Aly & AJ On Taking A Stand Against Gun Violence After Surviving A Mass Shooting While On Tour 

Indie pop-rock duo Aly & AJ had just finished the first performance of the North American leg of their “A Touch of the Beat Tour” at Sacramento, California’s Crest Theatre and were in a celebratory mood as their crew loaded up the gear in the early morning hours of April 3, 2022. Then, “everything shifted when we heard gunfire,” Aly Michalka tells Pollstar.

“Most of our band and crew as well as ourselves were on the bus at the time, two members were still inside the venue and my husband was across the street checking out of the hotel that we were staying in with my dog,” she added. “We all jumped out of our bunk beds and fell to the floor and just sheltered there until everything subsided, but we were terrified.”

Six people were killed and 12 were injured in the mass shooting, which reportedly occurred between rival gangs. In the middle of the crossfire was Aly & AJ’s tour bus, which got hit with five bullet holes, though nobody onboard was hurt.

The incident inspired Aly & AJ to use their platform to help prevent gun violence, including raising funding and awareness for nonprofit Everytown on their 2023 tour by encouraging fans to take a pledge for gun safety with the chance to meet the band.

The sisters released the single “Sirens,” which details their experience as survivors of a mass shooting, on Sept. 12 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the federal assault weapons ban expiration. Aly & AJ, who are managed by True North Project’s Jared Rosenberg and represented by UTA’s Scott Mantell, Joe Wohlfeld and David Zedeck, recently caught up with Pollstar to discuss the single and partnering with nonpartisan, nonprofit March Fourth to meet with representatives in Washington, D.C., to demand the reinstatement of the ban.

Pollstar: What was the recording and songwriting process like for “Sirens”?

AJ Michalka: The song took about two years to really craft in terms of what we wanted to say, lyrically. Musically … it came together pretty quick. We worked closely with a friend and co-writer of ours, James McAlister, who helped us build this song and then we really trusted our producer Jonathan Wilson to take it to another place when it came to just the production value. The recording aspect of the song was really special because Aly and I had been living together with her newborn and her husband and my partner in a house in Topanga Canyon while we were making this record and Jack was only a week old. So Aly I remember actually recording the vocals for this album as she was breastfeeding him and “Sirens” was one of those songs. So it’s such a special moment in time that I’ll always be able to kind of capture and go back to, which is the making of this record with this newborn and seeing this new member in our lives, as we recorded the material. It was really special.

What’s been the reaction to the song so far?

AJ Michalka: It’s been really, really positive. … As artists we have a lot we can say, but when something like this happens to you personally, a song is kind of the perfect place to speak about it. I’ve had a lot of people personally … who have reached out just saying thank you for speaking up about such an important topic and that they feel that the song is really relevant and I even know some people who have dealt with a very similar story who are finding this song to be very comforting.

Aly Michalka: Yeah, it’s really sad that there’s so many people that have this kind of six degrees of separation from gun violence in their life, and we know that there’s many different ways that gun violence can impact and affect people, that could be through a mass shooting, that could be through suicide, it could be through domestic violence. There’s so many ways that it’s touched Americans’ lives in this devastating way and, for us to be able to find a way to articulate that in a song was definitely hard for AJ and I because we didn’t want this song to come off as exploitative in any way, shape, or form. I just wanted it to be about telling our story and in doing that hopefully, that starts some conversations with other people, but I think also being, a new mom, that I think it’s kind of raised the bar for me, in terms of how I want to set up my son’s future. And I think, I can speak for AJ on this too because she’s super close with [my son] as well. Just seeing that there’s this whole future that we’re setting up our kids for with zero protection in terms of gun control laws, it just seems like such a shame … And so I think, it’s a way for us to help [my son] and all his little, future friends out there.

How has the shooting affected you the past few years?

Aly Michalka: We grew up around guns. We grew up in a household where our parents went to shooting ranges, we understood gun safety and safe storage but now I think looking back at that, I can say that that’s a part of our past that we don’t want to continue forward. I think, now we’re very much against owning a gun in general, in our own personal home. But I think people get confused about some of these issues and think some of these gun laws are going to take my guns away. It’s more about how to safely acquire guns, and honestly safely storing guns. And just getting these AR-15s out of civilians’ hands because these are weapons of war that shouldn’t be in a civilian’s home. It just doesn’t make any sense. So, that’s really where we’re coming from. A lot of these guns [are] in the hands of people that shouldn’t have them, that are mentally ill, that are struggling.

AJ Michalka: [The mass shooting] is kind of a part of us now and I think it will forever be in us. I don’t think Aly and I live in fear, but for a solid year after what happened that night, loud noises would really set me off. I would sometimes make up these scenarios in my head that someone was about to walk into the room with a gun. … Even Fourth of July and being around fireworks and loud noises and I can kind of immediately go back to that feeling in my chest. So it has been really hard. Because Aly and I get out a lot of our emotions cathartically through our music [recording “Sirens”] has really helped me personally, and I think playing it every night on stage live next year is also going to be really beneficial. … But we need to take it beyond just putting out a song – which is what we’re currently trying to do.

Even before the tragedy that took place in 2022 you’ve used your platform to bring attention to nonprofits.

Aly Michalka: It’s been that way since we were young, and I think it’s just because we’ve always been passionate about one thing or another that feels relevant for our life at that moment and for us suicide prevention has been a big one. I think that’s been a huge reason why we have done so much work with the Trevor Project, they’re so youth-based and we have this strong following with young people that come to our shows who I know are a part of the LGBTQ community. So it’s been a way for us to be able to really be outspoken about these issues.

Speaking about it at a show, I think it goes a lot further than just setting up a booth or even just having a QR code to scan, but stopping the show, speaking about it in between a song and having a moment for people to pull their phones out and donate real time and sign petitions, I think it just goes a little bit further. So that’s something that I think we’ll continue to do at our shows. I think it’ll just be something that you associate the band with. If I’m coming to a show, there’s gonna be something that I’m know I’m going to be a part of this evening and I think that’s a really wonderful way to kind of enact that change happening in real time.

Can you share why you chose to work with March Fourth?

AJ Michalka: Back when Clinton was president there was a 10-year ban on assault weapons and that ban lapsed 20 years ago so March Fourth’s sole purpose is to reinstate that. Aly and I felt really compelled to work with them in order to get AR-15s out of civilian hands. These are weapons that shouldn’t be in regular everyday homes.

Aly Michalka: The Office of Gun Violence Prevention that is now at the White House under Biden [is] only new within the last year. That’s very much at risk of being ended if we don’t see Harris / Walz win. So that was very important for us to get behind.
We recently did a visit to Washington, D.C. and had some really amazing conversations around this topic. Being able to speak with other survivors who have seen their family members experience this first-hand [or] who have experienced it themselves was really powerful.

Who are some of the officials that you met with in D.C.?

Aly Michalka: We met with Maxwell Frost’s team and it was really wonderful to hear about how he first got into activism as a young teen. We had a meeting with Hakeem Jeffries’ office while we were there, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, the two deputies that run that office. … It can feel like there’s so many things that we’d like to change and fix in our state and in the U.S. in general. But there is hope. I feel like we walked away from that whole trip saying that we still have faith in democracy and what it stands for. And I think it’s times like these where we can really activate ourselves and come together to actually see some real change happen, which is also why it’s so important to vote.

I know some people get really wrapped up “Well, I don’t love everything that they stand for.” Sometimes it’s not about loving everything that the candidate stands for. Maybe it’s one or two things and you can kind of hang your hat on that. So I think it’s important to read up on the candidates to see what they truly stand for. See the places and the areas in your state that you wish you saw some major change happening and get involved in emailing, calling, going to town halls and then getting to a ballot box and voting.

How can fans get involved with activism work?

Aly Michalka: Find something that you’re personally passionate about that you want to donate your time or your money toward. There’s so many things that can kind of overwhelm us into being paralyzed in actually jumping into action. But I think you can find that one thing that really speaks to you. I think it’s just taking that first baby step and maybe finding a friend that you can go and donate time with, even going to a protest for something that you’re passionate about, that feels really powerful and validating.

AJ Michalka: For Aly and I right now, that’s gun reform, whether it’s background checks, whether it’s banning assault weapons … it’s making sure that we just see change in general. … Find one thing you believe and go for it.