Alex Gaskarth Talks About 20 Years Of All Time Low!

Alex Gaskarth joined me to talk about 20 years (HOLY CRAP!!!) for All Time Low.

We discussed their three big anniversary shows in 2024 for All Time Low Forever at Merriweather, Red Rocks and The Salt Shed in Chicago, if there will be live albums / concert films from these shows, other tour dates to come, memories of the early days for the band with their first contract and first tour, defying the odds, Warped Tour and their first big tour with Fall Out Boy, what else they want to do looking ahead to the next 20 years and Alex's favorite Bat-villain!

These three shows for All Time Low Forever will be epic! If you want to go, get your tickets at alltimelow.com

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's Mike Jones. My guest todayis mister Alex Cascarth of All Time Low.
Alex. What's up? How youdoing, Mike? I'm great,
man, I'm great. Good tocatch up with you and spend a couple
of minutes because I've got a zillionthings I want to ask you about.
The first thing is, holy crap, it's been twenty years for All Time
Low. How has it been thatlong? And it's been one hell of
a ride so far, sir,I don't even know where to start,

(00:24):
Like what a journey it's been.I mean, you know, we started
this band in high school, andI feel very lucky that we still get
to do this and that people stillcare, and you know, they're coming
out for the old songs, they'recoming out for the new songs, and
I think that is something that alot of bands don't necessarily get to enjoy
over a long stretch of time.So the fact that there's still people showing

(00:45):
up for old and new is incredible. When it hit you, guys that
this is our twentieth anniversary, now, like what were you saying to each
other like that, you realize,Wow, it really has been two decades
for this band that we started inhigh school and what are the odds of
a high school band ever making itslim to none? You know, I
think that's just it. It's it'swe're so grateful, and to be honest,

(01:07):
it's it's the thing that really tripsme out is we've grown up in
this band, but pretty much ourformative years as young adults into adulthood as
as men, has been spent alsotouring and you know, working our assets
off, making music and trying tocultivate like a little a little world around

(01:27):
our band. And and you know, as I said, the fact that
it's lasted this long and stood thetest of time, and you know,
it speaks to it speaks to legacy, and it speaks to like that feeling
I felt in high school of likeyou can do this, Like this is
our this is our dream. Wegot to put our heads down and we're
going to make this happen. Andyou know, fast forward to now,

(01:49):
it's it's wild to look back andrealize that, you know, it really
was attainable. Doesn't always go theway you imagine it, But no,
no, not at all. Butyeah, were you guys in other bands
before you started? All time?Low, or did everyone just like you
knew how to play some music andlike, hey, let's try to do
this thing and make it our own. Yeah, no, you know we
did. We did kind of playin some other bands each each one of

(02:13):
us, you know, played musicseparately. I played in this band called
Fire in the Hole for a minute, and Ryan, our drummer, was
in this band called Boredom, andit was sort of like we we kind
of all saw something in each otherthat was like, oh they have they
have the really good drummer. Youknow, I'd be looking across the aisle
at these other bands at the talentshows at school would be like, Ryan's
the guy, He's the drummer.So like we we sort of just I

(02:36):
think watched each other from afar forfor a couple like a little while,
and then and then realized pretty quicklylike this is the this is the local
super group. We got a form, we did do something with this.
Make that initial contact, Hey man, you want to jam sometime, we
can see what happens, and thenall time low happens. And how old
were you guys, like when theband? What year was that? Was
that junior year or senior year inhigh school, we signed our first deal

(03:00):
in senior years, Holy cra started. Yeah, it's wild. I mean
we were just talking about this,but it blows my mind that, uh,
I mean, two of our guysweren't even old enough to sign their
names on the dotted line like theirtheir parents had to show up and sign
their first contract for them, whichit's pretty crazy to think about. You
know, that's unbelievable. Now nowbeing Alex, being a fellow Baltimore boy

(03:23):
like you, I know there weresome bars you guys could get into,
no problem, but can't sign acontract that early now now, can't do
that. I'm not gonna throw anyoneunder the bus. I went to any
bars under age. We've probably bothbeen to those same bars quite a few
times. What were some of thoseother early highlights, like senior year you
guys signed your first contract, Whatare some of those other memories that you

(03:44):
guys were talking about. I mean, you know, it was kind of
right out of the gates out ofhigh school. We graduated and gotten a
van and hit the road, andyou know we got thrown onto like the
Warp Tour, which back then tous was absolutely everything. I mean,
you know that that tour was iconicin the punk rocks, and you know,
what it did for new artists waspivotal and monumental, and it was

(04:04):
massive for our career. You know, it got us in front of so
many people all over the country,and I think that's really what kind of
kickstarted are you know, grassroots followingand let us grow something out of you
know, basically nothing when we werejust coming out of high school. So
the Warp Toware really stands out backthen as a pivotal memory. And then
you know, shortly after that,Fallout Boy took us out, and that

(04:26):
was a band that we at thetime really looked up to and wanted to
be a part of that world sobadly. So it was like to see
the people that we looked up totaking us under their wing. That that
kind of felt like something was happeningthere. You know, that's awesome.
Man. Well, now Alex hasbeen twenty years for All Time Low.
You guys announced some big shows forAll Time Low forever. You had a
lot of people worried, We're like, what is forever? Mean, what's

(04:47):
going on here? But now bigshows? Next year You're going to play
at Merriweather there's Red Rocks, theSalt Shed, Salt Shed in Chicago.
Try saying that five times fast everytime. It's going to be a huge
party. So make sure everyone getyour tickets at all timelow dot com.
And let's not forget to Alex thatyou guys. Also, you've got some
shows on the books for South America, Brazil, Colombia, Chile. And

(05:12):
does that just blow your mind?The fact that you guys have fans so
far away there and in Europe andAsia, just all around the world all
time low, you got people thatlove your music everywhere. It is absolutely
unbelievable to us. I mean,the fact that this we started this man
in a basement in Baltimore, andthe fact that now we can fly sixteen
hours to the other side of theworld and play for people is surreal and

(05:38):
humbling and incredible. But you know, to your point, like we're coming
back. And then the last showin August of this run of twenty year
celebration shows is it Meriweather And youknow Meriweather for us, that's a venue
that we grew up looking up tobands as they played. You know,
we dreamed of that day of beingable to like put our own show on

(05:58):
sale there. So you know,I think this is going to be a
pretty monumental one for us in theDC area. Oh absolutely, dude.
You you guys probably, I mean, thinking back that far, you guys
probably freaked out on your first tour, You're like, holy crap, we're
gonna go play in South Carolina andFlorida and maybe we're gonna go to Ohio.
Never dreamed of, Hey, we'regonna be back at home on the
biggest stage possible here in Baltimore.No, it never dawned on us that

(06:23):
that kind of full circle thing mighthappen, you know. I mean back
then, we were playing for twentyfive people at a VFW hall, and
that felt like something was happening forus, you know what I mean,
that was a win. And soto kind of be witnessing this thing firsthand
grow into what it is and thengetting to celebrate it with so many people
that you know, I think forthat one in particular, a lot of
people are already saying they're going tobe traveling in. We've got people coming

(06:45):
in from out of the country.You know, it's gonna be a really
special night. I'm really looking forwardto it. Absolutely, sir, Now,
Alex, I wouldn't be a hardhitting journalist if I didn't ask you
some important questions right now. Haveyou guys, have you guys talked about
recording these like with All Time LowForever, it's going to be one of
these each month with Meriweather Chicago,with Red Rocks. Do you think there

(07:05):
could be a series of live recordingsof these? You know, I love
that and I love that you askedit. I mean, never say never.
You know, it's not something we'dlike totally confirmed. Yet we're honestly
still figuring out the logistics of whatthese shows are going to look like.
I mean, we know that everyshow, these three shows, they are
all going to be different. They'reall going to be a slightly different way
of celebrating the twenty year legacy ofthe band. And yeah, I mean,

(07:29):
you know, I think it's veryimportant that we find some way to
capture it and immortalize it because atthe end of the day, like there
are just three shows, and weknow there's plenty of people that aren't going
to be able to make it toall of them, or maybe none of
them, and so you know,we definitely want to find a way to
do something for everyone around the worldto be able to kind of celebrate it
with us after the fact. Okay, still to come on that, there's

(07:49):
there's a lot of time between hereand then and everything else. What about
other places, because I'm sure you'veseen all the fans ask and there'll be
other All Time Low shows two forNorth America to come as well. Yeah,
you know, I mean that wasthe first thing. It was like
all that build up for three shows, and you know, we're just we're
just getting started. We're scratching thesurface, and these things are like these

(08:11):
shows are sort of like these tenthpole events. That's how we're kind of
looking at them. So yeah,no doubt there will be. There will
be more stuff on the horizon fortwenty twenty four and for this kind of
all Time Low forever, you know, event branding that we're kind of taking
on. Good, good good.I'm sure everyone loves to hear that.
Another hard hitting question, Alex,who's your favorite Batman villain? Oh man,

(08:33):
Come on, it's hard to notsay the Joker, but I kind
of also love the Riddler, kindof love the Riddler. They're both quality
top shelf villains. They're they're notyour lower tier ones, right like,
no, no, they're two Aplus villains. Last thing here, Alex
before I let you go, myfriend. Twenty years in, I mean,
it's been, like we said atthe beginning, one heck of a

(08:54):
ride so far for all time low, so many albums and shows and everything
else. What's on the to dothough, because it's only the first twenty
years, what else do you wantto do? And what will you do?
I mean, I think that's thequestion. You know that this year
or next year really is kind ofabout that reflecting and that taking in and
processing the last twenty years. BecauseI won't lie, like the twenty years

(09:15):
have flown by. It does notfeel like it's been that long. It
feels, you know, it feelsso condensed into this warp speed bubble.
You know that these things tend tofeel like it's all been a dream and
a blur. So you know,I think right now it's about reflecting and
appreciating. But I see this thinggoing for as long as we can take
it. Whether there's people that stillwant to come to our shows and still

(09:37):
want to have a great time withus, like that's that's why we do
this that's how we do it forso you know, I would love to
stick it out for another twenty Idon't think that you'll have any problem going
well beyond the next twenty years.Sir. All Time Low, we have
All Time Low forever. The bigthree shows so far, there's gonna be
more coming Meriweather Red Rocks and letme see if I can get it right
this time. The Salt Shed inChicago nailed it. There we go All

(10:01):
Time WI alltimelow dot com. Youcan see about tickets. They're gone quick,
so if you want to be there, make sure on it. Alex,
I will see you next summer,my friend. I cannot wait for
these shows. Yes, sir,thank you so much. Man. I
appreciate you having me on