IN THE SPOTLIGHT: All The Rest

Layering elements of pop, indie, and alternative, All The Rest is currently on the rise. Hailing from and currently based in Senoia, Georgia since 2013, the band features the charisma and talents of Caleb Smith (vocals, guitar), Baylee Waller (vocals, guitar), Jud Harris (drums), and Tre Housman (bass, vocals). They self-released their debut single, “Kitchen Floor” in late 2017. Since then, they’ve put out a handful of catchy singles, including “Waste My Money” and “Sleeping With The Lights On”. Not only have they shared their sound at a variety of venues near Atlanta, they have also supported bands such as The Technicolors and Vacation Manor.

Earlier this month on September 3, the band performed at Communion’s September Residency at Rockwood Music Hall, marking their first New York show. Just moments before their show, they generously paused their tour life to chat about their beginnings, tour essentials, and favorite foods and pizza toppings, in addition to posing for some shots in Tompkins Square Park.

What’s the story behind the formation of All The Rest?

CALEB: I’m going to give my little version. First of all, Baylee and I are cousins, so obviously, all our entire life, we’ve been close buds. Jud has been a close friend of Baylee since they were little kids. Naturally, I started hanging out with Jud since Baylee is so close with him. We all had similar interests in music, and we actually started out in our local church youth group as the praisemen. We started doing that when we were 13, and then Baylee started writing songs, which we thought were pretty cool. We started out playing our own stuff that he had written, and eventually branched away from the church thing. We then decided to call ourselves All The Rest because we wanted to play for all the rest of the world, not just the church.

What was the first instrument (musical or non-musical) you started making music with?

JUD: Fun fact about myself. I took flute (classical flute lessons) for about four years. I was classically trained in flute, and was actually pretty good. I don’t think I could play it now, since I haven’t played it in years.

CALEB: For me, it was just guitar. Baylee actually started before me. Growing up (he’s about 2 years older than me), we’d hang out, and I naturally looked up to him when he started playing guitar; I thought it was really cool. I started picking it up and taught myself. Guitar was the first instrument for me I started making music with.

BAYLEE: Guitar, definitely.

Which song (released or unreleased) are you most proud of?

JUD: I’m really proud of “Waste My Money” because I feel like that was kind of a turning point for our sound.

BAYLEE: We reinvented our sound and really found a sound for us. I think it’s really quirky and different, and we had a lot of fun with it.

CALEB: I would agree. I think that song from top to bottom is pretty solid, and was a good transition for us to a new sound. Honestly, I think our best song is yet to come.

TRE: I would say, I have a lot of friends who don’t really listen to our type of music, like pop. They listen to country or rap, and a lot of them have said “Sleeping With The Lights On” really put them onto us because it has such a unique sound than most pop songs out there.

You released a new single, “Way Out”, on July 26, 2019. What was the process of writing, recording, and producing it?

BAYLEE: We were all supposed to fly out to LA (to work with our producer), but the fires were going on. I was already out there, so I’d figured I’d go to the studio anyways. I worked with our producer and one other guy, and we were throwing stuff out, singing and playing. That’s kind of how it started, and it turned into this song I’m really proud of. We kind of produced it back and forth between Georgia and LA, so it was really a collaborative process.

While on the road, what are some of your essential tour items?

JUD: Vitamin C and coffee. Caleb and I literally drink coffee 24/7. Baylee and Tre can go without it. If I’m going to do anything, I need to drink coffee first. Super Smash Bros., I have a Nintendo Switch. We take it everywhere; every time we have 10 minutes of free time, we’re sitting playing Super Smash Bros. You stare at a screen that’s almost the size of your phone, and you just attempt to keep track of your character.

CALEB: I agree with Jud, definitely coffee. I would say for me, water bottles and protein bars. Singer’s Throat Spray.

BAYLEE: Food. Power banks. Comfy shoes.

JUD: I really hate traveling in jeans. Gym shorts. I just overpack for everything. If I’m gone for 3 days or 3 months, I bring the same amount of stuff.

TRE: Essential oils.

What are you currently listening to?

CALEB: I’ve been kind of in a weird phase with music, not knowing what to listen to. There haven’t been many good, refreshing records coming out this year. I’ve been jumping back into a lot of older music that I used to listen to. I listen to a lot of LANY and The 1975 (just because you can’t beat their records). I like hype music like Travis Scott, not ashamed.

JUD: I listen to Chris Brown on repeat, every single day, all day long. Nothing but Chris Brown. That’s it.

TRE: I listen to really indie grungy stuff, or I listen to extreme pop. It’s either Katy Perry, or some underground band I found on a playlist one day. Caleb showed me a song “Boy” by Charlie Puth, that one’s amazing. It’s like my favorite song right now.

CALEB: Oh yeah, I totally forgot about Charlie Puth’s latest record. There are a lot of songs in there. Besides the radio hits, there are a lot of good songs. He’s an incredible pop producer and writer. Julia Michaels, we’ve been into her.

TRE: We’ve been into LAUV, too.

JUD: There’s that song he did with Julia Michaels that makes me wanna cry every time I listen to it. I listen to it in the car. You can’t go wrong with Billie Eilish. She’s just a queen, I just wanna be her friend.

BAYLEE: Dagny.

What’s your favorite food and/or restaurant in NYC? Any places back home in Senoia?

BAYLEE: Favorite place in New York to eat? We haven’t found very many spots yet.

CALEB: Honestly, this trip, we honestly haven’t had the best food. The first time I went, I remember having some amazing Italian food and pizza. That’s it for here, for now, until we try some new stuff. Back home, there’s some pretty incredible Mexican restaurants around where we live, that’s kind of my favorite.

JUD: In Atlanta, there’s this one restaurant called Argosy, and I really like that place a lot. They have Impossible poutine (I can’t have gluten or dairy), and this one doesn’t have either. Poutine is cheese and meat with fries, so this one is vegan cheese and vegan meat on fries.

BAYLEE: Where did we go last night? We had some really good mac and cheese last night at Dig Inn.

JUD: We love sushi. I’ll eat sushi for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love it. A California roll in the morning isn’t that bad.

If there were a pizza with the name “All The Rest”, what toppings would it feature?

BAYLEE: Pineapple!

CALEB: I always ask for a Supreme pizza without mushrooms.

JUD: We can put anything we want on it. I’m going to make a sushi pizza. I haven’t had pizza in a long time that wasn’t gluten and dairy-free, but the last pizza I had that wasn’t gluten and dairy-free was a normal pizza that was cheese and red sauce, but it had chocolate chip cookies on top that were cooked with it. It was so weird, but it wasn’t that bad. I’d probably never eat it again.

TRE: I’m probably just a straight pepperoni dude.

JUD: I was in Nashville not too long ago, and had a pizza that was made with corn dough that was so good. It was my favorite pizza I’ve ever had; it was at this place called Two Boots. I loved that.

Who is your favorite superhero character, and why?

CALEB, BAYLEE, AND JUD: Spider-Man. 100% Spider-Man.

TRE: I’m more of an Iron Man guy. He’s the original Spider-Man.

BAYLEE: Spider-Man has always been bigger than Iron Man.

CALEB: I think the reason why I like Spider-Man is the nostalgia. When I was a kid, he was the superhero I was obsessed with. The first Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire are just so good.

What’s a question you have wanted to get asked in an interview, and what’s the response to it?

BAYLEE: Are you in band? I could then be like, “Yeah! Check us out on Instagram!”

JUD: I like stupid questions, so I could come up with random answers.

A question for me would probably be, “Do you want a free Tesla?” I’d say yes. I think that’s it.

CALEB: If a certain person (who is pursuing music but doesn’t know if he or she wants to do it) said to me, “I have an interest in music, but I’m not sure if I should do it or not because it seems like a risk,” I’d say, “Absolutely, yes, you should. Life’s too short to live in a box and play it safe. You’ve got to really want it.”

A tremendous thank you to Kyle for coordinating, and All The Rest for their time and thought to respond to the questions!

Don’t miss out on any updates from the band by following them on Twitter (@alltherestmusic) and Instagram (@alltherestmusic), and liking them on Facebook (/alltherest)!