mcapril2015

know at all times. For us, it wasn’t the right fit
because we work better with a small team and
with people we have a relationship with and can
manage ourselves and our team cohesively and
coherently. It was a little more difficult to do that
with Interscope.
It’s a much different world once you go with
a major label. You’re usually working with a
bigger budget and more money, which is a nice
thing. But at the same time it’s a lot less personable
and a lot less finessed.
MC: You guys also work with Glamour Kills
clothing. How did you establish that relationship?
Gaskarth: Glamour Kills has been a brand that
we [associated with] from the start. They were
running out of the New York/New Jersey area
and were always at the shows promoting their
line. It became one of those situations where
we partnered up at an early point in both of our
careers. They were a fledgling clothing company,
and we were a young band.
I always love partnerships between brands
and bands when it’s done right. I think back to
Blink-182 with Hurley and Atticus. We took a
note from that and branded ourselves around
this clothing line. The cool thing about music is
that it influences more than just music. Music
has a lifestyle brand around it, depending on
what kind of music it is. With fashion, it was one
more way to influence the culture that was built
around our music.
MC: All Time Low started a trend there with
Glamour Kills—other bands are taking partnerships
with them too.
Gaskarth: Glamour Kills has done really well.
They’ve thrived. They’ve embraced the scene
we created together. That’s been an amazing
thing. It’s helped out a lot of bands, and the
bands continue to help build it as a brand. Now
[Glamour Kills] have their own tour every year,
they have shows that they do, all kinds of cool
stuff going on.
MC: Do you have any other endorsements?
With instruments or music gear?
Gaskarth: I work with Fender on my guitars
now. Zack, our bass player, also works with
Fender. Jack has been working with ESP for
his guitars. Rian plays SJC drums, which is an
awesome drum company––Rian has been with
them for years.
You find the people who you like working with
and you partner up, and it becomes beneficial
for everyone. Fender has been great to us, and
they take care of our needs and always make
sure we have rippin’ guitars for tour. If things
break, they get right on it. That’s the most valuable
thing for us––people who have our back.
playing in Rian’s parents’ basement. Just doing
it for fun. It was never initially something that we
ever saw becoming a career necessarily. We
started playing shows and got a little bit better,
and then we started using social media, branching
out, talking to bands from nearby states,
trading shows with them, getting out there and
playing more and more along the East Coast.
That extended as far as we could take it.
It was kind of a difficult thing balancing that
with school. It was weird because all of our
friends were going to do the college visits, and
we were meeting with record labels and playing
showcases. It’s a different way to grow up, but
it was definitely fun. At a certain point, we realized
that we actually may have a shot at making
[music] a career, and when we realized that,
we thought, “Okay it’s now or never. We have
to take that leap of faith; otherwise it’s gonna
go away.” We decided to take that leap and so
far—knock on wood—it’s worked out for us.
MC: The band has been together for 10 years.
Most bands switch out members or, unfortunately,
break up before they make it big. What
is the key to your success?
Gaskarth: I don’t know what the secret is. I
can’t speak about what we did differently from
other bands. A big thing for us is that we’re
family. We treat this thing like family. The four
of us are brothers. You don’t turn your back on
family. We have times where we struggle, but
we work through it and work it out. There isn’t
any rivalry or bitterness, which might drive most
bands apart. Quitting has never been an option.
We just think, “What’s the next goal? How are
we gonna get there? Let’s keep our heads
down and do this.” That’s what kept us really
close, and we have each other’s backs. Like I
said, it’s a very family mentality.
Contact manager Keith Lazorchak,
keith@pmmla.com
MC: How did All Time Low originally get in
touch with those companies?
Gaskarth: I don’t specifically know. [laughs] You
just fall into these situations where you meet
people from the company. Originally, I think,
Zack was playing Fender basses before we
had a sponsorship. As our band got a little bit
bigger, our current Fender rep, Billy, noticed and
reached out and said, “Hey man, thanks for playing
our guitars. If you ever wanna work together,
we can work something out.” It grew from there.
Similar situation with SJC. Rian met the guy
who started the company and they started talking
and it snowballed.
MC: All Time Low started in early 2000s when
you were in high school. Describe what it was
like to start your careers at a young age.
Gaskarth: It was super weird for us, because it
literally started as just a garage band. We were
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April 2015 musicconnection.com 39