Throughout rock history, from “OK Computer” to “War” to “London Calling”, third albums have defined careers. With the bombastic, breathtaking Cities, Anberlin’s cohesive and adventurous new album, the group puts itself in some esteemed company with a modern classic that uplifts as much as it initiates thought and elicits emotion. The Winter Haven, Florida-reared quintet — who have watched its career rise while touring with everyone from Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance to Yellowcard and Hawthorne Heights — doesnt just build on the energy and determination of recent singles like “Paperthin Hymn”, “The Feel Good Drag”, and “A Day Late”. Instead, Anberlin expands its grasp of what a rock record can be with the Aaron Sprinkle-produced Cities. Be it the huge-sounding, memorable roar of “Reclusion” or the bright, infectious “Adelaide”, the writing team of singer Stephen Christian and guitarist Joseph Milligan drives Anberlin - which also counts bassist Deon Rexroat, guitarist Nathan Strayer and drummer Nathan Young - as it retains the airwave ready allure that earned the band a pair of radio hits last year. But, with the sprawling, epic “Fin*” and the gorgeous, lighter-ready “Unwinding Cable Car” the group vastly widens its musical boundaries on Cities. Expect Cities to light up the globe in 2007.

INTERVIEW WITH ANBERLIN Floridian punkers Anberlin tackle the big issues: religion, poverty and eating ribs with N’SYNC. Interview by Steve Tauschke | steve@staff.truepunk.com | with Anberlin’s Stephen Christian.

“This band and our faith are two separate things,” asserts singer Stephen Christian on the phone from Springfield, Missouri. “When you label yourself a Christian band you can usually only tour with Christian bands and you only get opportunities to do the most remote things.

“We’ve been on the road with Fallout Boy and My Chemical Romance and we would never have gotten those opportunities if we’d labeled ourselves a Christian band. Sure, we believe in Jesus Christ but I don’t think that comes into play on stage. We’re not preachers, we’re entertainers.”

In his teens, Christian sang in various groups including Anberlin precursor Saga, performing mainly in churches in and around central Florida due to a lack of venues in the area. Fast forward a few years and Anberlin are selling out sizeable shows in advance and earning high praise from a diverse demographic, including the odd celebrity.

“We were in our home town Orlando and we played two sold out shows and the kids were going crazy and afterwards a guy walks up to us and says ‘hey, I’m a personal assistant to someone famous but I can’t tell you who it is, but he wants you to come over to his house’,” laughs Christian. “We were all a little sceptical about this guy wanting us to come to this house.

“But it turned out he was the assistant for Chris Kirkpatrick who used to play in INSYNC and he wanted us to hang out with him. We nearly died laughing but we all went and had so much fun, partying with the guys from INSYNC. It was a million dollar house and he had ribs and a giant waterfall in his backyard and you could see Disney World right across the lake. We stayed there until 3.30 in the morning goofing off at his home theatre. He’s a huge fan of our band. I couldn’t believe it.”

After impressing fans with their 2003 debut Blueprints For The Black Market, Anberlin shifted up a gear on 2005’s follow up Never Take Friendship Personal, produced by Aaron Sprinkle (MxPx, Acceptance).

“We wanted someone to even us out,” explains Christian. “We’re not rough but we’re a very raw band and very energized and what we knew Aaron could bring to the table was a kind of pop sensibility without taking away the rugged rock sound. We’d heard an EP that he did with a band called Saosin on Militia Records and when we heard that we were sold. He kept the heavy guitars and yet made everything sound so smooth so you could hear every note that was played. We knew that’s what we wanted.”

“It was a very laid back atmosphere too. It wasn’t rushed or pressured and Aaron used his creative mind to manipulate the songs for the best. He would take out excess parts and add in a couple of melodies he thought would fit. He works around the musicians because he’s a musician himself.”

It’s no secret Anberlin’s affection for 80s sounds has rubbed off not only on their approach to songwriting but also in dealing with the industry.

“There’s something so innocent and pure about the 80s,” says Christian, “and maybe that’s why so many bands look back to then and think that’s when music had meaning and depth. It wasn’t all about the tours you got on and how big you could get or if your video was on MTV. It was about the music and about creativity.”

“One thing I don’t enjoy about American bands is that we’ve become such a marketing tool or a product placement. It seems to be more about having good looking band members and you have to dress just right and you got to look the part to sell records and I don’t understand that.

“If you look back to the 70s and 80s, these are the ugliest men alive but they had the best music. Look at Robert Smith, he was never the most attractive man in the world but his music just exemplifies sex. I think that’s one thing the Europeans have on us, is that they’re all about the music - just music, not glitz and glamour and stardom.”

And archivists can count Anberlin as another group in today’s youth brigade keeping the Smiths’ flame burning. Christian himself cites Morrissey as a huge inspiration.

“He comes across as relating to everybody that listens to him,” he says. “His stage presence, I take a lot of notice of what he does, I see what he does live and he’s not a Mick Jagger up in your face. He has a very humble way of expressing and he’s very witty, not too egocentric but very confident. And lyrically, every song could be a coming-of-age book.”

“I think that what we are trying to break a lot of stereotypes within the indie world,” says Christian. “Previous to maybe our generation, I think a lot of bands were out there for the whole sex, drugs and rock n’ roll and now I think maybe our generation is pushing that away and saying ‘I don’t want to be egocentric, it’s not just about me’.

“Coldplay’s Chris Martin is very involved in free trade and Bono, although not from our generation, is out there fighting AIDS. In Anberlin, I think we’re trying to move away from the egocentrics. We may not be here in five years, or three years, but what will be here is poverty and we want to make a difference while we still can.”

Standing Room Only” is the new effort on Rocketstar Recordings from this rock’n'roll quartet out of Syracuse, NY: produced by emo-guru Ed Rose, the album shows the band playing some of the finest rock music ever written. Some would label this band as “emo”, but guitarist+singer Josh Coy does not agree on that label. Let’s see why.

Interview by Carlo Gironi / carlo@staff.truepunk.com / with Josh Coy.

Hi! How are you doing?
Hello. Fine, thanks.  

Can you introduce the band’s members and a story of how you got together?
Jeff French plays guitar, Steve Stockin plays drums, Caleb Coy plays bass and sing and my name is Josh Coy and I play guitar and sing. Caleb is my brother so that’s how I met him. We went to the name high school as Jeff. Steve used to come see our shows back in the day and then we finally met
through mutual friends and working together. Steve had heard that we were looking for a new drummer a few years back and after a couple auditions he fit perfectly.

Where are you from and how is the music scene in the place you come from? Are there a lot of young bands like you guys?
We are from Syracuse, NY where there is an ever blossoming music scene. There has always been a great deal of talent in this area and right now is a great time to be a part of the music scene here as there are a wide variety of young local bands that are sure to make their mark. The kids in the area are very supportive and you can always see members from various band supporting the shows even if their band isn’t playing. It’s a great musical community.

Where did you get the name Long Since Forgotten from?
The name just came from a conversation we were having years ago. I forget what the subject matter was, but the name stuck out.

A lot of people call your band emo; do you consider yourself an emo band? What do you think of the emo hardcore scene of nowadays?
I consider Long Since Forgotten just a rock band. I am sure there are lots of young musicians out there who sit down and think to themselves “I am going to write an ‘emo’ song today” and draw inspiration from their musical heroes. When we were young and just starting to write songs together, I just wanted to write songs that sounded like U2, The Foo Fighters or Smashing Pumpkins. To be honest I can’t really recall when or why we started to be labelled as “emo” but I guess if it helps someone identify somehow then there’s no harm in it. The first bands I heard that were called emo were bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Roadside Monument. I don’t think we sound much like those bands although they are a couple of my favorites. We just like to play rock and roll.

You released your sophomore LP on Rocket Star Recordings; how did youget in touch with the guys at Rocketstar? Are you happy with this label?And what are your relationships with the other bands of the label? 

When we recorded “All The Things You Said…” Ed Rose sent rough mixes to a few places, Rocketstar being one of them. After much consideration and discussion we decided Rocketstar was the best home for the recording and their vision lined up with ours. We are very happy and consider everyone at the label to be good friends. We’ve played shows with Time To Fly and Gatsbys American Dream and consider those guys friends as well and try to help each other out when we can.

You recorded the new album “Standing Room Only” with Ed Rose: why did you pick him up? He produced a lot of “emo” stuff as The Get Up Kids, and the likes, what do you think of him? Did he help you in the making of the record?

Ed produced, engineered, and mixed our last record. We worked so well with him and had such a great experience that he was the natural first choice when it came time to record the tracks that became “Standing Room Only.”  His work on “Moving Mountains” by The Casket Lottery and “Trying Hard to Figure Each Other Out” by Brandtson were major reasons for our desicion to work with him in the first place. If you haven’t heard those 2 albums go listen to them soon.  Ed is a great guy to work with and from start to finish the visions for the songs matched ours perfectly. He pushes to get the best performances from you and does everything he can to make sure the songs reach their potential.
 

Your sound is very pop rock, some would say pop punk; where do you get your inspiration from? Other bands, music, books, movies, life …

There are countless bands and people that have inspired us. When I was younger, listening to bands like U2, R.E.M., The Smashing Pumkins, E.M.F., made me want to play rock music. Some bands that have contributed to our sound from our perspective and well as others include bands such as U2, The Foo Fighters, The Gin Blossoms, The Police, Jimmy Eat World, The Goo Goo Dolls, AC/DC, and many, many more. Each of us contributes a little something different.

How would you describe Long Since Forgotten to a person that have never heard of you?

The only way I can think to describe it is Rock with a Pop edge. I would tell them to listen and decide for themselves.
 

What are some of the bands that you guys in the band regularly listen to?

Man, to be honest with you there are too many to list. We have very diverse musical tastes so it depends on which one of us you talk to and what day you are talking to us. 
    

What about your lyrics? What do you sing about in your songs? I saw a lot of them deal with love…

The whole “love” theme seems to be common misconception with us. I guess it comes with the territory when you are labeled as an “emo” band. There is a definite lyrical shift from from the last record to this one. The last one dealt a lot with memories of friends, apologetic thoughts, nostalgia, etc. The new record deals with everything from work, politics, divorce, and many observational perspectives on friendships, social interactions and social alienation. Simply put, the lyrics are very diverse, but you can make them what you want to relate to your own perspective.

Have you got some plans of touring to support you new album? If so, where and with whom?

We have a 2 month tour of the U.S. planned for February and March of 2004. The first half of the tour will be with our good friends Fire When Ready from Binghamton, NY.

Speaking of tours, have you got some funny or interesting thing that happened to you while you were on tour? Do you want to share it with us?

Well, without giving out too much information, we have met a ton of way cool people who have taken us many cool places. We’ve seen people set themselves on fire, had many fun nights with fireworks, interesting nights with drunk sound guys and the locals, and played at a “haunted” venue to name a few. We love tour!
    

Your band got together in 1999: what do you think has changed since it in the underground music scene? I think a lot of bands became famous without even deserving it, while some bands stayed indie for some unknown reason…what’s your point of view?

I think a lot has changed, but it is all part of a cycle. There will always be bands that work hard and never get famous than there are bands that have fame handed to them. Some bands don’t feel the need for fame to consider themselves successful musicians. The important thing is having integrity and being happy with the music you are making.

Any final comment?

Long Since Forgotten loves Dan Rocker and Apple Computers. www.lsfrock.com
 

Thanks so much for the interview, good luck!

Thanks, you too!

Alli With An I is a mid-tempo, melodic emo/punk band from Raleigh, NC. The ban consists of friends who love music and playing out in front of people. The band formed in March 2000. Alli With An I grew out of two high school bands called The Chip-Punx and Hindsight near the Raleigh area. Influences of the band include Alkaline Trio, Hot Water Music, Saves The Day, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, Lifetime, Midtown, among many others. Alli With An I has played over 60 shows with bands like Strike Anywhere, Fairweather, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Stretch Armstrong, and Glasseater.

Interview by Carlo Gironi / carlo@staff.truepunk.com / Answers by Michael Sileno
1. Hi! How are you doing ?

Michael: We are doing great! Thanks for asking. We are excited about our new cd coming out.

2. Can you introduce the band’s members and a story of how you got together?
Michael: I play drums, Matt, my brother, sings and plays guitar, Tom plays bass and sings, and Ry plays guitar. We started this band in March 2000 after being in previous bands and being good friends. After Tom joined the band in 2001, we really started to play out more and got to practice more. If you want more details, please check out the bio on our website.

3. Where do you come from? And how is the punk scene in the place you come from?

Michael: We are from Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States. The punk scene is actually better here than most places we have been. There are a lot of great bands from North Carolina and a lot of bands that are friends with each other. For the most part, everyone is accepting and likes to have a good time. We are fortunate enough to play with diverse bands and people, which is exciting.

4. Where does the name Alli With An I come from?

Michael: The name of the band comes from a line in the 1980s movie “The Karate Kid.”

5. You released your new LP “I Learned By Watching You” on the Law Of Inertia label; how did you get in touch with the guys at Law Of Inertia ?

Michael: We were very lucky to get to work with them. We were introduced to Law of Inertia through our friends The Scaries who are also on Law of Inertia. We maintained contact with Ross at Law of Inertia for a while and things just fell into place for us.

6. I know LOI is one of the most popular paper fanzine in the USA - are they also starting a record label now? What other bands are your label-mates?

Michael: Law of Inertia has been a record label since 1999, actually.
Our cd is their fourteenth release. Current active bands on LOI are The Scaries, Ultimate Fakebook (they just re-issued an older cd of theirs), and The AKAs (they just release the vinyl version of their album on Fueled By Ramen). Past bands include The Reunion Show, This Years Model, Hot Rod Circuit, and Billy Music.

7. You released some other stuff before your new LP - was all it done by yourselves or you were on some other record label?

Michael: Our first album “Long Story Short” was originally released with the help of Chris Carraway, who was trying to start a small local label. He basically funded the project and we took care of the rest. After the first pressing went out of print, we released it on Forsaken Recordings (The Manhattan Project, Sullivan, Bloodjinn) out of North Carolina. The album is still available through Forsaken Recordings. Most of the stuff we have done has been on our own up until this point, since we have a lot of help.

8. Your sound is very pop punk and it has also some rock influences ; where do you get your inspiration from ?

Michael: All of us have been listening to punk music for about 7 to 8 years now, so we got into it when Green Day got huge and listening to other bands like NOFX, Screeching Weasel, The Queers, The Bouncing Souls, etc. We still love 1990s pop-punk among lots of other types of music. I think we try to combine the various influences we have into our songs, but pop-punk is definitely the basis for it all.

9. What are some of the bands that you guys in the band regularly listen to?

Michael: Collectively we like No Use For A Name, old Get Up Kids, Strike Anywhere, Lifetime, Hot Water Music, and a lot more. I’ve been listening to a lot of Kudzu Wish, Rise Against, Motion City Soundtrack, and Kid Dynamite recently.

10. What about your lyrics? Do you sing about love, broken hearts and high-school dramas or you have also some other things to say?

Michael: Matt writes most of the lyrics and Tom writes them as well. Yes, most of them are about relationships involving love. We have a lot of other stuff to say, but that’s what they mainly write about. There is a song on the new record about losing someone that is close to you and being judged for how you are. We all have many other things going on in our lives and other interests, as well.

11. Have you got some plans of touring to support you new album? If so, where and with whom?

Michael: As of now, we are planning to head out in January with Outsmarting Simon (Triple Crown Records) and possibly our friends Guff (Go-Kart Records). We will be doing the southern United States. We hope to become a full-time band in the near future, so we can tour a lot more. Kudzu Wish and I have talked about coming to Europe this summer, but who knows. We will continue to play out as much as we can and hope that we can start doing it a lot more.

12. Speaking of tours, have you got some funny or interesting thing that happened to you while you were on tour? Do you want to share it with us ?

Michael: Wow! There are so many interesting and funny tour stories. We like to get rowdy and party with people from all over. We love hanging out with as many people as possible that like to have fun. You can spend all day reading our tour journal on our website. A lot of it is edited down because there is stuff that goes on that we don’t want to world to know about! I think the craziest night may have been when we saw someone get cocaine blown up their bum. That whole night was wild.

13. Do you think it is difficult for a young band to get hooked up by some label? I ask you this, because in the last year I saw a lot of unknown and untalented bands getting signed by major labels and all…how do you relate to this thing? Are you willing to get signed to some major or you just do not care ?

Michael: I think it is definitely difficult for a young band to get hooked up with a label. The bands that just get signed right away are usually bands that were in other bands previously or who have the resources (i.e.,
money) and know people in high places. Those bands probably won’t mean much to anyone years down the road. It’s the bands that have created a large fan base for themselves and stayed true to what they were about that have lasting effects on people down the road. I think we and other musicians are not too fond of bands that are spoiled and find instant success. There are so many hard working bands that are great that no one gets to hear because they are not marketable or don’t have great connections for some reason. We play music because we love it, we have an amazing time, we get to meet so many great people, and we get to travel to a lot of new places. Nothing compares to that. I’m sure we would sit down and talk to a major label, if that happened, but we are going to continue to play together for as long as we want, no matter what. As long as we are happy with how things are going, we will be Alli With An I.

14. Any final comments?

Michael: Please check out our website at http://www.alliwithani.com and feel free to get in touch with us.

15. Thanks so much for the interview, good luck on everything!!

Michael: Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.