Alexander William Gaskarth (born 14 December 1987) is an English-born American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist,

rhythm guitarist In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass gui ...

, and primary

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

for the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band to ...

since its formation in 2003.

Career

Crew Fighters (2002–2003)

As a teenager, Gaskarth was part of a cover band named Crew Fighters. Soon after, he met Jack Barakat, who persuaded him to form and join

. All Time Low began doing covers of songs by

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

and Green Day. Subsequently, the formation of the band was completed by Zack Merrick (bass, backing vocals) and Rian Dawson (drums, percussion), who also left Crew Fighters to join All Time Low.

All Time Low (2003–present)

Gaskarth started playing music with bandmate Jack Barakat in eighth grade. In ninth grade, they acquired Zack Merrick and Rian Dawson, forming All Time Low in 2003. They signed to Emerald Moon Records in 2004 while still in high school and released their debut EP, " The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End". In 2005, they released their debut studio album '' The Party Scene''. In 2006 the band signed with Hopeless Records. In 2007, they released a single " Dear Maria, Count Me In" that was certified Platinum in 2015 and in 2021 it was certified 2x Multi-Platinum. They also released their second studio album, '' So Wrong, It's Right'', in 2007. In 2009, All Time Low released their third studio album '' Nothing Personal'' which debuted number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2010 the band released two CD/DVD packages, ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' and the documentary/live concert ''

Straight to DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

''. In 2011, the band signed with Interscope Records and released their fourth studio album '' Dirty Work''. In early 2012, the band re-signed with Hopeless Records and released their fifth studio album '' Don't Panic''. On 7 April 2015, All Time Low released their sixth studio album ''

Future Hearts ''Future Hearts'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band All Time Low, released April 3, 2015 In 2016, ''Straight to DVD 2: Past Present and Future Hearts'' was released. This is a sequel to ''Straight to DVD'', documenting the past four years of the band as well as another live concert. In 2017, the band released a new song entitled "Dirty Laundry" and also reveals that they had left Hopeless Records and has signed with

Fueled by Ramen Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City. History John Janick conceived of the l ...

one year prior. On 2 June 2017 the band released its seventh studio album ''

Last Young Renegade ''Last Young Renegade'' is the seventh studio album by American pop-punk band All Time Low. It was released on June 2, 2017, and is their first release with Fueled by Ramen. The lead single, "Dirty Laundry", premiered on BBC Radio 1 on February 1 ...

''. In the summer of 2018, the band released two new singles, ''Everything Is Fine'' and ''Birthday''. Gaskarth has written songs with other bands such as 5 Seconds of Summer,

McBusted McBusted were an English pop-punk supergroup composed of members from bands McFly (Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd) and Busted (James Bourne and Matt Willis). The only member of the original groups not participating ...

, and Simple Plan. He hosted the podcast Full Frontal with bandmate Jack Barakat from 2013 to 2015. Full Frontal was rebranded as Crash Test Live per an announcement via Twitter in May of 2020 and transitioned to

Twitch (service) Twitch is an American video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and " in real life" streams. Twitch is op ...

as the show's live streaming platform while the show would remain available in audio-only format as well as in video format following each taping. Gaskarth also hosted the 2015 and 2016

Alternative Press Music Awards The Alternative Press Music Awards was an annual music awards show in the United States, founded by the music magazine '' Alternative Press''. History On April 24, 2014, '' Alternative Press'' announced they were organizing an award show to be ...

along with bandmate Jack Barakat.

Simple Creatures (2019–present)

On 24 January 2019, Gaskarth announced he was forming a new group with Mark Hoppus of

called Simple Creatures. A debut song named "Drug" was released with news of an upcoming EP slated for March. A single named "Strange Love" was also released.

Instruments

During 2004–2008, Gaskarth used a variety of Gibson SG-X's. Around mid-2013, Gaskarth used a variety of custom-made

Paul Reed Smith Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) is an American luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a high-end guitar maker. Early life Smith graduated from Bowie High School in 1974. He also attended St. Mary's College of Maryland wh ...

guitars, most notable the Mira. He stated in a Reddit AMA that he abandoned the instruments due to difficulties replacing parts while overseas. Gaskarth currently uses Fender guitars, most notable the Mustang 90 models, although he has been seen using Telecasters, as well as some of their acoustic models. Gaskarth has also been seen using

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

electric guitars.

Personal life

Gaskarth graduated from Dulaney High School in 2006. Gaskarth has two older half-sisters, Jilan and Helen, and had a half-brother, Tom, who died when Gaskarth was 12. In memory of him, Gaskarth got a rose tattoo on his left hand, and wrote the song "Lullabies". Gaskarth married his longtime girlfriend Lisa Ruocco on 9 April 2016.

Vocal style

Gaskarth has a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

Career

Crew Fighters (2002–2003)

All Time Low (2003–present)

Simple Creatures (2019–present)

Instruments

Personal life

Vocal style

Discography

As lead artist

As featured artist

As songwriter

References

Further reading