.

Working on the movie was fun for us, but fortunately, because the majority of our appearance revolved around a performance scene, it was just like shooting a music video, so we were on familiar ground!

You guys recently traveled to Australia to join the likes of Incubus, Soundgarden, and Marilyn Manson for the Soundwave Festival. You also toured with Fall Out Boy, SlipKnot and The Smashing Pumpkins last year. How was that experience?

It certainly is amazing company to be in! We just soaked it all up and enjoyed the great music we were surrounded by. We spent our days watching amazing bands and artists do their thing. It encourages us to bring our A-game to our own shows. 

Speaking of touring, what has been your most memorable show to date?

That’s such a tough question after nearly 10 years of consistent touring! Haha! There have been so many memorable moments for us– I think one that really stands out was playing a sold out Emirates Stadium in London with Green Day. That kind of crowd takes your breath away every time.

Who is on your current playlist? Any bands or genres we might be surprised to find in there?

Lately I’ve been listening to Foo Fighters, Walk The Moon, Pvris, and of course, Taylor Swift’s 1989 album.You can also check out mine and Jack’s “Best of Pop Punk” playlist on Spotify here .

What are you guys most excited about for this year?

EVERYTHING! There’s so much to look forward to this year, namely getting back out on the road and playing shows for our amazing fans! 

To keep up to date with ALL TIME LOW, visit their website here .