All Time Low

by Kayla Foushee

“I’ve never told lie and that makes me a liar. I’ve never made a bet but we gamble with desire. I’ve never lit a match with intent to start a fire, but recently the flames are getting out of control.” All Time Low is an American alternative rock band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003. The members of All Time Low are vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and back vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson. The band's name is taken from lyrics in the song "Head on Collision" by New Found Glory.

The guys formed All Time Low while still in high school, and started out doing remakes of songs from other alternative bands such as Green Day and Blink-182. They signed their first record deal with Emerald Moon Records in 2004 and released their first Extended Play titled The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End later that year. Their first studio album, The Party Scene, was released July 2005. Before graduating high school in 2006, they signed a record deal with Hopeless Records and re-recorded songs from their debut album and included two new songs for their Extended Play Put Up or Shut Up.

“We were so privileged to get signed to Hopeless Records. A lot of bands don’t make it this far. We are also much like family here.” Rian Dawson said this when he was asked how he felt about the band.

All Time Low now headlines in their own majors tours and are the biggest band in their alternative rock genre. Right now the band is on a small tour around the country. Most recently they played a show in St. Louis at the Firebird.

“We know we have the best fans in the world. You stand in crowded rooms sweating to death screaming our songs. That, my friends, is dedication, and we love you for it.” Alexander Gaskarth said the night of the concert.

“So take my life, I'll hand it to you. And you can try on my clothes, but you can't fill these shoes. On a silver platter your wish came true; see a heart of gold turn platinum. You can take me life, but you can't take you with you.” These are the lyrics from there song Poison. When asked about this song Jack said, “You know we try to be as down to earth as possible, and we try to write songs that relate to what we and other people went through and are going through. This song is basically just about how people try to fit in all the time and sometimes it only takes one person to stand out and it snow balls from there.”

All in all, All Time Low is a down to earth band. They care about their fans, they even try to spend as much time with their families as possible. All Time Low is at an all time high and getting bigger. Basically they are the biggest band you’ve never heard of, but why don’t we change that?