Please state your name, age, and what you do in the band. Seth: My full name is Seth Alan Roberts. I am 20 years old. I play guitar, I sing, and I write songs in Watashi Wa. Is it true you guys have been rocking out since you were 12? Seth: 13. That's still really young. Seth: Yeah, a little. Here's the thing though. We were all rocking out separately I guess. This band has been going, this lineup, has been going since we were 15. I started this band when I was 13, so I guess the band has been going since 13. Has the name been Watashi Wa? Seth: Yeah. What does it mean? Seth: It means "I am" in Japanese. We got it from this guy, Earl, a friend of ours. He's a smart kid. We were all at a concert, and it was when I was 12, I was trying to think of band names because I was trying to start a band at that time. We were just talking, and he's just like this kid who always has band names, you know? So he was throwing out band names, and I was like, "Oh, that's cool." Do you guys like the name? Yeah, I like it. Seth: Honest? Yeah, honest. Seth: We've thought a billion times about changing it. I think it's a cool name because it's unique. A lot of band names are just phrases. And when you go, "Have you heard of such and such," it doesn'treally sound like a band name. And with your name, you can make up a secret meaning. Seth: Yeah, totally. You can do that with pretty much any name. You can sound smart, knowing a foreign language. Seth: A lot of Japanese people email us, actually. Like a lot of people from Japan email us, and we can't really understand what they're saying. Have you guys thought about touring overseas? Seth: Yeah, a lot. We really, really want to. We're going to be working with someone, like international touring. Japanese fans are hardcore. They know how to rock. Seth: Yeah, totally. Where are you guys from? Seth: We're from the San Louis Obispo County, California. I live in this town called Atascadero. It's like 35 minutes away from everyone else. Everyone else lives in Pismo Beach. I love it there. It's so nice. Seth: Yeah, it's pretty. We love it. There's a huge growth between "What's in the Way" and "the Love of Life." How can you account for that? Seth: So this album is way more mature? Is that what you're saying? Yeah. Andrew wrote this question. Seth: Well, that's cool. I am glad that he thinks that. It's not like we sit down and go, "Let's make a more mature album," or "Let's try to grow." I think bands generally get better - not all bands. I don't think we're a great band. There are a lot of amazing bands. I think the best thing we're good at is getting better. I think the more we play together (the better we get). Another thing is we're all really young, and we're still figuring out a lot about ourselves and growing up a lot this time of our lives, you know? How old are you? 17. Seth: You're probably way more mature than you were last year, you know? It reflects in music. It reflects in everything really, your friendships, everything. I don't know. I think it's just something that happens, but yeah, I am glad that he thinks that. Between "What's in the Way" and "the Love of Life," besides added maturity, the topics of the songs are incredibly positive. You guys have always created a very uplifting message. Can you explain why you decided to take this route? Seth: I don't know. I don't know if it's something we decide or if it's something that decided us. It's just like life is that way to me. Life is really amazing to me. I've always been blown away by how incredible people are that I've experienced in life. We're all pretty happy kids, and we feel lucky. At the same times, I have written songs where I can't really say I feel that way all the time, but I think it's something because it's how we felt when we started the band. The whole scene at the time, and still, was really negative. And that didn't make sense to us because we're really happy kids, you know? We've wanted to be that. We've wanted to be positive. I'm sick, so I'm kind of spacey, huh? Don't worry. You're coming up with good answers. Seth: Cool, cool. Are you religious? Seth: Yeah, well, I believe in the Bible. I would call myself a Christian because I know God personally. Religious in the way a lot of people see religion today, I don't really want to be associated with that. I think religion is really misunderstood. I think religion in the pure form, like what the Bible says, like taking care of the widows and orphans, that's cool. But that's not really how I see religion today. That's not to say religion is a bad thing, but I think people associate religious people as hypocritical because people aren't perfect. I believe in God, and he's changed my life. That's something really real to me, and I think all of us. Is church a big part of your life? Seth: Yeah. I went through a time where I couldn't stand church. I went through this time where I tripped out on religion and kind of on what I am talking about. I knew God that was really in love with everybody, and when I talked to people about religion, it was about rules. I was in churches that didn't really make sense to me. I found a church that I feel like family there. Yeah, it's a big part of my life. What was it like going from a smaller label like Betty Rocket to Tooth and Nail , one of the most successful labels? Seth: Record labels. (Laughs). It's definitely a blessing. We kind of had a bad experience with the music industry maybe because of Betty Rocket. I don't know if I should say, but after the whole Betty Rocket thing, we were kind of like, "I don't know," about record companies anymore. The more that we've been working with Tooth and Nail, we're really excited, and we feel really blessed. Did you get a chance to meet some other bands on the label? Seth: Yeah, we're good friends with a lot of the other bands on the label. Beloved, we met them on this tour. They're really cool. Dogwood is friends of ours. Who produced the new record, and were you satisfied with the way it came out? Seth: Triple G. His name is Garth Richardson. Everyone calls him Gu-gu-gu-garth 'cause he has a stutter. He produced the album. He's a rad guy. We like him. We just hit it off. He's an incredible producer. What was the other question? Are we happy with it? Yeah, we're stoked. The whole time we were up there, we were like, "This is great. We don't deserve to be up here." We're very happy with how the record came out. We think it's captured us better than past records. It's a lot mellower, like the way the songs were recorded. The guitars weren't super heavy, which is something that we really like because a lot of the bands out there right now are really guitar driven bands, which is cool, but it's just never really been us. Our songs are written around melodies. I think it's cool. We were happy about it. It feels really good, at least when I listen to it. Andrew agrees. I agree. Seth: Cool. What's your favorite song on the disc and why? Seth: I wrote all the songs, so I like them all. Well, right at this second, what is your favorite? Seth: Well, tonight when I played "Everything," the one with the obo. (Sings part of the song.) That song is just about friends and something about life, whether it be a rock or a sunset, it makes you feel really alive, and every time I play that song, I feel alive. (Lane joins the interview.) Lane: What's this? Seth: An interview. Lane: Who with? Emotionalpunk.com Lane: We met Andrew. Andrew says hi. Lane: Hi Andrew! What's it been like touring with Copeland and Acceptance? Seth: Well… Lane: Let me answer this. Seth: Wait, you got to introduce yourself. I'm Lani. Lane: Hey, I'm Lane. This is Lane speaking. Seth: You got to state your full name, your age, and what you do. Lane: Really? Seth: Yeah, that's what I had to do. Lane: Lane Biermann. 20. Drums. It's been good. Seth: It would be funny if you just ended there. "It's been good." Lane: Because Copeland are the most bro-est guys ever. Seth: Most bro band ever. Lane: I don't know. You know how you don't expect to click with someone so well, and you really end up doing just that. It's been nice because Copeland is so cool. And I think after touring for seven weeks, you start to know each song, each set, and obviously on a musical level, you guys respect each other because I think they're really good. But other than that, off the stage and not concerning music, they're really cool guys. Seth: Yeah, really nice. Lane: Very competitive. Seth: Very competitive. Lane: As far as Acceptance goes, they're really cool guys. We've only had a couple dates with them so far. Seth: Yeah, we really like the guys in Acceptance. We're starting to get to know them better, but yeah, they've been rad. Who would you guys like to tour with in the future? Seth: I think we're doing a tour with Further Seems Forever again. We went out and just did a couple shows with them just on the west coast, and that was cool. They're really nice guys. Lane: Who would you like to (tour with)? Seth: I would like for that to happen because that's realistic. Who would I like to tour with? I would like to tour with… Lane: Avril Lavigne. Seth: There's a lot of people that I'd really would like to tour with. Lane: Oh! Let me say mine. I'd like to tour with Imperial Teen. I'd really like to tour with Imperial Teen. Seth: I'd like to tour with Coldplay. I don't think it's very real, but wait, I won't say that. It's good to be a dreamer, so I'd like to tour with Coldplay, Avril Lavigne… Lane: All the bands we listen to, we'd like to tour with. Seth: I'd like to tour with… Lane: U2. Seth: U2. Lane: No Doubt. Seth: No Doubt, Pearl Jam. Lane: What do you guys think? Good choices. Seth: Foo Fighters. Lane: I'd like to tour with Sugarcult. Seth: Sugarcult would be fun. The Cure would be pretty, pretty… If I toured with the Cure, I think I could retire. Maybe not. I'd like to tour with anybody. Who came up with the idea of keeping a tour journal on livejournal? It's very cool. Lane: Rob. What are your plans for the summer besides touring? Seth: I'd like to record demos. Lane: But mostly tour. Seth: Mostly tour. What do you do in your spare time? Seth: Rest. Lane: I hang out with my wife and play with my dog. Do they come with you on tour? Lane: My wife does. My dog doesn't. Seth: I like to write songs. I like to go on bike rides. I like to rest. I like to make stuff on the computer. I like to sew too. I'm really excited. I have all these ideas for these shirts that I want to make. Lane: (Mockingly) Ride bikes? Like to sew? What about arm wrestling? Seth: Dude, I am ready to get tattooed again. Lane: I'd like to get tattooed. Seth: We like to get tattoos when we have money. What tattoos do you have? (The guys count and show their tattoos.) Seth: I only have one tattoo. Lane: I have a couple. Seth: Is that one of the questions? No. Seth: You're not allowed to ask other questions! Lane: Let me ask a question to Andrew. Well, here's a question from Andrew. Apparently, you've already been formulating plans for the next record. Seth: Yes. Lane: Yup. He put, "Insane!" Seth: (Laughs.) Insane. Well, we really want to work with Garth again. We love him. As far as the plans, I'm writing songs. We have about half an album written. I want to have 20 songs for the album, not on the album, but to record. Lane: Then pick the best ones. Seth: Then go from there. We really want to re-record "Look," which was the last song on our last album. We really like that song. It's going to be a better album, I think. Will the piano interlude be on the final CD? Seth: Yeah, Lane played them. Wow, psychic. That was my next question. Seth: Yeah, Lane played them, they're kind of hidden - kind of. What influences your song writing? Seth: Everything. Even a kid on the side of road can influence my song writing because I write songs about life. Everything in my life influences me. What about musically? Seth: I'm influenced by a lot of different bands, so I guess I'll just say my favorite bands. How about that. Sure. Seth: The Beatles, the Cure, the Police, REM, Smashing Pumpkins, Dixie Chicks, Foo Fighters. If you weren't touring and making music, what would you be doing? Seth: If I weren't in a band, what would I be doing? Do you want to answer that one? Lane: I'd be doing construction. Seth: I would be in a band. If there was some reason why I couldn't be in a band, like I had no talent at all, and I didn't have any arms or legs and I was mute and blind, and I had no idea what music was, then I probably wouldn't be able to do much at that point… I thought about doing hair. I swear, I thought about it. Lane: That's pretty gay. Seth: I've really thought about that. Lane: He would be a pro wrestler. That's what he would do. Seth: I really really enjoy graphic design. Lane: Hairstylist, beautician… Seth: I'm also really, really good at wrestling, so I could do that I think. I took out Copeland. Lane: I'd be building gas stations. That's what I used to do. Seth: (In a weird voice) Build gas stations. Lane: (In a weirder voice) Build gas stations. Did you guys attend college at all? Lane: No. Seth: No. Lane: No. Seth: No. Lane: No. Seth: No. I noticed the choir button on your guitar strap. Were you ever in choir? Seth: Yeah, that's actually a band called Choir. We actually met in choir, joint choir, two schools, one choir. What part did you sing? Tenor? Lane: Yeah. Seth: Actually, yeah, tenor. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? Lane: I just bite it. I don't lick. I just bite them. Seth: I'm going to guess it'll take 124. Do you have anything you want to add? Seth: Pink morris. Pink morris. Lane: I'd like to say thanks to Andrew and all best of luck. Seth: (Jokingly) And we're Copeland, and we're from Atlanta, Georgia. Lane: Basically, tell him that we said hello. We'll stop by and see him again. Seth: This is for real for the website for the interview. (In a monotone voice) Hello, nice to meet you. Can I ask you guys questions now? (Lane leaves the interview.) Sure. Seth: What do you guys think about music? Music is life. Seth: What do you think about the color orange? I'm going to ask another one. What do you think about bikes? Bikes are good because they don't pollute. Seth: So you're against pollution. I'm an environmentalist. Seth: Are you? Yeah. Seth: What do you think about electric cars? We might have a song on an electric car commercial. Oh, really? What company? Wait, sorry, you're asking questions. Seth: Yeah. Sorry, I have to go. Thank you for the interview. Seth: Thank you.

 

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