Interview Spencer Chamberlain underOATH

Line-Up: Spencer Chamberlain - Vocals Aaron Gillespie - Drums / Vocals Tim McTague - Guitar / Vocals James Smith - Guitar Grant Brandell - Bass Chris Dudley - Keyboards

Cornerstone Festival 7/5/06 Interviewer: Maggie Solum Live photos: Phil Blair

"It’s my demons, haunting me in a box."

Spencer Chamberlain, singer for MTV2’s darling band of the moment underOATH, and his gang of thunderous revelers were bestowed a plethora of good fortune in 2006.  Early this summer they released their third effort (produced by Atlanta’s own Matt Goldman) Define The Great Line on Tooth and Nail Records. They also corralled a slew of faithful followers to help the band donate their share of proceeds from a gig in NOLA to Common Grounds for Hurricane Katrina victims and were fortunate enough to shoot two videos with the Swedish avant-garde production team Popcore Films, credited for eye candy mini flicks for Cult of Luna and From First To Last to name a few. However, wait, maybe we spoke to soon.

At the time of this transcription, it was announced that underOATH  cancelled their upcoming slots on this years' Vans Warped Tour which would have had the band booked until mid-August. Due to “unforeseen circumstances”, the band released this official statement: “We’re deeply frustrated and sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. We felt it necessary to take some immediate time to focus on our friendship, as that’s more important than risking it for the sake of touring at this time.” Maybe this was foreseen in the midst of this interview. Hmmm, read on… 

Maggie: Good to meet you. Introduce yourself and what you do in the band.

Spencer: I am Spencer and I sing for Underøath.

Maggie: First off, who came up with the decoding site for Define the Great Line?

Spencer: Um, that was like a label thing.

Maggie: Really?

Spencer: Yeah.

Maggie: Have you tried it?

Spencer: No. I haven’t even seen it.

Maggie: It’s frustrating as anything (Laughs) For your album art – did you guys create that concept yourself, or...?

Spencer: Yeah, it was kind of a joint thing between me and the art director, Chandler Owen. I’d send him an email of something that I was picturing and he kind of took it and ran with it.

Maggie: Okay. Which person in your band do you think would be unsuspecting enough to get whipped with a wet towel?

Spencer: Chris.

Maggie: Really? Have you ever done it to him?

Spencer: No, but we mess with him a lot.

Maggie: Are you mean to him?

Spencer: Sometimes.

Maggie: He’s so nice though! (Laughs) How important is fan-interaction to you, personally?

Spencer: I think it’s very important, like, to not put yourself on a higher level than anybody else.

Maggie: How is Warped Tour going?

Spencer: Awesome. It’s been great. It’s been great since the first year we’ve done it.

Maggie: How many years have you done it so far?

Spencer: This is our third year.

Maggie: Oh, that’s awesome. You guys only played half the dates last year, is that right?

Spencer: Yeah.

Maggie: Why was that?

Spencer:  That we weren’t allowed to do it. We did a full year the year before and then we did the half, and then this year is the full year again.

Maggie: Oh, there are rules?

Spencer: Yeah.

Maggie: Okay. I heard you had new tattoos; if you could tell me about them?

Spencer: It’s my demons, haunting me in a box.

Maggie: I heard you say in your bio online that your last band toured a lot; what band were you in before this, if you don’t mind me asking?

Spencer: I was in a band called This Runs Through for a long time, you know, since high school.

Maggie: Are there any members from that band that are in bands now?

Spencer: Yeah, two of the guys are in a band now called Sullivan.

Maggie: Oh, okay. They’re amazing. Your voice has improved a lot since your last record; have you done anything special to improve your skill?

Spencer: Uh, I just could be more myself. Like, if I tried stuff like this on the last record it wouldn’t really fit. I get to use more of what I can do.

Maggie: So heavier music appeals to you?

Spencer: Yeah.

Maggie: I know on the old DVD for They’re Only Chasing Safety and in other places you’ve said that you’re into building cars and things like that – where did that passion come from?

Spencer: Every since I was a little kid, man, I grew up with some buddies and none of us could afford cars so we’d buy old pieces of crap and fix them up.

Maggie: Do you do stuff like that on your off time now?

Spencer: Sometimes. Like, this truck I’ve been working on for three years. But I’m not home very much.

Maggie: Do you guys find time on the road to do other religious things besides festivals, like this?

Spencer: Uh... I don’t know what you mean by religious things.

Maggie: Do you visit churches or anything like that?

Spencer: No.

Maggie: No?

Spencer: No.

Maggie: ...what do you guys do to grow in your spirituality? From day to day?

Spencer: Just, hang out with each other. We’re more, we’re very believers in personal relationships and pretty non-religious.

Maggie: Okay. That actually leads to my next question – you’re more a spiritual person than organized religion, right?

Spencer: Yeah.

Maggie: Were you raised like that?

Spencer: I wasn’t raised in a religious family at all.

Maggie: Okay. How did you become a Christian then?

Spencer: Over time. Just spending time with yourself, figuring out what’s right for you. That’s like my whole goal with our band being a Christian band is figuring out for yourself, not if you were brought up a certain way, or your best friend does it or if a cool band does it. Because if you can’t find it for yourself, then you’re gonna wake up one day and be completely lost. I’ve seen it happen. I see it happen every day.

Maggie: Okay. Out of all the shirt designs that you guys sell, which one is your favorite?

Spencer: I have no idea; we have so many t-shirt designs, like on every tour we get new designs. I don’t even keep up with them anymore. (Laughs)

Maggie: So you have no idea?

Spencer: No.

Maggie: You were on Headbangers Ball a few weeks ago – was that the first time you’ve been featured?

Spencer: No, we did it once before that.

Maggie: How’s the experience on Headbangers Ball?

Spencer: It’s cool. It’s just hanging out with a dude [Jamey Jasta], you know, talkin’. Whatever.

Maggie: What are your plans for the rest of this year?

Spencer: We do Central and South America, we do a Canadian tour, we do New Zealand, Japan, Europe, then we come home for Christmas, then first thing next year we do our full headlining run for our record in the U.S.

Maggie: Do you know who that tour’s going to be with?

Spencer: We know who we want to tour with, but it’s too far away, so.

Maggie: Okay. What is your favorite thing about being a part of Underøath?

Spencer: Just writing music. That’s my favorite thing to do.

Maggie: What’s your favorite thing about living in the South?

Spencer: Everything. The people, the food, the weather.

Maggie: You’re from North Carolina, right?

Spencer: Yeah, I was born and raised in North Carolina.

Maggie: Did you grow up with any of the bands that are here now?

Spencer: Yeah, we’ve been around Hopesfall and Beloved and Norma Jean dudes for as long as I can remember.

Maggie: Awesome. if you were trapped on an island, what are five things you would absolutely need to survive?

Spencer: Food and water. Pen and paper. That’s really all I need.

Maggie: Do you have any questions for me?

Spencer: No.

Maggie: No? Okay. Do you have anything you’d like to add?

Spencer: Not really.

Maggie: You’re not really being talkative.

Spencer: No, I am, I’ve just – we’ve – I don’t know.

Maggie: You’ve answered these questions before?

Spencer: Yeah.

Maggie: Yeah. Well, we’re done then. Thank you.

Spencer: Cool.

Click here for the 2006 Cornerstone Festival Review