Australia’s love affair with American band Anberlin first started in 2005 and continued up until their farewell tour in 2014. Now just like an old flame returning Anberlin will be touring Australia in May 2019 rekindling the fire for some special shows. We caught up with Anberlin vocalist Stephen Christian as he reflects on the legacy of Anberlin and shares his excitement to be back in the land down under.   

 

Firstly what was it like transitioning to life after Anberlin trying to settle into more of a normal life without all the touring?

 

It was kind of like a deep tissue massage (laughs). It was honestly pretty incredible. I loved touring, travelling and seeing the world with my best friends but it comes at a price. That price is quality of life at some points. So for me it’s about being able to watch my family and friends grow up and being able to be there for the good times and bad instead of just checking out instagram and seeing all of the highlights of their life. Also to wake up in the same bed night after night is pretty great.

 

Looking back you must be pretty proud of everything Anberlin achieved?

 

I am, every day I would have somebody come up to me and say you changed my life. At the time I took all that for granted but now I look back and feel so lucky. We were five kids from a little town of twenty five thousand people in the middle of nowhere. The fact that we got to and see places like Thailand, Japan, Australia and Europe it just blows my mind. It was such a thrill and something that I will always look back with fond memories.

 

What was it like stepping back on stage for the first time last year? Were you nervous?

 

No I wasn’t nervous at all it was something that I did for twelve years of my life so for me it felt second nature. I will say the amount of people that were singing along I couldn’t believe we had that big of an impact on people to still be a part of their lives. That’s what felt surreal but everything else just came natural. It felt like right where I needed to be.

 

I’m guessing it goes without saying you are pretty excited to get back to your second home Australia?

 

I know right this is our fourteenth time. So yeah it’s about time I miss it. This time I get to bring my wife which is really cool because out of all of those times she has never been. I can’t wait to show her around your beautiful country but more importantly I can’t wait to night after night lose my voice with all the incredible Australian fans. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for months.     

 

The last time I saw you on stage was at Roundhouse Sydney in September 2014 saying farewell. That looked like an emotional night for you.

 

It was something we dreamt about going to play in places like the Roundhouse and to have that rabid of a fan base so entwined. Emotionally I felt like they were losing just as much as I was. There’s something poetic about going back and seeing all of those faces one more time.

 

There is quite a deep love of Anberlin from Australia why do you think this is?

 

I think it was because we were one of the first bands from USA in our genre to go across there. It could of been any band but we just happened to be at the perfect place at the perfect time. We took a risk by going on an entire USA tour to save up money to spend on plane tickets to come to Australia. That was out of our pockets, we were still living with our parents. We invested all of that into our trip and we got out of it years and years of incredible shows and excitement. So we took a gamble and I think Australia picked up on that by thinking who is this band coming over here when no one else was.

 

I was actually at the Gaelic Club in Sydney seeing Anberlin on your first Australian tour. What were your first impressions of Australia like?

 

The first show we played was in Adelaide and we got there it was sold out and everyone was singing along. We were like what? why? you guys don’t even know us we’ve never been here. That entire tour blew our minds the fact that we were half way around the world and people were already entwined with the music. It totally threw us off we had no clue these people cared.

 

How much does the song “Paperthin Hymn” mean to you being that it would of been one of the first songs Australians really connected with?

 

The song is massive for me on a personal level because the songs is about being around my grandmother as she’s slowly dying. It’s about the connection to real life that I felt like I was missing out on at the time. The fact that I was on the road so much I missed the moments that she was around. So it’s about making sure you tell people how much you care before they are gone because you never know what’s going to happen around the corner. The fact that song was one of the first that really hit Australia meant a lot to me. It was almost like an homage and was for her the whole time. The fact that people picked up on the sentimentality meant a lot.

 

One of our favourite Anberlin tracks from Cities is “Dismantle Repair” can you tell us a bit about that song?

 

The song is about how so many of us who take life for granted especially in the western world. We don’t know how good we have it sometimes. We are always waiting for the next thing and wanting bigger, better and more. It’s like life on a consumer diet but the simple fact is we are so lucky and have so much to be thankful for. Instead it seems like so many people turn their backs and say it’s just not good enough. So the song is a challenge for everybody to pause and truly reflect on how incredible life really is.

 

 

The Australian tour is quite unique as we are getting Ryan Mendez from Yellowcard join Anberlin for the tour.

 

Yeah there’s a few bands in our lives that we really connected with on a friendship level like My Chemical Romance, Story Of The Year, Bayside and Yellowcard. So when Joey unfortunately couldn’t make it he had some prior obligations we thought lets bring a friend. Ryan is on board and I can’t wait it’s going to be unreal.

 

I’m also a big fan of your other project Anchor & Braille. Is there any news on that band and would you every bring those songs to Australia?

 

Man I would love it absolutely, that would be so cool. It’s such a passion project of mine. I’m also definitely writing more music for Anchor & Braille it should be coming out in 2020.

 

Lastly is there anything you are hoping to relive in Australia on this tour? Like Tim Tams, Vegemite or just holding a koala?

 

Stephen Christian 

This is my fourteenth time going to Australia but my wife’s first so I’m going to do it all one more time. I’m going to pretend like I’ve never been I want to see a kangaroo, hold a koala, eat Tim Tams. I might pass on the vegemite but I’ll definitely get my wife to try it.    

 

 

(interview by Christian Ross)