Anberlin knows rock isn’t just sex and drugs

By Mike Tofin

Nate Young is such a nice boy. At the ripe age of 21 he is the drummer for the two-time billboard top-20 recording artists Anberlin. Despite the band’s obvious success, Young and the rest of the group stay grounded even donating their time to charitable causes.


“I went to Haiti in May of 2006, with Stephen [Christian, lead vocalist],” says Young. “We lived in the mountains with some families in a little place called Manu. We lived there for days and just chilled with the people. We showed them we cared about them and that we loved them. Some of them had never seen white people before, or all they have heard of white people is that we are bad. Since we are Americans they thought that we were coming to destroy their land. However, it was just incredible to just hang out with them. It was super cool.”


Anberlin has climbed to a spectacular pedestal in the music industry, but Young maintains there is more to life then the fame and success they are achieving at the moment.


“It’s just to show the world that it is not about us and it should never be,” says Young. “It should be about people and to show them that we do love them and we do care about them. It is faith-based, because what we believe is that we are supposed to go out in the world, to the widows and to the orphans and show them that we care and also, as Christians to show them gods love. However, it’s beyond that it’s just to show that we can be a part of what they are doing and it’s not completely about us.”


Young says they often fight against the preconceptions of rock music being all about sex and drugs. Faith in tow, he explains although he lives the Christian lifestyle, he allows for pastimes, along with his humanitarian efforts.


“I do enjoy a glass of wine,” he laughs. “I actually really like wine a lot, but I set limits for myself and I make sure that I’ll only have half a glass and when I do drink it is very rare. I usually only have a beer with a meal. I never drink to the excess, because of my personal beliefs I don’t want to get to that point because I feel that any altered state of mind is not what I want to do.”


Constantly striking a positive balance between art and moderation. Young hopes to keep his faith while enjoying life and spreading the enjoyment of Anberlin’s music.