Interview with TOMMY ROGERS, vocalist & keyboards with BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME

For followers of extreme metal and progressive rock alike, Between The Buried And Me have long been one of the most consistent and ever-evolving bands to successfully straddle both genres.

From the mathematic hardcore of their earliest work to the expansive progressive metal vistas of recent years, the band have become leaders in brainy heavy music.

Lead singer and keyboardist Tommy Giles Rogers Jr is on the phone to Maximum Volume, filling us in on a whole bunch of BTBAM info, including their era-defining 2020 tour which brings them to Australia, including Brisbane at the Triffid on Friday, February 28.

“The idea always intrigued us and it just fit the idea of the band,” says Tommy, explaining what inspired to bring this tour to Australia, which will comprise two sets looking back at over nearly 20 years of music.

“This type of tour is something that our fanbase was really interested in as well. We’ve seen how the fans have responded after the European tour we just did which went great. It felt different, you know, even the smallest shows, the fans were really there for us. There’s a lot of songs we’re covering, including one of the first ones we ever wrote. We also make sure that there’s a flow between songs, because there’s a lot of material we’re playing here. Not a lot of time for on-stage banter.”

I ask Tommy what it feels like going back to some of the band’s older tunes, many of which they haven’t played in a long time.

“It was great to play the Great Misdirect material, it was some of my personally favourite music to perform. I was particularly revitalised by that record because we put out a remix of it and you could sit down in you car, listen to it and take notice, like it was new music. It was really cool to listen to and we wanted to bring that fresh energy to the material we play.”

In this writer’s humble opinion, one of the factors that makes BTBAM such an intriguing band is that there are worlds between their first and latest album, but the journey to this transformation was subtle and gradual, in a very considered way that is rare for a band.

“Well I consider that a huge compliment,” says Tommy. “That is what we’ve always tried to achieve. We’ve never consciously said “we’re going in this direction” when we make a new record. The progression in our music has always been at its own pace, very organic.”

The current BTBAM line-up of Tommy on vocals/keyboards, along with guitarists Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring, bassist Dan Briggs and drummer Blake Richardson, have stayed in this stable formation since 2005.

“Getting along. That’s number one,” says Tommy, explaining the bond that has kept these musicians together for so long. “We’ve seen a lot over the years and, yeah, of course people can butt heads and egos can get in the way, but we’ve all been very lucky. We personally get along and there’s something magical that happens when we creatively work as a team. We simply give our best, and there’s been no great secret as to how we’ve managed to keep this going.”

It was also through Between the Buried and Me that Tommy went through a dramatic musical change. Prior to the band forming, he played guitar in metalcore outfit Prayer For Cleansing (of which bandmate Waggoner was also a member), before finding his skills for vocals and keys in BTBAM.

“Yeah, I never wanted to sing, I just wanted to play guitar,” he says, recalling the band’s early days. “But it just ended up that way, and the keyboards were added because I wanted something else to do!”

Have your keyboard skills vastly improved as a result?

“Oh yeah, definitely. When I started, it was like a filler instrument but eventually I started to understand it and use it for melodies and textures. It also helps that the there are other people for me to write with, so a riff or a keyboard section could come from me or from other folks in the band.”

This inevitably leads us to discuss Tommy’s most distinctive instrument, his voice. For those not familiar, the BTBAM frontman can veer from death growls, hardcore screams and blackened rasps to clean melodic vocals and high falsetto. It’s notable that despite his diversity and technique, Tommy is an untrained singer.

“I did a small thing at one time when it comes to vocal training, where I was learning about how the voice works naturally, but it wasn’t a very good experience,” he recalls. “But then the more I spoke with other vocalists, I got a lot of great tips from them. I also managed to hook up with someone for teaching me vocal techniques and I can’t thank him enough. So I have had both good and bad experiences when it comes to vocal training. My voice is the strongest it’s ever been now. It’s been a long process of learning. It makes me want to discover more, I’m never against learning new things.”

Even with BTBAM’s sizeable back catalogue, Tommy has also found time to release solo material, which has crept into a fully fledged second musical career for the frontman.

“It’s just something I always needed to do,” says Tommy. “Whenever I work on a solo project, it’s very experimental. I treat it like literally anything under the sun can find its way into the music. I find the solo stuff provides a lot more freedom, because there’s no one to let down if something doesn’t work.”

When the topic of new BTBAM material is discussed, Tommy doesn’t have much to report (“No idea, whenever we start. Hopefully not too long”) but for a band this hard working, don’t be surprised if we hear from them sooner rather than later. In the meantime, there’s an oncoming tour where we can revel in nearly 20 years of complex, crazy and creative music.

Interviewer / Writer: Matt Thrower

BTBAM hit Australian shores in late February 2020, get your tickets at https://www.livenation.com.au