Hi. I'm Katie.

It was the summer of 2007 when I heard that Boys Like Girls would be headlining a tour in the fall with All Time Low, The Audition, and Valencia. I was thrilled. Boys Like Girls would be coming back within 3 months of their Warped Tour appearance. WOOHOO!! And since I like to rock out like a knock out, I had to learn the words to all the songs of the other bands that would be performing. I already knew the words to the songs off of Controversy Loves Company by The Audition... Danny Stevens attended my high school, so I was familiar with his band... which meant that I only had two bands to look into. All Time Low. Valencia*. Cool.

I looked up All Time Low first since they’d be on the Warped Tour and I would be able to see them twice, too! So I hit up their PureVolume site and took a listen to some of the available songs; namely Coffee Shop Soundtrack (which was also a FREE download), Jasey Rae, Break Out! Break Out!, and The Girl’s A Straight-Up Hustler.

Ladies and gentlemen, the music that greeted my ears can only be described by one word: LOVE.

Omaigoshhh. I fell head over heels at the first words out of the singer’s mouth. “Should I write myself out of the history books? And mark a place in time for every chance you took?” It was as though my earbuds were a slot machine and I just hit the jackpot. Sweet, sweet victory. I downloaded Coffee Shop Soundtrack and put it on every playlist and mix-CD I made over the next -->>long-span-of-time-here<<--. That was until I express-delivered Put Up Or Shut Up to my home as fast as mail-manly possible. I could not get enough! I made the All Time Low Fans Group sometime in the midst of my obsession and tried to find as many ATLovers as I could. Who else had been keeping this stellar quartet a secret?!

Alex Gaskarth – Vocals
Jack Barakat – Guitar
Zack Merrick – Bass
Rian Dawson – Drums

aWesoMe... names that I couldn’t forget even if I were concussed by a gorilla and got a terrible case of amnesia. They are engraved in my mind, not only for the talents they have shared with me, but also from the number of times I have tagged them in my pictures or videos here on Buzznet, the number of times I’ve had them sign my now-priceless CD-cases and posters, and, of course, from the number of times I’ve screamed “I LOVE YOU JACK!” at the top of my lungs at a concert like the little fangirl I am.

Oh All Time Low, I am such a fan. But notice that I am not an “original fan” like so many people claim to be. (I’m also not a stalker because I believe in loving the music rather than wanting to marry those who create it.) I didn’t hear The Three Things To Remember When Dealing In The End or The Party Scene until after I had memorized Put Up Or Shut Up and was eagerly awaiting the arrival of So Wrong, It’s Right. I did not see All Time Low in concert before Warped Tour ’07 nor am I their number one friend on Buzznet because I was the first to add them. Fortunately for me what matters is how I love All Time Low and not how long I’ve loved them.

Two years, though, is still a pretty good span of time for listening to this band, considering that is about one-tenth of my existence here on Eee-arth. For those of you who are wondering or who have ever asked, received an answer, and then forgotten, I have seen All Time Low on 5 or 6 different occasions during this wonderful time period... always on their amusingly (or absurdly or ridiculously... you can really pick any adjective) titled tours, such as The Man Whores and Open Sores Tour, The Shortest Tour EVER, The Compromising of Integrity, Morality, and Principles in Exchange For Money Tour, and the like. I have a nice little file on my computer entitled “With The Band” where I have my picture taken with each member on 2 or 3 occasions! I just haven’t uploaded those to Buzznet because I am selfish and keep those gems to myself.

Sigh. It’s a good life. One where I am comforted and kept awake by their up-beat, pop-punk, rock-and-roll music that isn’t overplayed eeeven when the iTunes play count far exceeds Z, where Z=5!*3*ln(7). And right now I am sitting here (yes, here) on my family room sofa soaking in the new tunes... don't worry, I am only streaming the record (Nothing Personal) one time around because I honestly cannot tame my curiosity. I AM UBER EXCITED!

So to you, my friends on Buzznet.com, I must admit that I have been anticipating this album like no other... getting more anxious with each passing day... and now that it is FiNaLlY HERE... I must profess myself one extremely satisfied fan.

There is no denying that it is a new sound for All Time Low. They are maturing as musicians, and with several different producers on this new album it’s hard to keep things the same as they “used” to be. There will always be people who mention that they wish Nothing Personal sounded more like Put Up Or Shut Up and that they love the original The Party Scene record the best of all (and will constantly badger the band for an original copy of the latter CD, when the members don’t even have any for themselves [or so I’ve heard]). But all of this wishing for a different sound and hoping for them to “go back to their roots” isn’t going to create a new record. So why not enjoy the one they’re putting out now?!

Nothing Personal is a solid album. The worry I had built up inside my mind about not-enjoying-their-new-record was put at ease after just one listen to the album on MTV’s The Leak. Weightless. Break Your Little Heart. Damned. Lost In Stereo. Stella (listen to this one with headphones; there are really neat effects between the ears). Sick Little Games. Hello, Brooklyn. Walls. Too Much. Keep The Change, You Filthy Animal. A Party Song. Therapy. HUZZAH!! A full twelve-song album made by All Time Low for All Time Low fans. The same four musicians we have grown so fond of worked their badonkadonks off to get to where they are today and have certainly delivered an album to be proud of with Nothing Personal. It’s a great CD. That’s all there is to it.

Come 07 JULY 2009, I’ll be more than ready to own each and every song. At midnight-oh-one I’ll be staring at my computer just WAITING for iTunes to start downloading Nothing Personal, which I preordered for the B-Side and remix (in addition to the preorders I have coming in the mail from SmartPunk, Glamour Kills, and The Hustler Club for a special edition Jac Vanek bracelet, t-shirt, and autographed copy, respectively).

I. am. psyched. Bring on the tunes.

*I am sorry to say that I have yet to really get into Valencia. I know the words to “Away We Go” and the first minute of “The Space Between”. I was a tad side-tracked. Ooops.