Amber Pacific 

Amber Pacific plays pop punk with hints of fastness that make them more enjoyable than the mid tempo bands playing the same style. There is a very fun atmosphere to their songs, which should make them appeal to scores of music lovers. This interview went down with vocalist Matt Young on September 10 in Providence, RI.

PL: State something interesting about yourself.
MY: My name is Matt, and I'm the singer of Amber Pacific, and an interesting thing about myself is that I'm not really that interesting. We go on the road. We enjoy being on the road and we enjoy being at home, and things we enjoy doing on the road we try to do at home, but it doesn't work out as well.

PL: What level of popularity would you like Amber Pacific to be at?
MY: We certainly don't have a ceiling. We want to continue to grow as a band and continue to gain as many fans as we can and expand. Where we'd like to be as a band is we'd like to keep getting bigger and bigger. I'd like to be able to do this for a long period of time in our lives. In order to do that, you have to be able to reach a very high level of success, but its one of those things where you set your goals really high and you do the best you can to get there, but if you fall short, you can still be happy and satisfied with where you're at.

PL: What do you think popular music will be like in ten years?
MY: I have absolutely no idea. I think that no matter what, the music that is always going to be popular is rock music. Its very general, but rock music will always be popular. The other thing is versus and choruses and things people can sing along to. I think that will always have a place in mainstream music. What we're going to continue to do is write songs and hope that people go out there and sing along to.

PL: Do you think pop punk is losing mainstream popularity at all?
MY: Yes and no. I think its one of those things that is losing popularity in the eyes of people who run record labels and people who do radio stations and stuff like that, but I think its something that people still want to hear. Its just hard for them to get access to it without the other people believing in it. I still think there's definitely an audience for it, which is why we continue to play it.

PL: If you could change one thing about Truth in Sincerity, what would it be and why?
MY: I really like the record, and I really enjoyed it. I think maybe one of the things that we would go back and do it again-its one of those things where we wish we would have known the songs more. Its crazy to me how any band can write songs, and its amazing how much better they are at playing them two years after they've been playing it for a long time. There are a lot of things that can be added after they've been sitting there for a long time. Thats probably the only thing that I would change, but thats never gonna happen. We're not gonna start writing songs now for ten years down the road.
PL: Do you write songs in the studio or beforehand?
MY: Will writes all the songs, and he definitely does most to all of the songwriting at home, and its usually a combination of in between tours, but it definitely buckles down before we're heading into the studio. We try not to write songs in the studio so we're ready for preproduction. So we usually have a good idea as to what we're gonna bring to the table before we go into the studio.

PL: Is it weird playing shows where half the audience doesn't know who you are?
MY: Well, tonight it was more than half the audience. It was almost all the audience, but its one of those things where you have to take it for what it is. You are going to have nights where people know who we are, but we're also gonna have nights where people don't know who we are. Tonight was a night where people didn't know our band, but we introduced ourselves to them, and hopefully we've made a lot more fans. Thats why we're coming out on this tour, and thats why I want to keep opening up on tours. We want to expand our fanbase, and this is the best way to do it.
PL: Would you rather play a show like this or a show where you headline?
MY: Where we are right now, I'd rather play a show like this until we're able to do shows where we can headline and pack out a place like this. Thats certainly what we're trying to do, and it isn't by choice that we've headlined for the last four years, but nobody has wanted to take us out, which is why we're thankful to Sum 41 and Yellowcard for giving us an opportunity to play. Thats great, we're always greatful for that. We're always looking for bands to take us out on tour and we're always looking for more fans.

PL: How do you cheer yourself up after a tour that doesn't meet your expectations, if its ever happened?
MY: Well, we've definitely had tours that hadn't met our expectations. We've had shows in particular that haven't met our expectations, but the thing we have to remember that this is our career as of right now, and what we do is really cool. And even if the show doesn't go that well, or there aren't many kids at the show or the reception wasn't very good, its important to not point fingers or not make excuses and blame your label or your publicist or yourselves or the other bands on the tour. Its important to understand that it is what it is and to realize that I could be at McDonald's right now, and that would be a hell of a lot worse than coming home having not met expectations after touring the whole United States of America.

PL: Whats one movie everyone should see?
MY: I'm a big fan of Batman Begins. Its one of the my favorite ones, and I like how Batman isn't really a superhero, he doesn't really have any superpowers; he's just a man trying to make a difference, and its got a lot of sweet one liners in it. I'm excited for the next one to come out next summer.

PL: Whats a little known fact about Hopeless Records?
MY: Hopeless Records and Sub City have donated over one million dollars to charity. Thats something that a lot of people don't know. They're a very giving label, and they definitely have a higher purpose, which is why we're happy to be a part of it. For the people that are just now realizing it, Hopeless Records has All Time Low and Amber Pacific, but they used to have Thrice and Avenged Sevenfold, so they definitely have a track record for putting bands in the mainstream.

PL: Name one album, besides your own, that you think all people should have in their collection.
MY: All Time Low's new album thats coming out very soon. I'm trying to remember the title of it. Their last one was Put Up or Shut Up, and this one has them in their underwear on the cover. Look it up. Its gonna be available and its a great record and everyone should buy it.

PL: End with your favorite word.
MY: I'll say moist. Most girls don't like that word. I've never met a girl who likes the word moist.

PL: Is there anything else you want to say?
MY: I just want to thank everybody who has ever listened to our band or said anything nice about our band, whether it be on the telephone or to a friend or online. If you haven't heard of Amber Pacific, please check us out. And make it out to a show sometime, because we definitely want to make more fans, or make more friends, as we like to call it, because we like to have a personal relationship with the people who enjoy our music.

Interviewed by: RF
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