Ahead of 5 Seconds of Summer’s massive world tour, drummer Ashton Irwin stopped by Joel Madden’s Artist Friendly podcast. The pair cover a ton of ground during their hour-and-a-half discussion, exploring lessons learned from touring with One Direction, the secret to ensuring a killer live show, and their respective evolution. Madden and Irwin also bond over coming from small towns, with the 5SOS member sharing that Luke Hemmings’ mother was his math teacher at one point — far before they ever met and formed the band.
Read more: Every 5 Seconds of Summer album ranked: From worst to best
Before you start listening to the new episode, we rounded up takeaways from their conversation. Check them out below.
5SOS were “mind-blown” when they toured with One Direction
A decade ago, One Direction were at the peak of their powers, and 5SOS were invited to join them on the road. For the Aussie outfit, every night became an opportunity to soak up lessons from one of the biggest bands in the world. “They had this killer band behind them,” Irwin gushes. “Even just learning how to harmonize while we were on tour with those guys. They were a dialed unit. If you ever saw the Take Me Home tour, we were mind-blown by the way they sounded through a PA. It was an unbelievable opportunity.” Because of that run, Irwin says 5SOS “became a better band.”
Spiritualism improved his outlook on life
Irwin calls himself more spiritual than religious, saying that “nothing’s good or bad.” To get there, though, he needed to grasp that suffering is a considerable part of existence. “[It] makes being in a band even more special because it does relieve a lot of suffering,” Irwin says. “It’s this energetic engine that you can cathartically push your traumas through. It’s a vehicle to express.” He became spiritual when he was triggered and angry about everything — and needed answers. “I kept messing up my relationships by not having that unconditional thing that comes through when you start to realize that kindness is worth it, and that’s how you heal things; that it’s better to be forgiving than begrudging,” he explains.
Irwin knew music would save him
Throughout the episode, Irwin and Madden share a lot of wisdom. “I’ve been on my path since I was young, and I knew music would save me,” he mentions. Early on, though, the 5SOS drummer explains that he’s always been “ready for anything” because he doesn’t count on his career lasting forever, but he can still have a long life in the industry. “The musical application and mastery and sticking to that path keep you safe from the stuff that doesn’t matter. Keep looking after your skill and sharpening your skill because it can’t just be ripped away from you like a lot of things. That’s how you create longevity,” Irwin says.
His relationship with Calum Hood is “indestructible”
The secret to improving your live show is bettering the rhythm section — it’s the motor of any band. That’s why bassist Calum Hood and Irwin are connected in a way that transcends emotions. “We’re full-blown telekinesis. [We] barely have conversations,” he tells Madden. After spending years together onstage, he knows his bandmate on a deep level (and pays him some hefty compliments, calling him “deep and sensitive [and] an epic problem-solver”). “We have our own language, which is why our relationship is slightly indestructible,” Irwin says. “It isn’t based on any external human shit. It’s a flow state that we get in together that’s wordless.”
5SOS have evolved over time
During the episode, Irwin is a realist. Understandably, the band put each other first in their early days but split off to experience their own lives over time. That makes their willingness to be in the band all the more special and significant. “Sometimes I wish we were still a band that could just live in a house together and make music every day,” he says. “But it’s back there. Everyone wants to live their life. It’s not so connected in that way anymore, but we still all make that effort to come together.” In fact, branching out and collaborating with other artists made Irwin realize that he has a unique relationship with the band that has “flourished from [their] youth and innocence and [their] sponge brain.”
