March 2012
gerard: well are you prepared, raymond?
ray: indeed
gerard: how about yourself, frank?
frank: oh, i have arrived infant
gerard: how about yourself, michael?
mikey: intercourse equipped
gerard: well, i believe i am content
While listening to music:
Normal people:
- Singing the lyrics
ME:
- Singing the lyrics
- Singing guitar riffs
- Doing air drumming
- Headbanging
- Moshing in my bedroom
Alex Gaskarth talking about his brother.
Interviewer: Most people know you moved from England to America when you were young, but what don’t they know
about the early part of your life?
Alex: “My dad remarried. He had kids when he was very young and ended up separating from his first wife, initially he married her when he realised they were having kids but it didn’t work out. I was born quite a bit later so I have two half sisters and a half brother. My sisters are a lot older than me as my dad didn’t remarry until sometime later.”
Interviewer: How was it for you growing up with family from a previous relationship?
Alex: “Pretty normal. I’m the only child my mum and dad had but I would see them a lot. There was a pretty big age difference so by the time I was born and growing up my sisters were off doing their own thing, but my half brother was seven or eight years older than me so he was around a little bit more. That’s why he moved to America with us when we went.”
Interviewer: What was your relationship like with your half brother when you were young?
Alex: “It was pretty cool, he definitely acted like a big brother to me but we were just a few years too far apart to be really close. We just missed out on that serious brotherhood / sidekick thing but he was always great to be around and it was awesome to have someone to learn from.”
Interviewer: When did people realise he had a problem with alcohol?
Alex: “I don’t know. It was definitely when we were in the States but I was young so I missed a lot of it. I didn’t necessarily pick up on it at first so it’s hard for me to answer.”
Interviewer: Was there a lot of disagreement in the house as the problem grew? Do you remember there being a lot of fighting?
Alex: “Absolutely. It reached a critical point where it was impossible to ignore. As someone who was relatively young he didn’t know what was best for him and in the end he won the fight as he went back home to England. It was definitely something I picked up on even though I never saw the whole picture at the time.”
Interviewer: Was it the worst day of your life when you found out he had died?
Alex: “Yes… I was 12 at the time and he was 21 when he died. He spiraled out of control, as many people with that problem do. It was very sad [and] definitely shapes you. I don’t preach that you shouldn’t drink – I believe in user choice – but it definitely made me make sure that there are no traces of that tendency in me because of my experiences.”
Interviewer: How badly did it hit the family when you lost him? It can’t have been easy for anyone to deal with that situation…
Alex; “It was devastating [for us all] to lose a family member, it affected us all. I can’t imagine or describe how my father would have felt losing a son but my dad is the best person I know so he handled it amazingly well. It was something that everyone grew from in the end.”
Interviewer: When did you and your dad talk about it?
Alex: “It didn’t come out all at once; you grow up, realise some things and the picture becomes clearer. It was a learning experience. There wasn’t a specific time when dad and I talked about it, nor were they hiding the truth from me the whole time. I think I just realised more as I became older.”
