BUZZ BANDS

The odds seem stacked against All Time Low. Sure, the Maryland quartet’s hooky, happy-go-lucky pop-punk can be contagious, but it’s been done before -- including by their heroes, Blink-182. And Alternative Press tabbed them a “Band You Need to Know,” but there are 100 of those in the magazine’s annual issue. So credit hard touring and a sense of humor for the band’s traction with teen audiences -- and its spot as co-headliner with the Rocket Summer on the Alternative Press Tour, which hits the Music Box @ Fonda on Tuesday. “Some bands fade out and some make it,” singer-guitarist Alex Gaskarth says. “It’s a fickle industry, and every little bit of publicity helps.” Indeed, besides the tout in AP, there was the eyebrow-raising photo shoot for the foursome’s sophomore album, “So Wrong, It’s Right,” released in September on L.A.-based Hopeless Records. Band mates Rian Dawson (from left), Jack Barakat, Gaskarth and Zachary Merrick posed stoically in nothing but their tighty-whities; the picture rather famously got one female fan suspended from high school for having it in her binder. “We did send her a letter of apology,” Gaskarth says. He harbors no such contrition for the band’s music. “It’s just about driving and blasting it,” he says good-naturedly. “Pop-punk died for a while, but now it’s coming back.” ATL aims to be ready with sharpened songwriting chops -- after all, when they brought ideas to the studio to record “So Wrong,” producer Matt Squire “told us they were all [crappy],” Gaskarth says. “It was exactly what we needed to hear.” And recently, they convened to co-write a tune (still under wraps) with Blink’s Mark Hoppus. “We got to write one great song with somebody we admire,” Gaskarth says. “It was a great experience.” ALSO CHECK: Busy week of club shows includes Film School (tonight at Spaceland), Bon Iver (tonight, Echo), Low Vs Diamond (tonight, Troubadour), Say Hi (Friday, Spaceland), Dollyrots (Saturday, Safari Sam’s), Maria Taylor (Sunday, Tangier) and Tokyo Police Club (Wednesday, Troubadour). More: www.latimes.com/soundboard

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-- Kevin.Bronson@latimes.com