I sat down with Stephen Christian, lead singer, for what I thought would be a 15-minute cookie-cutter interview, and we ended up shooting the proverbial shit for the better part of an hour.

In the tailspin of their second release, Never Take Friendship Personal, the guys of Anberlin are characteristically touring like madmen. And wouldn't you know it, as soon as they're finished on the road, they're back in the studio for a six-week recording session to pump out their third album. I don't know about you, but suddenly I feel lazy as hell.

I sat down with Stephen Christian, lead singer, for what I thought would be a 15-minute cookie-cutter interview, and we ended up shooting the proverbial shit for the better part of an hour. Our conversation ranged from the new Gnarls Barkley album to our favorite Chuck Palahniuk novels. Despite my being a scattered, random, rambling interviewer, insistent upon inappropriate touch (we'll get to that part later), Christian handled me like a pro.

What makes the new record, Never Take Friendship Personal, different from your 2003 release, Blueprints for the Black Market?

Mostly, the number one thing that we had coming into the second record was confidence. The first record we were naïve, we had no idea what we were doing or what was supposed to go on in a studio. We just had no clue. So coming into the second record, for me anyway, I did everything myself. I pretty much came up with my own harmonies, and people let me produce myself. It was really cool to be able to do that on my own.

[As I was scribbling away in my notebook, Christian asked if he needed to talk slower so I could write everything down. I reassuringly touched his forearm and said, "No, you're fine...I'm just making little notes, but I'm a petter, is that OK?" My hand, of course, was still lingering on his forearm. "That's...kind of awkward," he said, laughing, and immediately continued to answer the question at hand.]

Also, we're just a lot better on our instruments. As soon as our first record came out, as soon as we got done recording, we went on our first tour with Further Seems Forever and Movielife, like, three and a half years ago. Since then, we have not stopped touring. So when you play that much live, you have to get better at your instrument. You become a better drummer. Become a better musician. Know your limitations vocally.

I think there was a lot of growth between the first and the second album. It's not like an evolution, because I hate when bands change what they sound like; I hate it. From one record to the next, you're just like, "Dude, I totally bought your first record because you sounded like this..." So I don't think it was like a drastic change. We matured and broadened our horizons, used different instruments, played around with different beats. When we recorded the first album, a dance beat wasn't cool, and now, it's just like if you're not doing a dance beat, it's like, "Who are you?"

I'm still just so impressed that you have the energy to write on the road, because this is a seriously gigantamundo tour.

Yeah, it's gonna be crazy.

Including Canada? With the Mounties and the aye, and the don'tcha know?

That's gonna take a lot out of me.

Yeah, you're gonna need some maple syrup to keep you fueled. So, give me a weird, crazy moment from touring. I want an anecdote.

Well, a crazy moment for us: Last tour, we were driving down the highway at like, six in the morning when the bus just slams on the breaks. We pull over and you hear the bus driver cursing, "Motherfucking turkey, motherfucker!" And I swore it was a dream, I was just like, this is so funny. I rolled over, but I kept hearing, "Motherfucking turkey!" So I woke up and opened the door, and there's glass all over the front of the bus. A turkey had literally run into the bus, jumped up high enough, shattered the window of the whole front of the bus, was still alive, sitting in our bus, and our bus driver was looking at it, yelling, "You motherfucking turkey!"

So he's actually, physically yelling at the turkey?

Yelling at the bird, who's still alive, not even fazed, just feathers all off. Then the turkey hobbles down the stairs, gets out of the bus and runs back into the woods. It was so surreal. I just went back to sleep and thought I was dreaming the whole thing.

What's your guilty-pleasure album?

Hmmm...anything by Duncan Sheik; I'm a sucker for it. He could, like, poop on a record player, and I'd be like, "It's the best thing ever!" Also, Gnarls Barkley. Anything by Outkast-but see, those shouldn't be guilty; those are good freakin' times.

Well, guilty in the sense that perhaps you screech around like a little girl, dance like a madman, you know.

I do screech like a little girl; that's onstage though, every night.

So, how much of the new new record (the one you're still writing) are you infusing into this tour?

Like how many songs? Just one. Because I like the element of surprise.

Sort of the opposite of Chuck Palahniuk. When he does a book signing and a reading, he never reads something that's already been published, because depending on people's reactions, he can still edit and change things around. That's the element of surprise, except reversed.

I mean, if I go to a show and the band doesn't have the songs online or on the album, I don't want to hear three or four songs that I have no clue what they're doing. That's why we mix it up. I think tonight we're playing three off our first record, five or six off our new record, and then one brand new song.

We try to put on a show that we, ourselves, would want to go see. If I pay money, and the band sounds just like the CD and nobody moves around, what was the point? I'll just go home and sit on my couch, save myself $10 and a couple hours, and listen to the CD. I'd rather see somebody push over the drums or clock somebody. I wanna see some blood. Let's do it; I paid for this! So, that's what kind of show we try to put on. Let's go have fun, make it a good night. I wanna sing along.

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