The Starting Line Announces “Break” Is Over

Since taking a break in 2008 to focus on separate projects, The Starting Line have been engaging in much activity in recent time, hinting that the band may be back together, and even possibly working on a new album. They have announced a few playing dates with All Time Low for their, “Gimme Summer Ya’ Love” tour, which will be played with other bands such as CartelMayday Parade, and a few others. The official statement from Matt Watts, lead guitarist, is below:

“I just happened to read all the tweets and postings about everyone’s excitement about the TSL “break” being over. First off, I’d like to thank everyone for the excitement and enthusiasm, it really means a lot! It wasn’t intended to sound like an official announcement that the break is over, we all felt like it was over once we started playing shows again, but I guess hadn’t publicly acknowledged so.

So to address it:

As you’ve probably noticed, TSL has become slightly more active, and we even have a few new songs in the works. The main reason behind the break was to take some time and evaluate things, touring for 8+ years got really exhausting and we all needed to take a step away to see if TSL was something that we all still loved and wanted to pursue. After taking a much needed break, we’re all at a point where we truly love and appreciate what we were able to do together, and genuinely miss playing shows, writing, and being around one another.

Playing shows with the band, and even just getting together to hang out has been more fun than ever, everything is feeling great and natural, and seems as exciting as when we first started out. There’s just an undeniable chemistry and energy present that seemed to be lacking near the end of things.

That being said, we’re playing more shows and writing new music, but there’s no specific timeline that we’re on, nor do we have any real plans (as of right now), to be touring full time. That doesn’t mean that we won’t be playing shows in your city/town, it just means that we probably won’t be taking a traditional approach to touring and being an active band. All of us have various things and commitments happening in our lives that aren’t really conducive to year round touring. However, we do plan on playing shows more frequently and (slowly) working on a new album at some point. We’re also trying to figure out a way to get to some of the cities that we haven’t played since we went on “break” (talking to all of you on the West Coast).

We’ll keep you guys updated on any new developments!”

Interview: All Time Low

Pop punk rockers All Time Low have been at the forefront of their scene since signing with Hopeless Records while still in high school, releasing three albums with the label. The band is currently gearing up for the release of their fourth studio album Dirty Work, which will also be the band’s debut with Interscope Records, set to be released on June 7th in the US and on June 6th in the UK. Lead vocalist Alex Gaskarth took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with me about their new album and touring experiences. You can read the full interview below.

LitS: First off, could you state your name and what you do in All Time Low?

Alex Gaskarth and I sing and play guitar.

LitS: You guys are currently headlining a tour with YellowcardThe Summer Set and Hey Monday as openers. How has this tour been?

We just finished up the tour and it was probably the best touring experience I’ve ever had. Our band grew up listening to Yellowcard so to get the chance to do a full tour with them was awesome. Hey Monday are good friends of ours and we’ve wanted to tour with The Summer Set for a while so we’re glad we could take them out.  Crowds were amazing on the tour each and every night.

LitS: Your new album, Dirty Work, will be released in June of this year. Could you describe the new album for us?

I think it represents a real growth for us and it’s something we’re all extremely proud of. We didn’t do a 180 and make a completely different CD. It still sounds like All Time Low and I think our fans will really be into it. Hopefully it’s just a better All Time Low than you’ve ever heard before. Continue reading

Lost In The Sound Sessions: Hailey, It Happens – “Brighter”

Chris Cleary and Bobby DiBari, the duo behind eletropop band Hailey, It Happens, performed their single “Brighter” acoustically in our newest Lost In The Sound Session. Their album Aurora (read our review here) was released independently on April 5, 2011 and was mixed by Paul Levitt (The Dangerous SummerAll Time Low). You can stream the entire album over at the band’s Purevolume page.

If you enjoyed this session, be sure to check out their FacebookMyspace, and Twitter pages. Aurora is available for purchase via Bigcartel or iTunes, and will be pressed onto vinyl via Collective Confusion Records.