Drawing heavy influence from Green Day and blink-182 early on, pop-punk quartet All Time Low formed in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD, in 2003 around singer/guitarist Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat. The two soon added bassist Zack Merrick and drummer Rian Dawson to round out their energetic pop-punk sound and rowdy live show, which often included silly string and beach balls. Honing their skills between homework and other teenage commitments, the guys managed to tour across the East Coast and South during school breaks. They released the four-song EP The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End through the local label Emerald Moon in 2004 and followed up with a full-length, The Party Scene, a year later.