The Triangle

Issue date: 7/17/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Anna Clay

In the music industry, sometimes musicians are handed fame and sometimes they have to work like hell to be successful. There are Disney stars that land record deals with ease and then there are bands that start out broke, touring incessantly in vans that cannot be trusted to always run. In every area of the music world, there are people in it for the money and people in it for the music. Critics and music enthusiasts alike sometimes spend so much time picking out the "sellouts," they overlook the genuine bands. Sometimes bands get slammed simply because they look or sound like other bands whose motives seem questionable. All Time Low is one of those bands that often do not receive the respect they deserve simply because of their recent popularity and pop rock sound.

"[There are] people that get mad because this band is growing. I don't think it's fair for people to expect a band to stay small," lead singer Alex Gaskarth explained. "Most people don't start a band with the intention of keeping it in a garage. We do it for a reason. People who like to perform want to be in the spotlight and want to be in front of bigger crowds. The mission of this band is always to play the biggest arena or the biggest place. We embrace the success and don't really pay attention to the critics."

Critique aside, All Time Low is enjoying their journey as a band. Their hard work is finally paying off. On Friday, July 10, they sold out the Electric Factory in Philadelphia for the second time in their career. They recently had the opportunity to tape for MTV's "Unplugged," which bands like Nirvana have done in the past and were able to record a track for the upcoming movie "Jennifer's Body" starring Megan Fox.

In 2003, they were a small high school band from Maryland covering bands like Blink-182 and Green Day. Since then they have discovered their own sound and even had Blink-182's Mark Hoppus appear in their new video for "Weightless."

Despite their fame the band has remained humble. They poke fun at themselves in their music video, even joking about ripping off Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy, another inspiration of theirs. In places where most bands get bigheaded or angry, they insert humor. They also do not let the praise of crazed fans get to their heads. Gaskarth expressed that offers of marriage from fans is just something to laugh about.

"It's flattering. I laugh at it and brush it off. It doesn't creep me out. I do get a little weirded out when people get hysterical just 'cause. I don't get it. You know what I mean? I don't consider myself anything special. So it's something I guess I'll have to get used to."

In the midst of everything going on for the band, they still found time to release a new album, "Nothing Personal," that hit stores July 7. The LP is a fun pop rock album with a little more pop than their previous releases.

"We're all big fans of pop. If you ask any of us, even when we were growing up, who were the pop bands we listened to, it was never on the hard side really. It was all like Homegrown [and] Allister. It was always the 'poppy' out of those bands. We didn't come from a hardcore scene. We didn't come from any of that, so we don't try to pretend."

Currently the band is on a short tour that ends the 18 in support of their new release. After they finish up shows with We The Kings, Cartel, and Days Difference, All Time Low will join up with Warped Tour to play the Main Stage. If you happen to be at one of those Warped dates, don't miss the band's set.

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