Interview: Aaron Gillespie & Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath – Spotlight Report

Photo courtesy of Frontier Touring

Underoath has solidified their place as one of the most influential bands in modern music. With a career spanning decades, the band has navigated highs and lows, including a remarkable comeback that redefined their legacy. In 2025, they’re set to return to Australian shores alongside Alexisonfire for what promises to be an unforgettable tour. Spotlight Report had the chance to catch up with Spencer and Aaron to chat about the upcoming shows, their incredible journey, and—unexpectedly—tacos.

SR: I just wanted to start off by saying the first time I saw you guys play was back in – I think – 2009 at Soundwave in Sydney and I still remember how excited I was to see you guys! So it’s really nice to meet you today!

AG: Soundwave was fun.

SC: I loved that festival.

AG: Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

SC: Until late … until it went downhill.

AG: It was great until it was bad, yeah.

SR: [Laughs] It was great for the fans.

AG: Yeah.

SR: We never really saw any of those issues. But speaking of tours, that’s why we’re talking today. It’s been a little while since you played down here. I think it was 2019.

AG: I think so.

SR: It’s really exciting that you’re coming back after five years. Are you looking forward to coming back and playing down here?

SC: Yeah. I mean, I feel like Australia was one of the first places outside of North America to really give a shit about Underoath, you know? We’ve always had really, really good experiences there, and I expect nothing different other than more excitement. I think it’s gonna be awesome.

SR: Yeah. I mean, you guys are definitely loved down here and I know that your shows are usually pretty crazy and everyone really gets into them and yeah, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Australia is excited to have you back.

AG: We’re stoked to be back. Like you said, we’ve always been really embraced down there. And it’s been five years, like you said, so we’re really excited to get down there and see what it’s like post-pandy.

SR: I think it’s probably a little bit crazier now because everyone’s still just so happy to be able to see live music again.

AG: Sure, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SR: So, on this tour you are playing, They’re Only Chasing Safety in full. Firstly, I just wanted to say that’s so exciting because it’s a record that a lot of us grew up alongside. And secondly, I just have to say, wow, how has it been in twenty years already?

AG: I know. We’ve been doing in some form or another, shows of They’re Only Chasing Safety all year long and it definitely reminds you of how old you are so … Yeah, we’re all in our forties now. We feel the twenty years. It feels like it’s gone by fast and slow.

SR: Don’t worry, I’m not that far behind you and it feels pretty much the same for me [laughs].

AG: There you go.

SR: The band has been on such a journey since that record came out. How does it feel to be playing it so many years later?

SC: Well, we’ve always … we’ve never not played songs off with it since it came out. I mean, we play songs off of every record. Always. You know, even on the next tour that we do, we’ll still be playing songs off Chasing Safety, just like, we’re doing songs off Define and Lost – some songs – on the tour as well.

AG: Like, I think we’re pretty aware that Chasing Safety is our first real shot at being “popular” or whatever you wanna call it so we know that we’ll always play those songs, but playing them all is cool. I think we’re probably a bit burnt out on it right now; we’re on show fifty of a fifty-seven show North American tour.

So, we’re actually in Richmond, Virginia tonight on tour. That’s why we’re on the same computer. But by the time we get down there we will. Be ready and raring to go. I just think we’ve been doing it now for three months straight, so we’re all just like, you know, “eh, Chasing Safety again”, but no, we’re very blessed and lucky that people responded to the album the way they did and that it put us here, so yeah.

SC: And we do it for you guys, you know. If we connect to it anymore or not or we care or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s a celebration, you know, this is where it started and we’re starting to affect people and we get up there and we do it for you guys and it’s fun. It’s like we kind of all do it together, you know once we’re on the stage. It feels like we’re all doing it as a unit, which is a lot of fun.

SR: Good! I am sorry to hear you’re getting a bit burnt out at the moment though!

AG: Oh no, it’s I think it’s just because we’ve been on this tour for, like I said this is show fifty tonight.

SC: And also, no one gets a whole lot from playing the record you wrote when you were like children.

You know, for us, we’re obviously gonna like playing newer stuff more because we feel like it’s us more intelligent, more developed, more mature.

AG: It’s like you said though, it’s electric when you get up there and everyone in the room is there for that. And they expect that. It’s awesome.

SR: Yeah. It’s the nostalgia of going back because for us, we’re in a different place mentally as well so it’s kind of good to go back and see how far we’ve come.

SC: Yeah.

AG: Yeah. I’ve never heard anybody put it that way, but you’re right, yeah.

SR: Yeah, that’s what I love about listening to old songs that I loved. It’s like you [probably] can’t even remember where you were when you heard them, or in your case when you wrote them.

AG: Yeah.

SR: But you can also see how far you’ve come from those days.

AG: Exactly.

SR: Is there a song that you’re especially looking forward to playing from that record down here, one that you don’t typically play on a on a normal tour?

SC: I don’t think so. I mean, like we said, we’re just celebrating it and where it all started for a lot of people. And there’s not one song we particularly like “oh, I can’t wait to play that”. I mean, these songs have been around for twenty, twenty-one years, you know.

SR: Yeah.

AG: 22 by the time we’re down there, yeah.

SR: Thanks for making me feel so old again.

AG: Yeah. You’re welcome! I’m older.

SR: So you are playing some other songs as well as an encore.

AG: Yeah, Chasing Safety’s not long enough to make like a whole show out of. So we’re playing like … on the North American version we’ve been playing six additional songs.

SR: Okay, cool.

AG: I don’t have any clue as far as down there.

SC: I think we’re doing something similar when we get down there.

AG: Yeah, but because it’s not our tour down there … It’s Alexisonfire’s tour, so I don’t know how much time will have.

SR: Ah, yeah.

SC: It says Chasing Safety and encore set. I think it’s the same exact thing.

AG: Maybe, I don’t know.

SC: We’ll find out!

SR: Well, I’m excited to hear whatever it is that you guys end up playing and I was actually going to say I really hope that your new song makes that set list because I’m really excited to hear that live.

AG: We’ve been playing it here.

SC: It will.

AG: I think it’ll make it.

SC: I think, if we’re going to a country across the world, we gotta play a new song, right? [Laughs]. Gotta let ‘em know what’s coming.

AG: For sure.

SR: I really do love the new single. It’s literally just dropped in case anyone hasn’t heard it yet.

AG: Oh yeah.

SR: And it feels like a very appropriate song for the time. It’s kind of about not running away from the apocalypse, right? And it definitely feels like we’re heading towards the end of the world at the moment.

SC: Yeah, Yeah, it it’s whatever you make out of it. It’s a fun, fun song to play. Everyone seems to be – in America – latching onto it pretty hard and participating which is exciting. We were playing it before it came out, and I would just teach them the chorus before we’d play and it would get … I mean, you’ve seen the clips online. You can hear how loud the people are. It’s louder than any song we play all night, which is exciting and fun for us. We get to go up there and celebrate where this started for this band, really, and then we get to play something like that, which is like, this is where we’re heading and people are reacting to it. It’s a good feeling. It makes us feel like we want to keep doing this for another twenty years.

SR: That’s fantastic to hear! I would love it if you would keep going for another twenty years.

SC: That would be ideal. For all of us. What do you do? You can’t get a new job at sixty years old. We gotta keep going.

AG: Rock wear – you know?

SC: I guess so.

SC: We can start our cooking –

AG: Taco truck.

SC: Our tacos. We’ll do tacos.

AG: Tacos and rock!

SC: Yeah.

SR: [Laughs]. That sounds like a great adventure. It’s been really great just seeing the New year of you guys and seeing, like I’ve said before, where you came from and where you are now and celebrating that journey.

SC: Yeah, we’re very, very importunate that we’re able to do what we still do and we got through a lot of the growing pains of our twenties and early thirties and were able to pick the pieces up and get the band going again because there was one point we didn’t think that would ever happen again. So we’re definitely happy to be here.

SR: I remember when you guys made you come back and I just remember everyone was so thrilled.

AG: Oh, hell yeah. We’re very happy to be here. Thank you for having us!