Causecast

by BRANDON DEROCHE, Causecast Music Manager

Underoath is one of the few bands I’ve had the pleasure of seeing grow from being fairly unknown to a headliner in just a short period of time. I remember seeing them play to about 10 people at Pittsburgh’s Warped Tour in 2002, then a few years later watching them headline Warped Tour’s main stage for around 10,000 people. It’s always a special thing to witness first hand that kind of evolution in a band’s career. You feel a sense of ownership, like you’ve purchased stock, and you take pride in their accomplishments.

Being involved in a variety of causes, Underoath leads by example as part of an ongoing effort to make the world a better place. My favorite thing about Underoath is that, despite things like member changes and their growing fame, they’ve stayed true to themselves and are still the same smelly dudes from Florida that they’ve always been.

Full interview:

Causecast: Are there any particular causes you’re passionate about?

Tim: A couple years ago we actually watched a documentary called Invisible Children and it really impacted us in a personal way. We were actually out with Thrice at the time; Thrice ended up watching it and they ended up getting involved in it, and that was a few years ago. It just seems to really have caught on with a lot of people. I think when charities start small with good intentions and get big and everyone has money and this and that, things get cloudy. But I think with them they’ve just kept their vision in tact, and have blown it up to a much larger scale.

“People always ask me ‘is there one thing?’ but I feel like humanity just needs help so bad, period”
- Aaron Gillespie

Grant: They put work into doing it for sure, like 12 hour days kind of thing. Everyone there is definitely dedicated to the cause.

We also, a couple years back, worked with another charity called Habitat for Humanity. They help restore houses and help provide homes for people that can’t basically afford, and have the luxury of having one. We worked with them in Birmingham and then we got to actually help them out again in New Orleans after Katrina. They seem always to have their heads on straight, doing good things to help people out.

Tim: It’s kind of a shame because they go into these places where everyone needs massive amounts of help and they only have so many resources and so many volunteers and people. But, they do everything that they possibly can with every hour of the day that they possibly have, so they’re awesome.

Aaron: You know, people always ask me, “Is there one thing?” but I feel like humanity just needs help so bad, period. You know? Whether it’s Africa or India, there are so many areas of humanity in our world that need change. Especially social change, so no, I don’t feel passionate about one specific area.

CC: Do you feel that music can be used as a vehicle to create social change?

Aaron: I think music can be used for a lot of things. I think it can be used for good, for bad, for fun, for healing, for sharing…but I think it can really be used as a vehicle for social change because music is one thing that people really don’t do without. When you really think about it, people have to eat, and people always wake up with a song in there head…or there is always a song on a commercial, a song here, a song there…or music makes you feel this way, that way. So I absolutely think it can and I think it’s important for people to realize that if you are a musician, you have a huge opportunity and I think using your opportunity for something socially, especially something socially integrated that could possibly change things, is pretty awesome. So yeah, I do. Short answer is yes.

CC: Are there any artists you feel do a great job of embodying that?

Aaron: Bayside does a great job with the To Write Love on Her Arms stuff. Thrice does a killer job with a few things. I feel like Dustin [Kensrue of Thrice], himself, is a great vehicle for social change. U2 is the ultimate, it’s the Mecca, you know? Those guys are extremely famous, have sold millions and millions of records and they use it for real reasons, and I think it’s a special thing.

“It’s going against what you’re taught as a kid is the American dream…It’s a whole different way of thinking”
- Grant Brandell

CC: How can an individual really impact social change?

Tim: We were just talking about this earlier today. We got on the topic of MTV and how they used to play videos and now they just play crappy shows about crappy people and it’s all about Paris Hilton and whatever dumb thing she’s doing next. It’s like all they have to do as MTV, this big corporation, is stop showing it and MTV is cool again. In reality, the more we talked about it, we realized it’s more about the mass people turning it on and not turning it off. When they see the ratings they’re like “Oh, everyone wants to see Paris Hilton and some snobby 16 year-old get a Ferrari for her sixteenth birthday.” I think it’s the same thing with government. Everyone relies on the big guy to make change for us, but it’s us, the viewers, who can make the change. If we stop watching it, they’ll put something on that we will watch. If we want good shows and music, then don’t watch the bad stuff.

It’s the same thing with us wanting Universal Health Care and a better world for us and everyone around us. But, we don’t want to sacrifice anything, we still want our over-sized houses and our cars with bottomless gas tanks, our mall shopping sprees, and our vast amounts of everything that we never use. But, we also want no inflation, a booming this and a stable that. Until we take our own responsibility as humans, saying this isn’t my world, this is our world and I’ll take what I need and not take much more…and if we don’t find a way to spread the wealth so to speak, then I don’t think we’re really going to get anywhere. Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, politicians can only do so much. There’s millions of people in this country and if everyone decided to do something differently, it would do more than many of us know. It’s just a matter of everyone playing their own role. If you think riding your bike to work once a week isn’t enough, do it twice, do it enough until you think that it does matter because every little bit does matter.

Grant: I think it’s funny that in general it’s going against what you’re taught as a kid is the American dream: big house, big cars, big whatever. By the time people get to the age where they can start going after those types of things, it’s so ingrained in their head that’s what they should want that it’s like people don’t even stop to think that this isn’t really what I need. Any kid that’s a junior or senior in high school, they’re thinking about the best college that I can get into and the best job where I can make the most money to get this and that. It’s all about money and material things, and to me, changing that is the biggest thing. It’s a whole different way of thinking.

Tim: I also think it’s a consumption thing, too. Whether you like to shop or you buy too much food or too much this or that. The next step is the entire fair labor thing. We’ve gotten to the point where we want all this stuff and we want it for less than it can actually be produced for. So in order for you to get that flat screen T.V. for a really nice price, they’re having to make families overseas work in sweatshops. If you paid someone nine dollars an hour here to do it, that $800 T.V. would be $3000. We fight for all these labor rights and civil rights, but then when it comes to buying the T.V. and spending three grand instead of one thousand…you’re always going to spend the one thousand. By doing that, it’s the same thing as being the viewer, the ratings are coming saying we’d rather enslave these people so that I don’t have save a few months pay to get what I want.

“You can’t just check in once or twice a year, vote for it, sign the petition…It’s an entire life change”
- Tim McTague

(McTague continues)

It’s about making ethical decisions. Pay a little more for merch because it’s printed on American Apparel, pay a little more for a T.V. because it’s made in a sound environment. Make sure you’re buying from somewhere that is ethically responsible. I think in order to do that, we’re gonna have to pay the price for that.

I think you have to be willing to fight for people’s rights, and then also offer up your end of the bargain to make that follow through. If you’re going for the Wal-Mart, and keep going to the places that are the cause of that, we’re never going to get anywhere…no matter how many bills you sign or votes you cast. You have to make that change with your entire life, you can’t just check in once or twice a year, vote for it, sign the petition, be a good person and then go back to funding the same companies you just voted against. It’s an entire life change that people don’t take the time to think about.

For more on Underoath visit Underoath777.com.

Read more Causecast musician interviews at www.causecast.org/music.

Photo 1 by Jonathan Teo, flickr.

Photo 2 by Wild_Child_HC, flickr.

Photo 3 by Frenkieb, flickr.

Photo 4 by Wild_Child_HC, flickr.