I'll always write back to every fan in need says Birch

Joel Birch writes back to every The Amity Affliction fan who writes to him. And he vows he'll continue to take the responsibility of his position seriously – even though it takes its toll on him.

The singer has spoken about in his lyrics about mental health, death and suicide, and believes he can’t turn his back on fans who open up to him in response.

Birch tells TeamRock Radio: “When you’re given this amazing platform where you can actually change people’s lives for the better, I think that’s part and parcel of being in a band. If you’re going to write honestly about problems then you should speak honestly too. Mental health is such an important topic.”

But sometimes he finds it’s all too much for him, and that’s when he seeks solace at the sea – which inspire the title of fourth album Let The Ocean Take Me, released this week.

He says: “I don’t want anyone to feel like I’m cut off or different to them, but I just needed people to understand that it’s quite a load to bear. I take it to heart, you know.”

Birch finds himself dealing with as many as 400 messages in one sitting, and he’s sorry to report that some of them take advantage of his sense of honour.

“I like that there’s a dialogue between me and the people who listen to our music,” he says. “But I also feel that there’s an unwritten boundary that people need to adhere to and sometimes they don’t.”

The Amity Affliction interview

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.