punkdisasters
1. the Space between 'Cities' and 'New Surrender' wasn't too long, did you have a lot of songs you'd originally written for Cities which ended up on New Surrender?
no, actually it is rather funny that people keep bringing this up. records used to come out all the time, several a year by the same artist. elvis Costello put out 15 records in 14 years. it is only since we have begun to mass market and bands have begun to extensively tour has the album been known to wait a certain amount of time (exactly 2 years, no more no less).
if you look at it from our point of view though we actually spent more time writing this record than any other record. when we recorded cities we wrote in the van and our last stop was seattle, so we got out of the van and walked right into the studio and pushed record. with cities we had almost 3 months off before we even started pre production! so honestly though it appeared like less time to the fans it was actually a LOT longer for us.
blueprints took us 3 weeks to record, ntfp was 4 weeks, cities was 4 ½ weeks, and new surrender took us 3 months! so we had so much more liberty to work as hard as we can for 6 months on a record! that’s a massive amount of time. so just because new surrender came out 1 ½ years after cities we spent a huge amount of time (a LOT more than any other record) it just appears “rushed’. which still makes me laugh when people use that word.
2) What would you be doing if you weren't involved in music?
humanitarian work, i would love to be working for the non-profit i am involved with, faceless international, full time.
3) "Feel Good Drag" has become one of your biggest hits, but is it your favorite song that you've made? Are there any other songs you've written that you wish received that much attention?
no it is not my favorite but i always knew it could have been a massive radio hit. my favorite songs are christa paffgen, fin, dismantle, & blame me. but as far as songs i wish had got attention i would really have liked hello alone to have been the ‘single’ instead of godspeed on our last album.
4) What was the first concert you ever went to? (As a fan)
when i was a kid we had this little place called friar tucks right around the corner from my house in winter haven, florida. a sell out show would consist of 50 people. bands i saw there and around town were ‘i’m not sure’, ‘syrup’, delivery boy, atomsmashers named suzie, upperoom, discontent, and many more.
5) Stephen, your side project Anchor & Braile's debut album is scheduled for a release on June 30th, any plans to release a single from this or announce the title of the album anytime soon?
i don’t think that i am ever going to have a ‘single’ off a&b its not that kind of album/record. though i am working with a director named Stephen Macgee from Detroit to shoot two videos.
6) What is your favorite high school memory? i HATED high school, it was so bad, honestly going home from school every day was my highlight. also pizza fridays in the cafeteria weren’t all that bad. and my best friend jen childs and wendi whited made it a decent day.
7) What song are you the most proud of?
the whole a&b record. it feels like they are my own. my little creations. not that i don’t like anberlin stuff, it just feels good to oversee and create all by yourself.
8) Your projected release date for another album isn't for quite a while. Does that mean you're taking some time off to really write, or will you be touring more in between?
no time off. that’s not in my vocabulary apparently. i leave may 8th and won’t see Nashville (where i am living for the time being) until august 1. anberlin and anchor & braille tours! im always writing, whether if its for my bands or with other people i LOVE writing.
9) When can we expect a music video for "Breaking?"
well when i saw this question i emailed my manager and asked him the same question. SOOOO he is getting people to start writing treatments. thanks for the reminder. we’ll keep you updated for sure.
10) What do you think has contributed the most to your success?
well besides my faith, family, and friends i have to say it is because i stopped fearing what other people thought. i just went out there and tried, i wrote a book, i started a non profit, i have a blog, two bands, and more but its NOT BECAUSE IM TALENTED! its because i just go out there and try. the sooner that you realize that it doesn’t matter what other people think the sooner you are able to explore the realm of possibilities that this world has to offer. screw people. do.
11) If you could collaborate with any artist, who you most want to work with?
Johnny marr.
12) What's an Anberlin?
a noun i guess.
13) Where and when was the first show you ever played? How old were you guys, and did you rock/suck big time?
suck,16 and we played in front of all our friends at a rotary center that we rented out. did i say suck? yeah. making sure.
14) How much of a change was it switching from Tooth & Nail to Universal?
HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we LOVE tooth but i think one of the best decisions of my life was deciding to sign with universal. they have given us more than what we asked for, and allowed us to accomplish things far beyond my wildest dreams.
15) Even though you love all your work; if you had to choose, which one of your albums is your favorite?
the guys are going to hate me but NTFP. the time around and in seattle during that recording process was probably some of the best times of my life, and that album could be basically the greatest hits record off tooth and nail.
no, actually it is rather funny that people keep bringing this up. records used to come out all the time, several a year by the same artist. elvis Costello put out 15 records in 14 years. it is only since we have begun to mass market and bands have begun to extensively tour has the album been known to wait a certain amount of time (exactly 2 years, no more no less).
if you look at it from our point of view though we actually spent more time writing this record than any other record. when we recorded cities we wrote in the van and our last stop was seattle, so we got out of the van and walked right into the studio and pushed record. with cities we had almost 3 months off before we even started pre production! so honestly though it appeared like less time to the fans it was actually a LOT longer for us.
blueprints took us 3 weeks to record, ntfp was 4 weeks, cities was 4 ½ weeks, and new surrender took us 3 months! so we had so much more liberty to work as hard as we can for 6 months on a record! that’s a massive amount of time. so just because new surrender came out 1 ½ years after cities we spent a huge amount of time (a LOT more than any other record) it just appears “rushed’. which still makes me laugh when people use that word.
2) What would you be doing if you weren't involved in music?
humanitarian work, i would love to be working for the non-profit i am involved with, faceless international, full time.
3) "Feel Good Drag" has become one of your biggest hits, but is it your favorite song that you've made? Are there any other songs you've written that you wish received that much attention?
no it is not my favorite but i always knew it could have been a massive radio hit. my favorite songs are christa paffgen, fin, dismantle, & blame me. but as far as songs i wish had got attention i would really have liked hello alone to have been the ‘single’ instead of godspeed on our last album.
4) What was the first concert you ever went to? (As a fan)
when i was a kid we had this little place called friar tucks right around the corner from my house in winter haven, florida. a sell out show would consist of 50 people. bands i saw there and around town were ‘i’m not sure’, ‘syrup’, delivery boy, atomsmashers named suzie, upperoom, discontent, and many more.
5) Stephen, your side project Anchor & Braile's debut album is scheduled for a release on June 30th, any plans to release a single from this or announce the title of the album anytime soon?
i don’t think that i am ever going to have a ‘single’ off a&b its not that kind of album/record. though i am working with a director named Stephen Macgee from Detroit to shoot two videos.
6) What is your favorite high school memory? i HATED high school, it was so bad, honestly going home from school every day was my highlight. also pizza fridays in the cafeteria weren’t all that bad. and my best friend jen childs and wendi whited made it a decent day.
7) What song are you the most proud of?
the whole a&b record. it feels like they are my own. my little creations. not that i don’t like anberlin stuff, it just feels good to oversee and create all by yourself.
8) Your projected release date for another album isn't for quite a while. Does that mean you're taking some time off to really write, or will you be touring more in between?
no time off. that’s not in my vocabulary apparently. i leave may 8th and won’t see Nashville (where i am living for the time being) until august 1. anberlin and anchor & braille tours! im always writing, whether if its for my bands or with other people i LOVE writing.
9) When can we expect a music video for "Breaking?"
well when i saw this question i emailed my manager and asked him the same question. SOOOO he is getting people to start writing treatments. thanks for the reminder. we’ll keep you updated for sure.
10) What do you think has contributed the most to your success?
well besides my faith, family, and friends i have to say it is because i stopped fearing what other people thought. i just went out there and tried, i wrote a book, i started a non profit, i have a blog, two bands, and more but its NOT BECAUSE IM TALENTED! its because i just go out there and try. the sooner that you realize that it doesn’t matter what other people think the sooner you are able to explore the realm of possibilities that this world has to offer. screw people. do.
11) If you could collaborate with any artist, who you most want to work with?
Johnny marr.
12) What's an Anberlin?
a noun i guess.
13) Where and when was the first show you ever played? How old were you guys, and did you rock/suck big time?
suck,16 and we played in front of all our friends at a rotary center that we rented out. did i say suck? yeah. making sure.
14) How much of a change was it switching from Tooth & Nail to Universal?
HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we LOVE tooth but i think one of the best decisions of my life was deciding to sign with universal. they have given us more than what we asked for, and allowed us to accomplish things far beyond my wildest dreams.
15) Even though you love all your work; if you had to choose, which one of your albums is your favorite?
the guys are going to hate me but NTFP. the time around and in seattle during that recording process was probably some of the best times of my life, and that album could be basically the greatest hits record off tooth and nail.
posted by Sven at 4:21 PM
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