Acceptance is a fieve piece rock band from the Washington State. After releasing some EP’s on Rocketstar Recordings and on The Militia Group, the band moved on to a major label and is ready to release their new album next year. We sat down and talked with Christian about all the things going on around the world of Acceptanced, even tough he did not tell us a lot about their next full record. Some things must be kept secrect for odd contractual reasons

Hi there! How are you doing?
Fantastically well thank you.

Can you introduce yourself and the members of Acceptance and a story of how you got together?
Hello, my name is Christian. If I recall, the story of Acceptance goes something like this: Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived two friends, a young troubadour named Jason and a handsome minstrel named Kaylan, who traveled the lands singing of knights, chivalry, and courtly love. They were lonely travelers and longed for companions. They roamed the magical realms far and wide in search of like hearted individuals to make merry music, sing, and recite poetry. In there quest they came across many a talented artiste, but none were worthy of their cause. Until one day they came across an evil dragon who was preparing to feast upon three helpless young men. Jason and Kaylan acted quickly singing a down tempo, very catchy, pop ballad that lulled the ferocious dragon into a deep sleep. They quickly freed the ill fated trio who expressed their gratitude and introduced themselves as Christian, Ryan, and Nick. Fate would have it that these young men were very talented musicians who were also in search of like hearted individuals to make merry music, sing, and recite poetry. Both parties, having finally found the companions they had longed for, rejoiced and lived happily ever after.

You come from Washington State. How is the music scene over there?
The music scene in Washington is incredible and teeming with amazing bands, a bustling metropolis of talented musicians.Where did you get the name Acceptance from?
The name Acceptance comes from when we first started we really sucked and friends and family alike told us that we should quit whilst we still had our dignity. So the name has to do with us coming to terms with and ACCEPTING the fact that we suck and we’re never gonna make it.

Do you consider yourself an indie or emo band at all?
We don’t really consider ourselves much of anything at all. We’re just a rock band, we play loud music and sing about stuff we think is important, however you want to categorize that is up to you.

You released stuff on Rocketstar and then an EP on The Militia Group. Now you’re getting ready for your major label debut LP. What makes you change labels so fast?
Well, when you really look back at the 5 year Acceptance time line, it really hasn’t happened that fast. The Rocketstar EP came out in like 1999/2000. The Militia Group EP came out 2003, ad our LP comes out in 2005, boy how time flies.

What made you go away from the Militia Group?
The Militia Group is a great label and do a good job doing what they do. But some major labels came a knockin’ and it was time for us to start rockin’ in another direction.

Your new record will come out next year on major label Columbia: is there already an official release date? How will you name your new record?
I’m sorry, but that is all classified information. I can say the the record will come out sometime after the new year.

Speaking of your upcoming album, have you already written all of the songs? When do you think to record it? Could you describe us the songs, how they sound and what they deal with? Will you still play catchy emo melodies as on your previous stuff?
The record has been written, recorded, and is finished. The songs on the record are simply a progression from the EP. We have all matured and changed as people, as well as musicians. The songs reflect this change. I wouldn’t say that it is much different than the EP except that the songs are more mature and there is much more of a dynamic on this new record.

Who produced your new album?
Aaron Sprinkle produced and J.R. Mcneely mixed. The dynamic duo of doom who worked on our last EP

I know that your new cd will be artworked by Asterik Studio: I think they’re doing an amazing work, very beautiful cd packages. I liked the latest from Scarlet, Zao, Underoath. How did you decide to work with Don and Ryan Clark ?
The Clark brothers and the other Asterik personnel are the best at what they do, we always want the best for our band. They are also from Seattle and so are we and we think that is neat.

I think on your previous albums you had a sound that was very reminiscent of emo and rock pop music, while with your growing up on your latest EP I heard more rock’n'roll and less “emo”. Do you agree? Where do you get your inspiration from?
I most definitely concur. Every member of the band is different and is into different styles of music. What I get inspiration from is probably much different from what inspires the other members of the band. I think that is what allows us to create unique music together, cuz were all coming from different places.

How would you describe Acceptance to a person that have never heard of you?
Sugar and spice and everything nice/Big Rock Money

On “Black Lines To Battlefields” you had awesome songs like “Seeing Is Believeing” and “Permanent”: is there any chance you will include them in your new album?
Prolly not, the new songs are better.

I read somewhere that the guys in Acceptance are all Christians. Is this true? if so, do you consider your band a Christian band? What’s up with the “we’re Christian but not a Chritsian band”?
Yes we are all Christians, no we do not consider ourselves a Christian band. If we were all Buddhists would we then be considered a Buddhist band? What if we didn’t believe in anything would we then describe ourselves as an atheist band? I don’t see why Christians have sit in the corner and wear their beliefs as some kind of dunces hat. Bad Religion sings alot about politics and imbalances in our country do they describe themselves as a Democrat band?

What are some of the bands that you guys in the band regularely listen to?
Its an ever changing thing for each member of the band, and I’m not about to speculate what the other dudes are into right now, but my tastes are very eclectic and range from Enya to Every Time I Die and everything in between.

In August you started touring with Gatsbys American Dream and The Snake The Cross The Crown: where will you play and what do you expect from this tour? Are you on good terms with the two other bands, tell the truth now?
This tour starts in Seattle and goes all across the US. You can check our website for exact places and dates. We expect to have a good time, make some great memories, and get back in the swing of being on the road. We are good friends with Gatsby’s American Dream and have been playing with them in the Seattle scene for years. So overall its gonna be pretty sweet to say the least.

Have you got some major plans for the winter? What will you do when you end the August touring?
I believe the plan is to tour for the rest of the year, take a break for the holidays, and then tour all of next year. Basically we will be on tour for the rest of our lives. After our current tour with Gatsby’s and The Snake I believe we are going out on another US tour with our friends in Dead Poetic.

Any final comments?
Drugs are bad okay.