Any preconceived notions you might have about your favorite bands can be immediately shot down once you’ve gotten to know them. In this world of the “rock star,” rarely does anyone get that chance. I’ve been fortunate enough to call Mr. Deon Rexroat [pictured below, courtesy of the band's Myspace] my friend. Oh, and he happens to play bass in a band called Anberlin. I had the opportunity to sit and talk with Deon about the band's recent release, New Surrender, as well as his influences and Anberlin’s outlook on the upcoming year. In between the beer and friendly banter, I came to realize that Deon is a musician who knows where he stands and he speaks with conviction. He is a solid bass player as well as a friend, and I hope you find this interview as entertaining as I did conducting it.
I noticed on www.anberlin.com that all of the major sites where you can buy the new record were mentioned, including WalMart, and in parentheses, indie record shops were marked as being important. Is this the collective thought of Anberlin, to mention the big stores where you can find the New Surrender album rather than keep it indie?
Deon Rexroat: We use our splash pages as up front news and one of them is a list of all local record stores that the new album is available. We do a lot of work with indie stores because we think they are very important. I found out about a lot of the music I listen to through the “cooler than me” clerks that worked at a lot of those stores. Places like Woodpecker Records in Lakeland, FL., Newbury Comics in Boston, MA, and Relapse Records in Philadelphia, PA. before they became an on-line store. Vinyl has made a comeback. The album is an important thing as much as it gets dissected by sites like iTunes. Independent record stores offer a little more niche stuff like Rhino Records in Pomona, CA. Every time we have an album come out we do in-stores at independent record shops. We play acoustic and all of us are there signing albums. Park Avenue in Orlando, FL. have always been huge supporters of us as well as Uncle Sam’s in South Florida and Vinyl Fever in Tampa, Florida.
You’ve played for and in front of some very big audiences with some of today’s biggest bands. Is there a point where it gets to be the same old thing every day? Or is playing in a new city to new fans still a thrill?
When the crowd in on board with us during a performance it gets us more excited. It’s what we love to do so it’s fun as hell. If the crowd isn’t on board then it’s a challenge to us. We do what we can to get them in to the show and get them involved. We’re not just wasting our time here, we’re here to have fun and you should be out here having fun too. This isn’t work, this is supposed to be a recreational activity, why are you frowning? or talking?, or texting?. It’s understandable when we’re opening for a band. It’s really weird when we’re the headliner though, because we’re the last band and you look pissed off and bored. U2 isn’t coming on after us I don’t’ know what you’re friends told you. (laughs)
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2010.