Hey, Let's Make a Band!: The Official 5SOS Book

by 5 Seconds of Summer

  ASHTON:

  The day of the news was like Christmas morning. Everyone woke up and I went in to see the boys. We were all looking on our phones for any news. We were scrolling down on Twitter and everyone was saying, “Oh you’re Number 1 in the UK!” All of us were desperate to tweet the news, but we held off until we had the proper confirmation. You never know sometimes . . .

  Not long afterwards we got an official email that said, “Number 1 in the UK!” But then the other figures came through as well. We were Number 1 in other places, too. We were like, “What the hell’s going on?”

  CALUM:

  I think it went to Number 1 in Australia first because the charts work differently there. I hope we proved ourselves by doing that, though I don’t think Mum got it. I’m not sure if she realized what it meant. It really hit home with us, though. I remember looking at the lads and thinking, Wow! There were many bro hugs at that moment!

  To know that people wanted to buy our music was so, so good, especially for a band coming from where we do. We’re just four dudes from Western Sydney. We were just kids. Outsiders. Pop–punk fans. It was really humbling that people actually liked our song.

  ASHTON:

  The first time I ever heard the song from an outside perspective – not a writer’s perspective – was when it came on the radio shortly after it had got to Number 1. It was strange to hear it up against other songs. We were in a car and it came on Capital Radio. It made it seem more real to hear it with a DJ talking over the beginning and the end.

  CALUM:

  I was at a club in Australia when the song came on. I was having a night out with the crew and they said, “Let’s go to a club.” I was like, “OK, yeah!” I was sitting there minding my own business, having a drink, and I just heard the opening chord of “She Looks So Perfect” and I thought, What?! I looked around and all the crew were laughing. I thought, This is the best moment of my life.

  ASHTON:

  Having the Number 1 made us feel like we belonged. We were always playing our songs at shows to people that didn’t know our music. Our fans were listening to our songs online, but most of them had been recorded live. They didn’t know any of the new stuff but they rocked out anyway. To have the single out and to have it go to Number 1; to know people had heard it and they could scream the lyrics at the top of their lungs . . . that was a big moment for us. Dude, it was huge.

  HOW DID WE END UP HERE?

  ASHTON:

  We wanted our videos to be unique. We really looked up to what the Foo Fighters and Blink-182 had done on their promos – which was comedy. I think that’s what gets people into a band’s personality. We always have a laugh doing what we do, and if people can laugh along too, then that’s good.

  We decided we really wanted to make funny videos and we wanted people to look forward to them being released. We didn’t want to be doing what everyone else was doing. Our videos had to be different, otherwise we wouldn’t put them out there. The ideas had to be new. They had to intrigue and challenge people.

  MICHAEL:

  We had so much fun making the video for “She Looks So Perfect.” It was the first big-budget thing we’d ever done. Before then there were a couple of videos, but they had been very low-key indie productions. When we did “She Looks So Perfect” there were film crews, massive cameras – it was all a bit crazy.

  When we started filming we could tell the video was going to be really good. It was exciting. It was awesome. The concept was so us. It was as if the director had been drunk in the ideas meeting and had announced, “I know what we’ll do! We’ll put the cameras here . . . and theeeeen everyone takesssssh their clothesssssh off!”

  CALUM:

  I remember walking onto the set of the “She Looks So Perfect” video and thinking, Whoah, this is actually happening?! When it got to the point where people were ripping off their clothes I had to stay focused because there were like half-naked people everywhere. It was tough to concentrate for the day!

  Then we had to take our pants down and the video went all fuzzy. We liked to keep the fans guessing about what was going on with our underwear. I think and hope the fans liked it. Maybe there’ll be a director’s cut with the full pants-down scene? I definitely would have stuffed some socks down there! And I had some embarrassing underwear with animals that should probably stay covered!

  LUKE:

  By that time we knew how to perform, so we could bring a lot of energy to the camera in our live performances. It was in-your-face kinda playing. I think that really made that video. But with all the people there – the crew, catering, the extras – it was a bit like being a movie star.

  MICHAEL:

  When we got the idea for the “Don’t Stop” video – us dressed as superheroes – we were so excited. Who doesn’t want to do a video as a superhero? I don’t know of any band that’s done a video where they’ve made superhero alter egos. It was a cool idea.

  I think because we’re so different individually and each of us has his own distinct personality, the alter egos really gave our fans something more to hold onto. That’s all we’ve ever wanted to do: to make our fans feel close to us. Our fans know we’re complete dorks. It was good for them to see it in a video.

  A couple of days before the shoot we had to try out all the costumes. It was really hard to get the stuff we wanted. We were all stuck with the colors. I walked in and took red. Well, I had red hair at that time, so I had to be red! Ashton chose blue because he loves blue and Luke was already wearing a black outfit, so that was the closest shade he could wear. And Calum was left with green! The only suits left were either lime green or purple, so he didn’t have much luck, but I think he looked cool in lime green.

  Making that video was so much fun. We filmed it in LA, on the same spot where some of the scenes from The Dark Knight were filmed. First we did the scene where Luke chases the ninjas. We were sitting there watching it with the director and I was like, “I wish we were making a longer-length film, I wish this wasn’t only three minutes . . .”

  CALUM:

  We were living out our childhood dreams filming the video for “Don’t Stop.” It was so much fun. I was the really flamboyant lime-green dude – Cal-Pal. I didn’t have a special power in the video, but I had a stunt man, which was just as exciting!

  LUKE:

  That costume didn’t smell that great after two days, but the video came out so well. I was a little bit worried it would come out too kiddie, but it rocked. I was Dr. Fluke. I was going to be Dr. Luke but there was an issue – well, the real Dr. Luke dude might have had an issue with it – so I had to change the name slightly. It was a good time. At the end we were on the rooftop in our superhero costumes. That looked awesome on film.

  MICHAEL:

  I’d spend my whole life in a superhero costume if it was socially acceptable. That was the most fun video to shoot . . . so far.

  CALUM:

  Not long after that we played the Billboard Awards in LA. That was really nerve-racking. The audience was full of stars. Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy was there – it was cool knowing we were playing for him. But there were other people in front of us, too, like Nicki Minaj. It was really scary for me because of the musicians in the audience, but it was fun to do.

  We had to wait behind a curtain before our performance and that was the scariest five minutes ever. I was looking around at the lads and we were all so nervous. It was mental. It still wasn’t as nerve-racking as playing those assembly shows at school, though. When we came off stage we were absolutely buzzing, but we had to leave straight after, so we didn’t get to hang out with anyone, which sucked a bit – instead we got on a plane!

  MICHAEL:

  When we were first told that we’d be playing the Billboard Awards, I was like, “What’s that?” Then I was told, “Oh, you know the one where this person played and that person played.” I thought, Oh my god! I watched that. Holy balls! On the day I asked one of our crew how many people watched the ceremo
ny on TV. He gave me a look and said, “Are you sure you want to know?” I thought about it for a second and said, “No, don’t tell me.”

  The performance was amazing. It was the first really big TV we’d ever done. There were rehearsals with cameras, and that meant we had to perform in the soundcheck in the same way that we were going to perform on the live take. That way the cameras could capture it all. That was weird. Pop videos feel very different because you know you’re making a small movie, so it kinda feels like you’re performing. Plus you know that loads of people will be watching the videos. With the soundcheck it’s different. But the final performance was damn exciting.

  Man, it’s so weird: the band had taken over all our lives. At that point, I couldn’t even remember a time when I wasn’t in the band. Every time I tried to think about it, it was gone. Like the memories had been wiped from my mind!

  LUKE:

  It was all exciting. But I think the thing we were buzzing about was the release of the album, 5 Seconds of Summer. We had recorded so many great songs in LA. We were really looking forward to the record coming out – we were very proud of the tracks.

  There was the song “Good Girls,” which was written in London but recorded in America. Me and Calum went to the writing session with Roy Stride from the band Scouting For Girls. During the first day he came to us with some ideas and he said, “What do you think of the lyric, ‘Good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught?’” We were like, “Nah – that isn’t really us.” But Michael loved it – well, it’s more of a Michael thing – and when he and Ashton worked on the song it came out great and our fans absolutely love it.

  “Kiss Me Kiss Me” was one of the first songs we did with John Feldmann in LA. Alex Gaskarth helped us to write it. That was strange because we all knew everything about him. We were very fangirly around Alex, because he’s in one of our favorite bands – All Time Low. He’s really nice, really chilled out. He’s just a band guy, I guess. There was no ego. All Time Low were really supportive of us. A lot of people in that scene were a bit unsure of us at first, but Alex really helped us. He said, “Hey, these guys are cool.”

  ASHTON:

  Life didn’t really change in a click-of-the-fingers type of way once the videos were out and the album was finished. I think me and the band have never rested on our laurels. We’ve always been like, “OK, what’s next?” We’ve never thought, “OK, we can take a rest now.” That’s just not us.

  We’ve never been content with what’s happened. We played Wembley Stadium earlier this year, supporting One Direction, but one day we dream of playing there as headliners ourselves. That would be incredible. When I go out and play I wanna absolutely dominate it. I want the security to go, “That guy is a great drummer.” I want the mums to think, He’s amazing! I really wanna be one of the best drummers in the world one day. I don’t know when I’ll be able to say that – I don’t know if I ever will be able to – but I want to give it a shot at least.

  The fans have given us the chance to be recognized for doing something we love. To be recognized for playing the drums is so cool for me, because it’s what I’ve done all my life. When I wasn’t at school that’s all I’d do. Now people care about it and that’s really nice. No one gives a crap when you’re playing in your bedroom, everyone wants you to shut up. Playing through a big-ass PA to 80,000 people or even 20 people, it doesn’t get any better. It’s sweaty, noisy fun . . . with a lot of chicken afterwards. We do love a Nando’s! Luke definitely eats the most – he has long-ass legs.

  It’s the same thing with our first album, 5 Seconds of Summer. I want everyone to love it, not just our fans. I want the girls’ dads to listen to it and think, “This is all right, I can get into this.” I really look up to bands that got everyone on board, like Green Day. Everyone liked them. I want us to be the band that everyone gets. I don’t want us to be stuck down.

  DREAM DATE?

  CALUM:

  Will Smith – a real man crush. I think he’s so cool. Seriously, though, it’s always Katy Perry. Every girl answer is Katy Perry. What a human being! I feel like she’d have a good story to tell, especially about how she got into music. I love how she’s hard-working and passionate about what she does.

  LUKE:

  Jennifer Lawrence would be good. She’d be nice. I’m not sure where we would go because she’s quite a big deal. Where do you take a girl like that? You’d have to go somewhere really impressive. I think dinner’s too clichéd. Maybe we could go see one of her movies? Actually, that’s pretty lame. It would have to be dinner.

  MICHAEL:

  Me, my laptop, and ice cream!

  ASHTON:

  I don’t think I’ve found the person to be my dream date yet. I’m not the kinda guy who wants to date celebrities. I think that’s pretty lame. If you’re genuinely in love, then cool, but there are lots of other lovely people out there, too!

  1. CALUM:

  We’ve got the most dedicated fans in the world and in the past two years I’ve realized that our fans are the best thing that’s happened to this band. They were with us from the very first YouTube video, the very first show. Even though our fan base in Australia was quite small in the early days, those guys were so dedicated. They traveled all over to see us and meet us. They bought tickets to all our gigs.

  I remember some of the first Australian tours we played – that was wild. We were selling out venues that held 200, 500, sometimes even 1000 people and it was amazing to see that people knew the lyrics to our songs. I’d be standing there thinking, Damn, I wrote that song in my bedroom and now there are hundreds of people singing it back at me? That’s insane! When I used to play in those days, I’d be jumping up and down with excitement at the realization. I was so stoked.

  Our fans are that dedicated all over the world, though. When we supported One Direction in the UK and America, it was cool to see 5SOS fans getting their seats. When the shows arrived, people were wearing our T-shirts. The fact that people were coming to see us as well as One Direction gave us a lot of confidence and a lot of belief in what we were doing.

  In the UK the fans would hang around outside our hotel all day. They would jump on the minivan when we traveled to the venues. But it’s the same all over. They’re equally dedicated in the rest of Europe as they are in America and Australia. I remember we went to Europe for a week and when we played in Spain people were singing outside our hotel. We’d never experienced that before. It was a different atmosphere, something we’d only dreamed about.

  Italy was cool as well. To think that people liked us over there was just so weird. I mean, we didn’t speak any Italian. Well, we come from Australia, we live so far away from anything else, there’s no point learning another language! We sang in English, so it didn’t seem real – I’m not sure they even understand us! But we loved it there. The food was insane, it was the best I’d ever tasted on the road, but it wasn’t as good as my mum’s spaghetti!

  And then there’s all the presents. Chocolate, candy, all the gifts our fans give to us – so much stuff and we’re thankful for all of it. The sweets do kill me at points because I have to stay fit, but the most important thing is that we have a connection with those fans. When people want to meet us and talk to us – we’ll do it. I hope that never stops happening.

  Like most bands, we get asked for autographs all the time, and I admit that, yeah, it was a little weird at first. I was like, “You want me to sign something? Really?!” But now it’s so cool and we appreciate all the attention. That’s why whenever someone wants to take a picture with us, we’ll always stop and hang out where we can. We’ve realized that maybe one day people might not want to follow us around the world, so we want to appreciate every minute with them that they want to spend with us.

  Sometimes bands forget that the fans are the most important thing. Not us. If ours hadn’t helped us in the beginning, we wouldn’t be doing this. Seriously, without you guys we’d still be in Western Sydney, hanging out in Mi
chael’s garage, playing songs to nobody. Luckily, their support got us here. That’s why they’re the best in the world. And that’s why we love them.

  2. LUKE:

  We can go anywhere in the world and our fans will be there for us. Man, it’s so cool.

  From the start they’ve been so dedicated – and not just in Australia. We can get off a plane anywhere in the UK – somewhere like Newcastle, Manchester, or London – and there will be people there waiting for us. At first that seemed weird, but now it’s become the normal thing. It’s great to see them getting excited when we arrive.

  One thing I can’t work out is, how do they know where we are? Fans at one airport must figure out where we’re going and then tell the fans where we’re flying to. When we touch down they’re there waiting at Arrivals to say hey. It’s so cool, though.