All Time Low

After a rocky 2011, 2012 saw All Time Low reclaim their fans with their latest album Don’t Panic, and it looks like 2013 is going to be just as good for the Baltimore pop punks.

The four-piece headed back to their roots for the fifth full-length studio album, in sound as well as record label, and now they’re headed back to our Great Southern Land.

Securing a spot on the Soundwave lineup for the third time, the foursome will once again grace festival stages right across the country, as well as perform sidewaves in Sydney and Brisbane, supported by the Polar Bear Club and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!

Guitarist Jack Barakat was rapturous at the mention of Soundwave, praising the band’s previous experiences on tour with the festival.

“We’ve been out on Soundwave so many times now with heaps of bands that we know, it’s just the biggest bunch of cool dudes and we all get to hang out and have the best fun,” he enthuses.

“With Soundwave we know what to expect,” he enthusiastically continues. “It’s always the best time. It’s so amazing. It’s good to catch up with bands, and meet other cool people too. Every time we get on Soundwave is awesome, I can’t wait to do it again.”

It’s the mateship, being able to enjoy these kinds of experiences with friends, Barakat says, that’s kept All Time Low together for almost a decade now, without one single member change.

“Instead of drawing influence from bands that we like and music that we’re listening to… for this album we got inspiration from ourselves.”

Starting out as a high school garage band, it’s incredible and so very rare that the four have made it this far and kept it together throughout.

“We got lucky,” he admits. “We got signed when we were all in high school, so college wasn’t really an option. It was always just the band before everything else. And if that failed, well, who knows what we’d end up doing? Jumping off a bridge or something,” jokes Barakat.

“It was a big deal to keep up the momentum and work our hardest to keep making the band work. Because if we didn’t have the band, we wouldn’t have anything.”

“So there was always that pressure, that might’ve helped kept us all together and pushed us that little bit harder. But at the same time, I don’t think any of us ever considered not doing the band,” he reflects.

Whether it be luck, hard work, or determination that got the quartet to where they are now, more than anything it’s been a symmetry of passion that’s kept them together. And when in doubt, they have a peacekeeper.

“We do have our moments like every other band, but we have Rian,” Dawson, the band’s drummer, explains the guitarist. “Rian is like our mother, he squashes any fights that we ever have.”

“We’re lucky that we were just a bunch of mates, and we’ve always all been headed in the same direction… and it’s gonna stay that way. We’ve never even come close to breaking up,” he says contentedly.

In the same satisfied manner, conversation with Barakat leads towards Don’t Panic and the gratefulness that All Time Low have for their fans.

After their previous album 2011’s Dirty Work was badly received by many, the pop punks were keen to get their new material out there and were thrilled at the response they got.

“We were super excited for it to come out and our fans have reacted really well… We’re so lucky to have the fans that we do,” he says with delight.

Baring similarities to their earlier tunes, Don’t Panic brought attention back to All Time Low, and although it wasn’t a conscious decision to draw on their original sound, a decision to change things was certainly employed, says Barakat.

The guitarist clarifies, “instead of drawing influence from bands that we like and music that we’re listening to, like most bands do, for this album we got inspiration from ourselves.”

“We weren’t planning on going back to our original sound… but yeah, we certainly drew influence from our past albums. We listened to the old stuff heaps, we went back to the way we used to be and the way we did things, and back to our old label too, so it’s all kinda added up I guess.”

They left Interscope and returned to their home indie label Hopeless, because “it was just the right time, and the right thing to do,” defends Barakat.

“They’re really great to work with, they want the best by us, and we’re just so comfortable with them. It really is like going home,” he remarks of Hopeless.

“It’s so much easier when you can make songs with friends, and the end product is just that much better.”

Going home is a recurring theme it seems, also being the reason their track ‘For Baltimore’ was the first single to be lifted from the album, “It’s an ode to where we came from.” This band has certainly tuned their nostalgia and gone for a stroll down memory lane.

As for co-writer Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) and guest vocalists Jason Vena (Acceptance), Anthony Raneri (Bayside), and Cassadee Pope (Hey Monday), it’s the same deal, going back home and having friends help out friends, like they did when All Time Low started out.

Barakat expresses his thanks: “We were lucky with all the guest vocalists. We just picked people we knew… It’s so much easier without managers and people like that in between. This way we just text our friends, record the songs, and end up with something awesome. It makes recording time a heap of fun.”

“As for Patrick,” Barakat recalls, “he co-wrote ‘Outlines’, and he actually contacted us. We toured a few years ago together and kept in touch. Then Patrick hit up Alex (Gaskarth, vocalist/guitarist) and said ‘Do you wanna do something?’ And Alex said ‘Yeah man we’re in the studio right now! Come!’ and that was that.”

“It’s so much easier when you can make songs with friends, and the end product is just that much better. We’re really lucky,” he says with delight.

And the luck only seems to continue for Barakat and All Time Low, after naming Blink 182 a band he’d most like to tour with he’ll do exactly that on the Soundwave Festival tour.

And what’s next after Soundwave? More touring, and a new album of course.

2013 is a tour filled year of excitement, and it looks like 2014 is going to be even better.

Don’t Panic is out now through Hopeless Records, read the Tone Deaf review here. All Time Low tour with Soundwave 2013 around the country from Saturday 23rd February, playing times here. They also play Sidewaves shows in Brisbane and Sydney with Polar Bear Club and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, dates below.