Tommy and Dan – Between the buried and me (Two guys talking but I can't tell who's who - so both are just listed as BtBaM)

RV: How long has this tour been going on?

BtBaM: A week, week and a half. It’s been moving very quickly – last week we were in Baltimore and we’re here (Los Angeles) already.

RV: How long is it going on?

BtBaM: About a month or so.

RV: And how did you get on this tour did they ask you to be on?

BtBaM: Yah, they just asked us to join…

RV: With Black Dahlia and Children of Bodom, I can picture them on tour together, how do you guys feel you fit with the rest of the bill?

BtBaM: I think we fit in very well. I think us and Black Dahlia, I think you get the best of both sides of Children of Bodom. They do a lot of heavy intense stuff and a lot of “noodle-ie” stuff, and we have a real guitar heavy, progressive element that we share with Children of Bodom. We don’t have that real brutal side that Black Dahlia brings. It’s a pretty well rounded tour.

RV: So “Colors” has been out a year now.

BtBaM: A year yesterday I think.

RV: How has it done, how is it doing?

BtBaM: It’s doing well! The most important thing is we’re still happy with it. Normally after a year we get kind of tired of a record and write new one. I mean we’re still writing but with “Colors” we still feel really good about it.
RV: How has it boosted your career?

BtBaM: Haha… well we’ve had a great run for the last year. We’ve met some great bands and been able to go to Europe, Australia, Alaska, Mexico. It’s been a great run.

RV: You guys were on tour with Dream Theater.

BtBaM: Oh yah!

RV: Tell me about that tour and what it was like sharing the stage with Progressive masters.

BtBaM: It was amazing. It was a great experience. That band rocks, they’re amazing and they’re just great people. It always makes a tour better when the people are
great. You couldn’t ask for better people.

RV: Any plans for after the tour?

BtBaM: We’ve gotta get pumped up and start writing again. Being in the studio got us excited and made us want to start writing again.

RV: You guys mix so many genres, with metal, hardcore and atmospheric progressive/instrumental elements. How does your writing process work?

BtBaM: It starts with parts of the song. Everything starts with just little things. Colors started with very little sections, and a whole album came together with everything that came before and after. We just had a ton of ideas and we’d be finished with one song but already have another one going. Looking ahead and backwards from the album and filling in the middle. It was a cool way to write.

RV: Being from the Charlotte, NC area – that area has some of the best metal and hardcore and independent music out there. What’s your take on the scene?

BtBaM: I like the scene because it’s very close knit. All the bands know each other and play together. So I think there’s amazing bands that have come from and are in North Carolina. We don’t play there a lot anymore which sucks, but the fans are always amazing and the shows are always great.

RV: So, on “Colors” – White Wash, that song clocks in at 14 minutes.

BtBaM: That just happened man. We had the basic outline of that song and we knew where it was going to start and where it was going to end – really epic and all that. We just went all over the place in the middle and we just had fun with it.

RV: Tell us about the beginning stages and how it brought you to here.


BtBaM: Wow… it’s been a long road. Tommy and I were in some previous bands together, so we’ve been playing and touring together since before Between the Buried and Me. Honestly, recording and everything has been a lot different – it’s really nice to be able to play in these nice clubs and sleep in hotels or in a bus. Back then, you find random places to sleep and sleep in the van. When we were recording, we made the record in 5 days, now we can take a month or two. It’s definitely a dream come true. We feel really lucky to be in this band.

RV: Who are some of the major childhood influences?

BtBaM: Dimebag Darrel… Pantera, Megadeth, the usual.

RV: What’s between the buried and me trying to accomplish from here, musically and as a band?

BtBaM: Write better records… tour. I want to go to Japan. We want to be able to go and give people the same show all over the world that we do here. We’ve never been able to headline all over – we want to play an hour plus overseas in the UK and Europe.

RV: Any last words?

BtBaM: We have a DVD coming out October 15th and a new record next fall!
RV: Well thanks so much guys.

BtBaM: Thank you.