After 20 years of making music, Alex Gaskarth was ready to get vulnerable.
As a member of the rock outfit All Time Low, the band has been vulnerable within its music, but this time it was different when making “Tell Me I’m Alive.”
“It’s a vulnerable and honest record,” Gaskarth says. “It was a long process making it. We set out to make a record of loneliness. It’s a heavy subject matter.”
All Time Low’s tour is slated to make a stop at Revel ABQ at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 28. Opening for the band is Mayday Parade and Games We Play.
The band holed up and wrote for months – eventually ending up with 30 songs.
“To be honest, there’s another half of the record still to come,” he says. “We wrote this record long because we wanted to break it up in two releases. This is the first piece of the puzzle. I’m really excited to get the entire body of work out to the fans.”
This year also marks the band’s 20th year making music professionally.
Gaskarth says its blows his mind that the years have passed so quickly
“We started this band in high school when we were freshmen,” he says. “We had no intentions of going this long because we were just teenagers. Twenty years later, we’re still making music that matters to us and people are still into it and coming along for the ride.”
In the span of 20 years, the band has released nine studio albums to date.
They’ve also been able to navigate the volatile music industry, which rarely sees musicians make it to this milestone.
“What’s really cool now is that we’re seeing different generations at our shows,” he says. “We’re able to connect with so many different people. When they come to our show, they can leave the baggage of life at the door and just have fun.”
Prior to the pandemic in 2020, All Time Low had its eighth album ready to release and then the world shut down.
Gaskarth says the band decided to release “Wake Up, Sunshine” on April 3, 2020 despite being unable to tour.
It worked out for the band as the single, “Monsters” became the band’s biggest hit. The original version features blackbear and a remix version adds in Demi Lovato.
“There were many conversations about putting the album and single out,” he says. “We knew the world was in a really weird spot and people don’t want to be stuck at home. People wanted something to latch onto and it was this song.”
Gaskarth, 35, says his love for performing has evolved over time – which he is proud of.
“I have a much more intentional and self-aware appreciation about it,” he says of performing. “I was always the class clown and performing while I was growing up. It was raw passion and grown organically over the 20 years. I’ve only become more appreciative to be on stage and share moments with an audience.”
