This week, we sat down with All Time Low’s own Jack Barakat. All Time Low has just released their new album Dirty Works today and it officially just went #1 on iTunes. In the interview, we talk about: their new album, their latest tour, tour plans afterwards, Isanyoneup.com and more! Click ‘more’ to check out our interview with Jack Barakat of All Time Low!
Photo taken by Nick Karp. All Rights Reserved.
So Jack, How are you doing today?
ATL: Good man, just relaxing for a few days before we take over the world.
RS Nick: How was the recent tour with Yellowcard, Hey Monday, and the Summer Set?
ATL: You know man, that tour was awesome and it was definitely the most successful US Tour we have ever done. It was so rad that there was a band like Yellowcard on the tour and we have looked up to them in the past…. and we still look up to them.
RTS Nick: How was it headlining over Yellowcard considering that when you guys had started your band, they were in the peak of their fame?
ATL: We happened to go to their shows all the time and we happened to be in the front row for most of those shows. It was pretty intense.
You guys have just signed onto Interscope Records. How was the change from a indie label to a major label like Interscope?
ATL: It’s really good. It feels awesome to have a big team working for us and trying to make the band bigger. It’s really cool. We have nothing but good experiences with them so far.
RTS Nick: How has the recording style differed from being a major label band to an indie label band?
ATL: I think the biggest between difference between the two is the amount of money and resources that we have had to work with and we used it to get the people who we wanted to work with. We worked with many different producers and we got who we wanted to mix the record. We’ve literally been able to choose who we wanted to mix the record and who we wanted to do anything with, regarding the record. They were cool with it and they paid for the record and they have been supportive about it.
RTS Nick: What did you do with Interscope’s budget that you couldn’t have done with the previous albums?
ATL: I think we did that we couldn’t have done was, we switched up producers a little bit. We were recording a bunch of songs with a certain guy that we thought wasn’t going anywhere. We switched producers to record the songs with another guy, and then again with another guy just to make sure that the songs sounded right, the songs felt right and had the right vibes. There is room for error. Before the the major label, it was just very tight. It was a tight schedule, tight budget and not a lot of time to record. We definitely had a lot more freedom on this album.
RTS Nick: Did you have a specific concept for this album?
ATL: We’ve never been a concept type of band. We write a bunch of songs and at the end, we put them all together and pick our favorites.
RTS Nick: How was the writing style different with ‘Dirty Work’?
ATL: We ended up writing a lot more songs with different bands. We usually write most of the songs with ourselves and with other producers. This time we got to write with some different artists that we have always wanted to write with.
RTS Nick: Could you name any?
ATL: We went in with Rivers Cuomo. We wrote “I Feel Like Dancing.” We got to write a couple of songs with Patrick Stump that didn’t make the record. We wrote them way too early in the process.
RTS Nick: Are you ever going to release those songs?
ATL: They never actually became songs. We just recorded ideas out of them. We might end up using those ideas some day for a later record.
RTS Nick: How many songs did you have recorded and how many songs did you have on the album?
ATL: Um… We recorded 16 or 17 songs and there are 12 songs on the record and five bonus tracks.
How do you think your fan base has changed over the past 5 years?
ATL: I think our fan base has grown exponentially, but it has grown in an age-range. It used to be just 15-16 year old girls, but now it ranges from 12 year old kids to 28 year old adults. We have done a good job building a fan base that is super loyal and that has stayed with us throughout the years. We have done many tours including Warped Tour and the tour with Fall Out Boy and that helped us get some older fans as well. We toured with Yellowcard and that helped us get some more guy fans. It’s all about who you associate your band with and what kind of tours you do and what kind of music you write, but I think we have done a good job expanding our fan base.
RTS Nick: Do you enjoy the diversity of your fan base? On one corner you have a 12 year old with her father and on the other is a 28 year old screaming for you.
ATL: I love that. That’s what you love to see. It’s cool to see all people different ages enjoying your music. It’s really inspiring.
RTS Nick: So speaking of your fans, Have you been stalked like Alex was?
ATL: No one has ever went to my house thank God because that would be so creepy. But we get mauled and stuff. It’s funny. We just end up taking a picture with them and it ends out in peace. Nothing too crazy though.
RTS Nick: What was the craziest fan story you can recall besides the Alex situation?
ATL: The craziest fan situations always end up in South America because they are so dedicated to music down there and there aren’t any bands that ever get to go down there. It’s like Beiber or Beatlesmania down there. Jumping on the van. They bang on the windows…. It’s pretty intense. Kinda like Zombieland.
How do you feel when parents take their kids out of your shows because of the crude jokes you have made on stage?
ATL: That’s the parent choice. I don’t think an All Time Low show will stop their kids from hearing what we say on stage. They’ll eventually hear it. I can’t really comment on what a parent wants to do with their kid. It kinda sucks because if I went to a show and my mom took me out, I’d be bummed. I remember when my mom took me to see Blink-182 and Green Day in the 8th grade. She wasn’t super bummed about the language, but she enjoyed the show thankfully.
RTS Nick: Speaking of Blink-182, there was an incident when you guys were on the Warped Tour…. it wasn’t major, but you guys starting blasting Blink-182 during a signing and Angels and Airwaves were doing a signing right next to you and apparently Tom got upset.
ATL: No.. what happened was we were doing a signing and we were near them. We were signing at the AT&T tent and when most people do a signing, they play their own music on the speakers. We don’t like to listen to our record all the time, so we play Blink during our signings. Tom Delonge just happened to be by and he was like, “Woah!” *laughs* It was fine. He’s a cool guy though. He invited us on his bus to chat with him. It was a cool experience.
When will we see you on Isanyoneup.com? *Disclaimer: Isanyoneup.com is Not Safe For Work. You’ve been warned.*
ATL: *laughs* Umm, maybe I should just do a little self-submit or something. *laughs* I might do it as a joke. We’re nude throughout our DVD though.
RTS Nick: It’s censored though.
ATL: It is censored, but I’m always naked so.. eventually….. it gotta show up somewhere.
RTS Nick: What was Zack’s reaction to himself being on the site?
ATL: It was kinda funny. None of us really cared. The most important thing was that we didn’t want Zack to be bummed and he wasn’t bummed at all so we all kind of laughed it off. Most bands care about that shit, but we don’t. It’s just naked bodies. *laughs*
On your next tour, you’re playing with the Starting Line and this is their first tour back in America since reuniting. How stoked are you that your are headlining for The Starting Line and just that tour in general?
ATL: It’s awesome. It’s the same kind of thing like with Yellowcard where we grew up going to their shows and its honor performing with them. We actually played with the Starting Line before they broke up and it is cool that we will be performing with them again.
RTS Nick: Are there anymore dates to be announced for that tour?
ATL: Not for that tour, but for the fall, we are playing more shows in areas that we normally don’t hit. We are playing smaller markets.
Jack, do you have any last notes?
ATL: No, just wanted to say thanks for interviewing me. I hope you enjoy Dirty Works. Take care man.
RTS Nick: Thanks for doing it. Have a good one.
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