All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003. The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and back vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson. Formed while still in high school, All Time Low started out covering pop punk bands such as Green Day and Blink-182.
In late March 2010, All Time Low began recording their fourth studio album with producers John Fields and Matt Squire. It will be the band's first album released through Interscope Records.
I caught up with Alex after Bamboozle to discuss the band’s controversies this summer and their upcoming album.
CB: I have read that the band was named for a New Found Glory song, “Head on Collision.” Can you tell me the story about it?
Alex: It was right when we were starting the band, we had a list of terrible, terrible band names and we didn’t pick any of them. We ended up taking a line from the song that caught our ear and went with it.
CB: I recently spent some time photographing them and they were great guys.
Alex: Yeah they are good dudes.
CB: You have started recording your next album. When can we expect it?
Alex: As of right now we are shooting for an early 2011 release. We are about halfway finished with it and we need to figure out what to call it and go through all the steps to get it out.
CB: Can you talk about any of the new songs that you are excited about?
Alex: We are excited about them all and it doesn’t make sense to go into specifics because it is too early.
CB: You have recently had some controversy with Six Flags on this tour. Are you past it?
Alex: We’re past it. We had an issue there and Six Flags security didn’t handle a situation well. They didn’t like the fact that I voiced my opinion about it and have asked us never to come back, which is fine with me since I never want to step foot in there again.
CB: Is it that one or all Six Flags?
Alex: All Six Flags
CB: I’ve seen you a couple times and I see all these young girls at your show and they are crazy about you guys. A lot of them are really young, how do you stay out of trouble with the fans?
Alex: What do you mean?
CB: Well, they are obviously not 18.
Alex: We are not really in the business of having relations with our fans so I am not sure it is a problem.
CB: I photograph bands all the time and people usually think rap concerts are dangerous, but I swear that your shows have the most dangerous fans with the screaming little girls.
Alex: They are violent little kids and they are our fans. We love them.
CB: Who would be your dream band to go on tour with?
Alex: I would love to tour with Weezer and Blink 182 would also be an obvious choice.
CB: What has been your craziest Bamboozle tour story?
Alex: A negative one would be the Six Flags incident. We also got pretty crazy on Jack’s birthday and I destroyed several TV’s in the hotel. I lived the life of a rock star for a night which was a lot of fun.
CB: What did Jack do?
Alex: Jack was right alongside with me. It was his birthday and everyone was together.
CB: Who would be your favorite Indie band?
Alex: I don’t know. Phoenix is really good and Silversun Pickups are pretty sweet.
CB: Fill in the blank. I can’t go to sleep unless I …
Alex: Masturbate
CB: What is up next for the band?
Alex: We are going back to California to finish the album and then we are going overseas to do some festivals in Japan and do a show in Malaysia. We’ll be back in the US in the fall for a tour.
Boys Like Girls is a pop punk band from Andover, Massachusetts who gained mainstream recognition when they released their self-titled debut album Boys Like Girls. The group was formed in the final months of 2005, when vocalist Martin Johnson wrote a handful of songs he wanted to record. He recruited bassist Bryan Donahue and drummer John Keefe. Keefe brought along lead guitarist Paul DiGiovanni.
Boys Like Girls officially released their second album, Love Drunk, on September 8, 2009 and has been touring all year to support it. "Two Is Better Than One," featuring female country singer Taylor Swift was released off Love Drunk as the fourth single. Before performing in Cincinnati, the band and local radio had a contest where the winner from a local high school was chosen to sing Taylor Swift’s part in “Two Is Better Than One” live onstage at Riverbend with the band during Bamboozle.
I caught up with John and Bryan before their set at Bamboozle to discuss the tour and their recent trip performing on the Miss USA pageant.
CB: How has it been on the tour so far?
John: We have been having a great time with a bunch friends hanging out and playing music all day. Good times to start the summer.
Bryan: Every day is like the 4th of July. Lots of grilling and basketball every day and hanging with friends.
CB: What has been your biggest life change since you had your big hits?
John: Just being on the road non-stop is the biggest change. It is weird when we go home.
Bryan: When we go home it is awkward and it is hard to get into a routine. Doing laundry and grocery shopping is weird.
CB: What is the story behind the song, “The Great Escape?”
John: It is a story about getting out of high school and going to pursue other things.
Bryan: Taking the next step in your life. New job, new career, going to college, whatever the big change is in your life and how you are taking the next steps.
CB: What is your favorite song to perform live?
John: It changes all the time. Playing a hit song like starting the set with “Love Drunk” is awesome.
CB: It is the best feeling when they sing along, right?
John: Yes, it is so awesome.
CB: You recently performed on the Miss USA pageant. What was that experience like?
John: It was a dream, come true.
Bryan: Like kids in a candy store with the most beautiful women in the United States. We showed up the day before for rehearsal and they actually had to separate us from the girls. We were introducing ourselves to be polite and someone came up and told us to leave them alone. We were bummed.
CB: What is the biggest pet peave on the road?
John: We all pretty much get along, maybe someone being late and we are waiting when we need to be somewhere.
Bryan: A messy bus is bad, four, five, six guys with all their crap everywhere. It gets bad and we have to clean it up. It gets clausterphobic. A clear house means a clear mind.
CB: What has been your most memorable moment so far as a band?
Bryan: Nothing that trumps anything else. We’ll always remember the first time we hear our songs on the radio. We were all together when we heard “The Great Escape” on the radio. Martin was driving the van and we started screaming .We thought he was going to flip the van. Basically, anything we do together as a band is memorable.
CB: Who were your biggest musical influences?
John: It is across the board. Aerosmith and Nirvana were big influences.
Bryan: My dad was a bass player and he turned me on to a lot of really great music. I had to use his equipment when I started at 12 years old since I couldn’t buy my own stuff. My dad walked me through how to fix a string. I thought I had broke the bass and he calmed me down and said it was just a string and walked me through it. He bought me a lot of great music and was my biggest influence.
CB: I recently saw a band called “The Trouble with Boys” and they are really young kids who rock out. I am always amazed at how supportive their families are with their music. I guess your parents were pretty supportive along the way.
Bryan: In the beginning they weren’t, but they are now. It took awhile for them to understand that I wasn’t going to college and that I was going to pursue music. They are very proud now. Parents are usually proud no matter what their kids do though.
CB: Who are your favorite Indie bands?
John: Great Big Planes and Cady Groves are on the tour and I have been checking them out.
Bryan: I was just handed a CD that is pretty cool called, “Colors.” I feel like it is summer and I should have more new music.
CB: What do you like to listen to in the summer?
Bryan: I like the classics. I am a big Joe Walsh fan. It is funny because I hate the Eagles, but I am in a big Joe Walsh phase right now.
Cady Groves is a 20 year old Oklahoma native who is touring with the Bamboozle Roadshow this summer. She is a multi-talented singer songwriter who has recently signed to RCA records.
I caught up with Cady after her set to discuss her current EP, The Life of a Pirate and what is up next for her as she forms her full band and begins recording her next album.
CB: You are the only girl on the tour. How has that been going?
Cady: I love it. The cool thing about being the different person is being the different person. Every other band can sort of mesh together. I am the girl and the outsider and that is fine with me. Everyone wants to be a gentleman and help me out.
CB: When you date, do you prefer to date musicians?
Cady: I try to be professional. I am not promiscuous at all. I was in a relationship with a musician before all of this happened, but we are just friends now. I could date a fan. I could date anyone. I just really need to have a connection with the person. I really like to be in love though.
CB: You write all your own music about personal experiences. What is your writing process?
Cady: I have a really weird writing process. I have an entire melody in my head with no music to it before I hum it to a guitar. I can hear it in my head. I usually sing all the time into a recorder. I write songs all the time. I actually made up one today.
CB: What is it about?
Cady: It is about my loyalty to people and how it sometimes gets me hurt.
CB: You were recently at SxSW. Do you have any crazy stories from there?
Cady: I got pretty crazy one night when I shouldn’t have. I am usually a stay at home person, but I had fun one night. It was a good night. I think some guy wrote I love Cady Groves on his chest but that is not that crazy.
CB: What is up next for you?
Cady: We have 2 weeks left in the tour and then I have 3 weeks off after that when I will be forming my full band. We will practice and meet lots of producers. Right before this tour I signed with RCA so I haven’t had a chance to hang out with them and get everything started. I will go to NYC, LA and Nashville to get started with them. After that I will be going back out on tour with Stereo Skyline on the “Stuck on Repeat” tour.
CB: Will you be coming back through the area?
Cady: Yes I think we will.
CB: I like the album title. Is there a story behind the pirate?
Cady: It kind of goes along with my life experiences. I have been on my own for awhile. I had a really bad habit of moving around. It is a bad habit that I am trying to break. I would live somewhere for a few months like in my car or on someone’s couch. I would get two jobs and try to make myself be complacent, but once I was, I would just leave. I would get up in the middle of the night and just drive 24 hours and start over. When you think about it, it is a horrible thing to do. It was making life a lot harder and more complicated than it needed to be. It was the life of a pirate. I kept leaving and living in my car. Just moving around.
CB: How long ago was it?
Cady: It was a couple years ago.
CB: So you were right out of high school?
Cady: No, I graduated high school super early when I was 16 and went to college.
CB: Where did you go to college?
Cady: I actually went to culinary school in Vegas. I love it and I think I want to move back there.
CB: Who would be your dream collaboration?
Cady: I want to collaborate with Alanis Morissette. I want my album with RCA to be half as good as “Jagged Little Pill.” I was the youngest of 7 kids. I was really shy and was 4 years old when my mom bought the CD the day it came out. We would ride in this huge van. I was always quiet as a kid. I had long curly hair and I would hide under the seat of the van and then I would just come out from under a chair and sing the whole album. My Mom thought it was the funniest thing. I still will pop in the CD and sing it at the top of my lungs.
Great Big Planes is a new Indie band on the scene from Tom Rivers, NJ. The band played their first show last Sept, 2009. Their self-titled album is currently available and features the song “Lost One.”
The band consists of Josh Moran- Lead Vocals/Guitar, Patrick Campion- Lead Guitar, and Chad Sabo on Bass and Acoustic Guitar. I caught up with the band after their set at Bamboozle on their bus to talk about their experiences on their first national tour.
CB: You recently came back from Vegas, any crazy stories out there?
Chad: Why don’t you take this one since you were the big winner?
Josh: I won a little bit of money so we had a party at the Hard Rock in a villa.
CB: With the money?
Josh: No, we were with all the bands from the tour. It was fun for everyone to get together.
CB: It doesn’t sound that crazy?
Chad: It was crazy. We had Playmates there. We had a poolside cabana. It was like a Hangover suite.
CB: Anytime playmates are involved it is a good time.
Josh: Sometimes.
CB: Who is your dream band to tour with?
Patrick: All of us probably have the same answer. I guess Radiohead is a big one for all of us.
Chad: I like Billy Joel a lot. It is not the same genre but I like him a lot.
CB: What is your favorite Indie Band?
Josh: No one really right now. I love Smashing Pumpkins, Led Zeppelin, The Cure, Radiohead, Third Eye Blind, and The Verve.
Chad: We are into the 90’s stuff right now.
CB: I like the song “Lost One.” What is the story behind it? Where did it come from?
Josh: I was kind of going through a transition phase in my life. I didn’t know where I was headed. I was coming out of a tumultuous relationship. It is about letting go and trying to find a place to call home.
CB: What is your favorite song to perform live?
Josh: It is not one of my own. It is “High and Dry” by Radiohead.
CB: You guys just got started last year. What is the biggest thing that has changed in your life since you started out?
Patrick: The bus really. We have never had this luxury before.
Chad: This is our first tour and going National.
Josh: It is the first time we have toured with bands outside our scene. Hanson has been on part of the tour and they have been great. People automatically only think of them as “MmmBop,” but their new album is out and it is awesome. You should check it out. They have changed so much and are super talented.
CB: Finish the sentence I can’t go to sleep unless I’ve…
Chad: I watch Sports Center and make sure I know the scores of my favorite teams.
Patrick: I have to take off my socks before going to bed and sleep barefoot.
Josh: Not naked, just no socks?
Patrick: No, not naked just barefoot.
Josh: I can’t go to sleep unless I’ve shot the air assault gun outside. Last night we were shooting Third Eye Blind.
Check out Great Big Planes at http://www.myspace.com/greatbigplanes
LMFAO is a Grammy-nominated electro-hip hop group from Los Angeles, California that consists of DJ/rappers Redfoo (Stefan Gordy) and Sky Blu (Skyler Gordy). Both artists are related to Berry Gordy; Redfoo is the son of the Motown Records founder and Sky Blu is his nephew.
Their first single was titled "I'm in Miami Bitch” which peaked at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100. LMFAO also provided the opening theme to Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami and Jersey Shore. They last visited Ohio on tour with the Black Eyed Peas in early 2010.
I sat down with the two of them for an interview backstage at Bamboozle to discuss the tour and the upcoming album.
CB: You guys grew up really close to the recording industry. Did it give you an idea what to expect in the business?
RF: You know maybe on the business side, but not as far as touring. When we grew up our family was out of the business. The touring is new with things like being on the bus. We have adjusted really well. Now the bus is now like our home.
CB: What is your favorite track to perform live?
RF: The songs are like tools that will help you out in any situation.
CB: They make me smile.
SB: Smile tools.
RF: When you are at a party you have to play "Shots" to get the party started. Toward the end of the party you may want to say something nice to a girl so you may play, “Scream My Name.”
CB: It is like a progession through the night. Like a soundtrack.
RF: After "Shots" you would play, “Get Crazy.” They are like tools. So when we perform and we want to talk to the sexy ladies we sing “Scream My Name.”
CB: Craziest tour story with the Black Eyed Peas?
SB: Will got stuck one time up in the air during their performance.
CB: Did you guys rescue him?
SB: I was going to, but I didn’t want to put my drink down. The stage hands took care of him.
CB: You are working on a new album. When can we expect it?
RF: The new album is in the works. We are finally getting some momentum on it. Hopefully it will be out around November.
CB: Do you write your own stuff?
RF: Yes we have a lot of concepts that we are working on. It is a process to lay out the tracks. We have a studio on the bus and one at our house now in LA.
CB: You guys live together- roomies?
RF: Yes, we actually have a lot of houses and a lot of girlfriends.
CB: What are your party rules?
RF: You have to bring some Nachos.
SB: Nachos are girls that are “Not Yours,” not your ex, not your current girl, they are like pot luck. You have to take a shot when you walk in. You have to have a TBR- Take Back Room. It can be a bathroom but that can cause problems. These are the party rules.
CB: Who were your musical influences?
RF: Rick James
SB: MJ
RF: JB- James Brown
SB: Red Hot Chilis
CB: What do you wish you knew five years ago that you know now?
SB: I wish I knew to put more stock into Apple.
RF: I wish I had read this book
Going Against the Grain
. It talks about how grains are not good for you. It is a revolutionary book. It explains how they are not edible in nature. I just stopped eating grains and lost 25 lbs in a month.CB: Not just carbs
RF: No, you can have carbs like fruit and potatoes, just no grains like bread, pasta or anything made with corn. We even switched alcohol. Ciroc has grapes and Petron is a plant so they are approved.
SB: It is funny because in “Shots” those were the two we named.
