Anberlin – Interview – 10/09/05

Nicole sat down to interview Stephen Christian and Nate Young of Anberlin on October 9, 2005 at the Majestic Theater in Detroit, MI.

Would you like to say anything before we start?
Stephen: Nope, Nate get off your freakin’ Sidekick.
Knate: I’m trying to check my MySpace…haaa!
Stephen : Dork

What cities/venues have stuck out on tour?
Stephen : On this tour or on all tours?

We’ll go with this one.
Stephen : Well Knate , you can go ahead start
Knate : I’ll go ahead and start
Stephen : Wow, that is tiny (talking about the mic)

By the way, your fans/boardies wrote these questions, actually Heather, greeneyes wrote a lot of these.
Knate : Oh wow okay cool, are you on our board?

Yes, camerakid.
Knate : And greeneyes wrote these? That’s cool.

The whole interview is fan based.
Knate : Wow, cool idea. Awesome, that is very cool. Well I really enjoyed last night, we played in Canada and that was fun. Another good one was Anaheim House of Blues, also Toronto was fun, too. The kids there were really cool.
Stephen : Boston has to be my favorite because it was just out of nowhere. Last time we played there, people just hated us.
Knate : Yeah, that was my favorite show, too.
Stephen : Well last time we played there, it was the World Series, Game 7 and people could care less about what anyone was doing. It was us, My Chemical Romance and the Lost Prophets, but no one cared about any of the bands. I guess I understand though.
Knate : Yeah, there were kids standing in there with their middle fingers up.
Stephen : During our set, yeah. But this time, Boston was just insane, it was crazy. And then, I guess all of them have been good, none of them have been bad. (Looks at the tour list).
Knate : Lookin’ at the list, huh?
Stephen : Yeah, lookin’ at the list man. New York City was awesome just because one of our favorite venues…(Knate tries to grab the list) No!
Knate : You don’t need two right now!
Stephen : Yeah I do.
Knate : Why?
Stephen : Because…. my mom said….so. But anyway, the venue downtown in Long Island had closed down and so a lot of kids downtown came out to Urban Plaza in New York and it was unbelievable, it was so good.
Knate : It’s true.

Which cities besides Seattle have stood out?
Stephen : Ooooooh!
Knate : Everyone knows now.
Stephen : For sure.
Knate : Wait, as far as cool places or the crowd?

Well, last time we asked you guys, you said, “One, two, three -Seattle/Boston)
Stephen & Knate : Hahaha!
Knate : (Chuckles) We didn’t say “One, two, three -Boston”
Stephen : I said Nebraska! Go ahead, Knate .
Knate : Well I’d have to say Portland, it’s like a mini Seattle.
Stephen : I like southern California, New York City and…
Knate : …Tampa, Florida
Stephen : No way! Tampa, Florida should be bombed.

You hate Tampa?
Knate : That’s my hometown! It’s amazing!
Stephen : You should move out…
Knate : Strayer knows what I’m talking about!
Stephen : Strayer wants it bombed too.
Nate Strayer: What?
Knate : You love Tampa!
Nate: Oh, I love Tampa.
Stephen : Yeah, he’s being sarcastic
Nate: I don’t want to put pants on.
All: Hahaha
Stephen : Put that in there, that’s great.

When’s your next tour and who’s it with?
Knate : It’s a secret.
Stephen : We don’t know. The next actual tour…actually we’re playing a bunch of spot dates between now and January, but January looks like we’re going to be headed over to New Zealand, then do a few dates in Australia, then come back and definitely do a bigger scaled-tour, so our next real tour is in Feburary as far as the States go. But we’re doing spot dates between now and then.
Knate : Not many though, because we’re trying to take some time off to spend with the family.

Why don’t you come to Nashville more often?
Stephen : Nashville…uhhh
Knate : Everytime we play Nashville, it’s a terrible show, not because of the kids, just because something goes wrong. Like, last time we played there I threw up all over my snare drum and Strayer threw his guitar like fifteen feet and it landed on the floor.
Stephen : And then the time before that, we were playing with Story of the Year and Saosin and the sound in there was incredibly terrible. It’s never the kids, but it’s just like there’s some sort of bad Karma that goes around everytime we play there. But arent’t we going back to Nashville in December?
Knate : In December? No, that all got cancelled.
Stephen : That got cancelled too?
Knate : Yeah, the whole week got cancelled.
Stephen : No way! I don’t know…
Knate : I think we’re coming back in February
Stephen : We’re gonna try to come back as soon as possible, that’s the least I can say
Knate : (chuckles) Is that a fan question, “Why don’t you come to Nashville more often?”

Yeah, that was a fan question.  What do the flowers and statue represent on the album cover?
Stephen : Uh, death! Funny you ask that, listen to this, the other day I got an email from a parent, a dad who said he wouldn’t let his kid buy our record because he said the album cover was too violent!
Knate : Whaaaat?!
Stephen : Yes! A statue head with a crack in it is violent!

So a statue and pretty blue flowers are violent?
Knate : Well I guess you could cut someone with the edge of the porcelain and that’s violent!
Stephen : Hahaha. I don’t know? There was no violence, like; we wanted something more or less “operatic” almost as if you were going to some sort of opera or symphony, that’s what your program would look like, almost like a Shakespeare thing. It was never supposed to be violent.

So it doesn’t really have any other meaning to it?
Knate : Uhhhh….nope.
Stephen : No, not really.
Knate : Actually, I’ve heard theories that people come up with.
Stephen : Oh, I love the theories!
Knate : Well someone asked me, “Is the reason your head isn’t cracked because you’re younger and because you haven’t been through as much stuff?”
Stephen : Oooooo!
Knate : I was just like, that doesn’t make sense but I’ll go with it! And someone else said, “It’s because you’re the youngest.” I told them, “Well I don’t think we planned on it that way…”
Stephen : People ask me, “What does it mean?” and I always make up different things. But honestly, the photo shoot was done before they showed us the idea and before we told them our idea. We told them our idea then they presented this to us and they were like, “Hey, here’s a photo shoot we had done in the past.” So then they just put our faces into the statues.

I like how your faces move on the website.
Stephen ! Yeah! I like it because it’s a little more creepy, not the typical rock n’ roll, or violent…
…or red and black.
Stephen : Yeah or red and black..yeah. It’s just white and blue and…that’s it! It’s good, you’ll like it.
Stephen : I like fan questions, these are good.
Knate : Yeah, me too!

What is in Knate ‘s mouth in the Easter basket picture on parkeryoung.net?
Knate : Oh my gosh! This is a scary question! Umm…. Peeps! Yeah, like eight of them. (Asks Stephen ) Have you seen that picture?
Stephen : Nuh uh..
Knate : That picture…haha, that picture is so funny. I’m sitting there with my Easter basket of candy and I’ve got like eight Peeps in my mouth and Nolan is looking over at me like “What are you doing?” and they’re all Peeps, pink Peeps, but you can’t tell because it’s black and white. What did they think it was?

Peeps.
Knate : Oh, okay, good.

What’s the coolest thing a fan has done for you?
Stephen : Well one time for me personally, this girl in St. Petersburg, FL gave me a black box and inside was flowers, a journal she made, a CD, a mix CD, and a book…it was just awesome. She took a lot of time on everything.. and she made a scrapbook of just random things she found, pictures, it was just awesome. But the other day…(points to the shelf)
Knate : Who gave us that?
Stephen : Right there by the microwave on the shelf, yeah, grab that.
Knate : Someone made a scrapbook for us with pictures of us.
Stephen : Yeah, she gave this to us like two nights ago, I’m gonna find her name and give her a shout out. Her name is Sarah Amiri. She made us a scrapbook with pictures, pictures with us, random clippings she had found, and it’s awesome.
Knate : The best thing a fan ever did for me was give me a $50 gift card to Starbucks.
Stephen : It was supposed to be for all of us, but he used it all.
Knate : Nooooooo, not true! It was my birthday!
Stephen : That makes noooo sense! She didn’t even know it was your birthday.
Knate : YES SHE DID! Because last birthday…
Stephen : Cuz you MySpaced her?
Knate : Uhhhhhhmmmm…last birthday, remember they took us on that…
Stephen : Right.
Knate : K, I’m done, that hurts my feelings.
Stephen : I’m just kidding. But he did spent a lot on the card.
Knate : I’d like to see how much money I really racked up on that card.
Stephen : Thanks, buddy.
Knate : You’re welcome.

Where do you shop for clothing?
Stephen : Aldo for shoes. Where do you shop for shoes?
Knate : Um, Vans stores.
Stephen : No you don’t!
Knate : Haha, Journey’s and Aldo for shoes.
Stephen : For sure. Pants?
Knate : Sevens, Diesel and Gap
Stephen : But where?
Knate : Where? I guess like…
Stephen : Wherever they sell Sevens?
Knate : Which would be like ….
Stephen : Fifth Avenue or something?
Knate : I don’t know where, I don’t remember where I bought mine.
Stephen : We did buy some at the little store or boutique, where was it?
Knate : It was uhh…
Stephen : Not Portland, it had that big ramp out back
Seth (tour manager): Kansas City, Missouri
Stephen : Yeah! It was Kansas City, MO. It was randomville, gosh, that came out of nowhere. And then for clothes, shirts and stuff, H & M for me.
Knate : Yeah, me too. American Apparel.
Stephen : Yep, American Apparel. Like this jacket I’m wearing, it’s FCUK.
Knate : French Connection. We’re high rollers.

Rockstars, huh?
Stephen : Haha, no, just kidding! Hmm, what else…Goodwill.
Knate : Band t-shirts
Stephen : Yeah, that’s pretty much all we wear.
Knate : Yep. Good. K, next fan question? I like these.

What are your goals for musical direction in the future?
Stephen : Go ahead, it’s your turn.
Knate : Oh no, it’s definitely your turn.
Stephen : No! Talk about the drumming!
Knate : What drumming? Oh! On our next record?
Stephen : We all voted that Knate will be playing the drums.
Knate : Haha, good one. Next record, we’re going to do a little bit different. For me personally, I think I’m gonna try some different stuff that I’ve never tried. My goal is to make people think that we got a new drummer. Like, I want to keep the Anberlin feel, but I’m real simple and basic on our last two records and I think the next record, I want to be, like, not show off and make people think “He’s a good drummer,” ya know? But I did so much simple stuff that I want to do more exciting, more…

…more involved?
Knate : Yeah, more involved, more intric…intra…Stephen ?
Stephen : Intricate.. stuff.
Knate : Heh.

What do you think of your fan mail?
Stephen : What do I think of it?
Knate : What fan mail? I don’t get any,
Stephen : You don’t get any? Yeah you do, shut your mouth.
Knate : I think it’s awesome.
Stephen : For sure, I love it. You know, it’s cool when people write you with like, how you touched their lives with your music, like a story. Cuz a lot of times it’s just like, “You guys are rad.” I like it when people are just like, “Hey, you really helped me through this,” or “Hey, I caught what you meant.” I don’t know, I just like it when it meant something to their lives. I like to hear about other people’s lives and how Anberlin had something to do with it.

Anberlin has touched my life.
Stephen & Knate : Awww, thanks!

Honestly!
Stephen : Well thank you very much!

Actually, Naive Orleans helped me get through some rough times.
Stephen : Very cool! See?
Knate : That’s way cool!
Stephen : Yes, that’s way cool! Awesome, very cool. See, I like that! Write it in an email.

What was the first concert each band member attended?
Knate : Uhhh, that’s embarrassing. I don’t want to talk about it.
Stephen : Hanson?

Hey! I’m going to Hanson!
Stephen : Yours was Hanson?

No, I’m going to see them soon
Stephen : Ohhh!
Knate : I like Hanson. Uhm, Newsboys.
Stephen : Newsboys was your first show?!
Knate : Yeah!!
Stephen : Let’s not talk about it.
Knate : Leave me alone! What’s yours? It must be way cooler! Supertones?
Stephen : Hmm, it was probably uh, uh, the Smiths! Or the Beatles.
Knate : No! What was your first show?
Stephen : I don’t remember. I think it was…oh you know, I went to so many local shows, I think it was probably like a local band in Winter Haven called Syrup. That would have to be it.
Knate : That’s way cooler than Newsboys!
Stephen : Dude, you have no idea how cool that is!
Knate : Whaaaat?!
Stephen : Did you ever hear of Syrup?
Knate : Yeah, they were awesome. They’re good with waffles.
Stephen : Shut up!
Knate : Okay, go ahead.

What CDs are you currently listening to, or the last songs you downloaded on your iPod?
(Stephen’s phone rings, the ringtone is Blocparty)
Stephen: Someone’s calling me, stop calling me!
Knate: Stephen’s is Blocparty
Stephen: No, no
Knate: The new Sigor Ros CD is awesome, Keoni, how do you feel about that? Keoni is our good friend.
Stephen: Red Room Cinema
Knate: Sigor Ros.. Circle of Birds, that’s old. The Jimmy Eat World EP like crazy. Oh it’s so good.
Stephen: You’re going to have to have your mom buy it for you.
Knate: Why?
Stephen: It’s parental advisory
Knate: How old are you?

Twenty.
Stephen: Whoops.
Knate: Hey jerk! You’re a jerk.
Stephen: Why am I a jerk? You look great for your age, I’m just letting you know.
Stephen: Let’s see…I don’t know anymore bands.
Knate: Uhhh Slipknot.
Stephen: Nooo.
Knate: Yeah! I’ve been listening to them
Stephen: You’re killing me, seriously. What’s that new band we’ve been listening to from the UK?
Together: Magnet!

Are any of you neat freaks?
Stephen: Uhh, Deon. Deon alphabetizes his underwear.

How do you alphabetize underwear?
Stephen: Well Fruit of the Loom comes before Hanes… it’s unbelievable. He colorizes his socks too.
Knate: No he doesn’t! Keoni and I clean the bus sometimes and we keep it real clean.
Stephen: That’s true.