Acceptance

Seattle rockers Acceptance, share how growing up has led to the release of a new EP and a fan base who’s quick response to the music is rather… accepting.

Everyone has a soft spot. It’s that certain something that most people keep hidden deep inside their bodies to protect their character and their hearts. It’s responsible for determining who you are, what you love or hate most, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Over time, we learn to mature and watch the soft spot harden and mold us into the people we strived to become. Acceptance is a band made up of five guys, Jason Vena (vocals), Kaylan Cloyd (guitar), Christian McAlhaney (guitar), Ryan Zwiefelhofer (bass), and Nick Radovanovic (drums), who’d rather wear their hearts on their sleeves than hide behind what they’ve grown to become.

At the Troubadour in Hollywood, CA, Acceptance is opening up for headliners Onelinedrawing. Currently, the band is playing their set while I’m stuck outside trying to find a way in. Luckily, the Troubadour has an awesome alley behind the club where security is no obstacle of mine. As soon as Acceptance finished their set, I rushed to the loading/unloading door to meet up with the band and pull its members away for a few minutes. I overheard their singer talking about how he got punched three times from the crowd but he was still doing alright. They were all very warm and responsive; especially the guitarist, Christian, who agreed to do the interview right there in the alley.

The band first established four years ago in Seattle, Washington, but they are by no means a grunge band. Since then, the only two original members are Jason and Kaylan.

“I got in two years ago,” says Christian. “Ryan has been in for a year and a half, and the drummer just got in three months ago. So the band as you know it right now that just played tonight has been together for only three months,” says Christian.

So what you hear on Aceeptance’s latest EP, Black Lines to Battlefields, is the product of their old members. The lyrics on the EP itself are pretty vague and were written in that way on purpose so that the listeners could interpret the music for themselves. The EP was created with help from Matt Pinfield, formally of MTV’s 120 Minutes program, who really took interest in the band. The first single off the album is the song Permanent, which Christian admits is hard for him or anyone else in the band to explain because Jason writes most of the lyrics. Or so he thinks, as we later found out from Christian.

“[Writing] is a collaboration always. No one just writes one or all of a song. Sometimes, someone will come up with a riff or maybe a full song and then we’ll all take it apart and say hey let’s do this here or let’s do this there, or take this out. Actually, the truth is Michael Jackson writes our songs but that’s just between you and me,” says Christian.

The real lyrical genius of Acceptance, Jason, later steps in to suck out the meaning beneath the song Permanant.“With Permanent, it’s talking about a relationship with a girlfriend or a really close friend where you’ve been stabbed in the back or whatever. It’s going through and realizing that that’s going to happen and then you’re going to make up and that it’s going to happen again and it’s going to keep happening. So the message behind that song and throughout the whole album is you got to try and wrestle through who you are and who you want to be, and everything else will fall into place. Be strong in yourself. There’s going to be hard times where you may have thought this was your best friend but it really wasn’t or thought that you knew this but you really didn’t,” says Jason.

I then mention how those feelings and painful times just come from growing up. “Exactly!” added Jason. “The album was written as I was at the tail end of where I feel like going through that teen age to I’m not anywhere near anything, I don’t know exactly where I want to be now. But I feel like I learned a lot more after that.”

The band certainly proves they have learned a lot from being on the road, and when the band is not writing about relationships, they’re out there on stage trying to build some. The reaction to the crowds at their shows is unbelievable, especially for them. “It’s really weird for me when I’m on stage. I have a blank mind and it’s not as cliché or stupid my view of music, I just really get into what’s going on. I don’t really hear Jason a lot of the time so it’s hard to get into what he’s saying about a relationship and that kind of stuff, so it’s more just music. These are our songs and to me it’s like the most fun thing in the world. There are kids here to see us and it blows my mind,” says Christian.

Christian and I begin heading out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk, for security has just asked us to move because there had been some complaints made. (Yeah right)

“When I’m on stage I just smile every time,” adds Christian. “Especially with this tour since we hit a bunch of states that we have never been to before. There were kids singing our songs and it’s like, how do they know our songs? We’re just some band from Seattle. How are you singing our songs right now? Sometimes we’ll make eye contact on stage and it’s just so cool. Especially in California where the kids have been eating it up for some reason and we’ve only been here a couple times in the past two months. We just have a great response here and I just love it!”

Having been on tour for the past two months with the likes of Onelinedrawing, Damone, Murder By Death, Me Without You, the START, and making an appearance at Hellfest, Christian feels that the best part of the tour so far has been the opportunity of touring itself. “I’m so grateful. To me, like I’ve said before, we’re just some whatever band. I love our songs to death but I don’t think we’re better than anybody else. Just the fact that we’re on tour playing in front of people is such a blessing, if you will. It’s just been awesome. When we’re on tour and we do an off date and play with local bands, we hear how they wish they could be doing what we’re doing. It doesn’t even matter about making money, it’s just the fact that we can go on tour, go around the U.S, play our songs, and meet new people every night.”

The band has had their share of vans over the years, but they are now enjoying the luxury of an R.V/ recording studio to drive around in. “It’s great. Our singer was into the R.V which was more economical. We can cash out on hotels now, our monthly payments aren’t more like on the conversion van. We can never go back. We have a recording studio in there or if you’re mad at somebody you don’t have to be sitting right next to them. It’s just open doors now and you can do so much,” replied Christian.

When asked if Christian could be a Star Wars character who would he choose, he answered, “I would probably be Han Solo because he’s got this gung ho personality, he doesn’t really think about a lot of things but just goes out and does it. I do that a lot sometimes, to a fault.”

Whenever the band is not playing they enjoy meeting their fans, hanging out, and if you’re anything like Christian, sipping an occasional beer here and there. “No one in the band drinks other than myself. I mean, we’re not your typical rock band. We don’t really party at all. We’re pretty mellow; we don’t live a rock star life. Even if I do drink, I don’t drink at shows that we play. [Instead], I might go have a beer in the R.V or something. We’re all Christians in the band but we’re not a Christian band - don’t get me wrong. My favorite $5-12 pack would probably be Old English 40. PBR is good too. I’m a cheap beer kind of guy,” says Christian.

Now comes game part of the interview where the bands get to choose their porn star name based on the name of their first pet, or their middle name, and the street they grew up on. “Danny 25th Way…? That’s a good one. I think I might keep that one actually. Actually, my friends and I have designated ourselves porn star names and I was Richard Action, (for no particular reason).”

The band has future plans of recording a full length album expected off of Columbia, but no dates have been confirmed. In the mean time, check out the band’s music and tour page at www.acceptancemusic.com. Oh yeah, and from Christian himself, “Don’t do drugs.”

Interview by Jennifer Santos