Bury Your Dead - Slim
Interview Date: April 02, 2006
Associated band: Bury Your Dead
Interview with Slim of Bury Your Dead in April of 2006.rnrn
How's the new album coming?rnrn
SLIM: We're done! We just finished the recording process and actually are getting it mastered today down in Miami. We were down in Florida for the last month recording with Jason Suecof at the Audiohammer Studios down in Florida, which was awesome. Now we're all done.
The new album Beauty And The Breakdown is due out July 11th on Victory Records. What should we expect compared to Cover Your Tracks and You Had Me At Hello?rnrn
SLIM: I think it's a different album, a better album than Cover Your Tracks in a lot of ways. The band has grown, and all of us have grown a lot musically. We wrote a lot more for ourselves than the last record. It's still us, but we added a few elements into it that people wouldn't normally expect from us. Personally I think it's a lot heavier. I think everyone would agree. We tuned down a bit for it as well.
Do you have the new artwork for the album yet?rnrn
SLIM: We are at the very beginning of the whole process. We have a whole storybook fairytale type thing going on with stainglass windows and everything piece by piece. I've only seen one of the stainglass things, but it looks incredible.
How much of an influence does Victory have on the band and how well do they support you?rnrn
SLIM: There are good and bad experiences with everything. I think that goes for record labels, next-door neighbors, and best friends. Victory's been really good to us. If the van breaks down and we can't get a hold of anyone, I can get a hold of Tony at Victory. They are always there to help out in any situation, whether it's monetarily or what. It's been really good, especially with us getting the chance to do Ozzfest, do huge tours, and get our records available as much as they are. We've had really good experiences with the label so far.
Do you guys have a street team?rnrn
SLIM: It's not really something we have. I've never really thought of that before. We've been thinking of ourselves as our own street team. The idea of someone else giving a shit about the band and saying he'd do something for us.... We go to my high school and pass out fliers ourselves. The thought just hasn't really crossed our minds. A lot of bands have them so maybe that'll be the next step.
Was there anything in particular that you found you didn't do as well in Cover Your Tracks that you focused on getting right in Beauty And The Breakdown?rnrn
SLIM: We're still a hardcore band, and that's never going to change. The new record is really produced as far as sound quality, but what we've changed a lot is the songwriting. We've matured and the songwriting has definitely evolved. It's been a year and a half since we last put out a record. That's a lot of time for a lot of other records from bands to come out and let us hear new stuff. That kind of stuff influences how we write and what we put out. The new stuff is a hell of a lot catchier. We joke around and call it pop. It's still heavier than shit, and it'll kick you in the face, but at the same time, it's catchy too. Our manager was listening to the new album down in Florida and saying, \"It's stuck in my head!\" I think what we can accomplish more than anything is sticking our songs in people's heads. All it takes is a risk. All it takes is one guitar riff and people will be like, \"FUCK! Who is that band?\"
How has the introduction of a new bassist into the band been?rnrn
SLIM: Aaron is from Ohio. He's played with some bands like Suffocate Faster, a really tight straight-edge band out of Ohio. He's been around and we've known him for a while. He's a really good dude. We showed him the songs while we were recording. You know, like you could be best friends with someone and not have it work out. The band is a business, no matter what you say. As soon as you get paid for your first show, it's a business. That makes you weigh your decisions, especially with friends. We're excited! It's a new energy to the band, and we're all excited to see what happens.
Bury Your Dead got pretty huge when the Alive DVD came out, especially since Mat's head got cracked open. Are you guys thinking about making another DVD in the future like Alive?rnrn
SLIM: *laugh* It's funny. Honestly, getting huge off of Alive, like you said, from busting our singer's head open.... If I knew that, I would have done it like four years ago *laugh* With something as little as twelve staples and a couple thousand dollars in the hospital, I think any band would have done that. It was just fucked up. That whole DVD is just showing that we're a live band as far as the energy. I think Alive was a better representation of us as a band. It allows people to hear and experience it. You don't have to see us. It's a really fucking cool thing, and I wish a lot of bands did that. It feels so hands on, and a lot of people have commented that it feels like they are really there. I think playing the new record's stuff live is going to be a fucking awesome time. We've always written our songs to play live. We've never really written a song and been like, \"God, this is really going to record good!\" or \"God, I hope my girlfriend likes it!\" *laugh* You know what I mean? What's really fucking important to us is that we have a really good fucking time live. We want to be able to rock out and not be standing there going, \"Oooh look at this.\" or getting dirty looks from the singer or other guys from the band and saying, \"You fucking messed up that guitar-fire-thing!\" Or you get those guys that are like, \"You didn't fucking get that scale right.\" All we care about is having a fucking good time before we have to stop playing.
Bury Your Dead was recently announced for the Burning Daylight Tour with Devildriver. Any other tours in store in the future that have been confirmed?rnrn
SLIM: As far as tours, we have a big one we haven't announced yet for the summer but are working hard on getting. We have the Devildriver tour, and we may be doing a big tour with Shadows Fall. And then we have that big summer tour. It'll be something similar to Ozzfest but not Ozzfest.
How did Ozzfest last year impact you guys as far as playing a crowd as huge as that every day for the whole summer?rnrn
SLIM: It was fucking awesome and sucked at the same time. We really had a good time. Going from a small stage at a venue to a stage that size really allowed us to do our own thing. Playing small venues doesn't give us a lot of room to move around, but at the same time, we love that. We love playing the small places and venues and having the kids right there. That's why we decided to not just do Ozzfest but do Ozzfest and a side thing touring with a big band on the offdates. It was weird: like playing on one of those huge TV screens. There's you and then ten feet in front of you, there's the other kids. In that way, it was a little weird. You also have to step it up a lot more to get set apart at Ozzfest. You have to hold the kids' attention. They have fifty-million other things they could be doing at that point like standing in front of you getting wet by some dick with a hose. In that case, you have to bring something to the table. It's not that the other bands are not good, but you have to do better. There's no such thing as no competition; there's always going to be competition... Everyone's trying to raise the bars and pump everyone else up. Bands play for twenty minutes and then you have five minutes to change over. It's a constant wave of bands coming and going. The only thing to separate your band is either your live show or the ninety-thousand square foot banner behind you that blows around and fucking goes everywhere. It was really cool, and and it was awesome playing to a lot of new people. We still love playing the small venues though. Like, there's some venues that are just really tight.... Like one in Brockton. You have people there that are running shows at different venues, and that's just fucking awesome. They are the people that are going to make sure things happen.
What is your favorite smaller band that hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves?rnrn
SLIM: There's a lot of bands right now coming out of the East coast, primarily the northeast like Massachusetts. That area is always breeding a lot of bands. I mean, you have Shadows Fall, Blood For Blood, Reach The Sky; there's been so many bands in the Boston area. You got bands like Since The Flood, who are busting their asses in the studios right now. You have Can't Stand Losing, Colin Of Arabia, Shere Khan, On Broken Wings. I know I'm saying bands that are only around here, but they've been touring their asses off in this area. This area as a whole is more recognized. West Coast has the Orange County scene, and we have the Boston scene. It's really cool and the bands work their asses off. We went through that too. We went on a couple breaks and worked hard and came back. We're always touring so it's fucking great.
What is your favorite venue or area to play? rnrn
SLIM: Back home is always really awesome. Places like Roman's that can hold like 300 people bring a lot of die-hard fans and they are just really fucking cool people. Places like the Palladium in Worcester with the Metalfest and things along that line. There's a place in Maine called The Kave that's a family-owned venue that's really cool. They have home-made pizza and barbeque. Basically they do whatever they can to make people comfortable and are as humble as possible. They know the importance of bands and getting kids in the area involved. All kinds of places. Over in California, there's the Chain Reaction, where we did that DVD. There's other places like Westcoast Worldwide, The Boardwalk, and then you have Epicenter in San Diego. There's so many places to play. You've got smaller venues, big venues, people's houses. Some people set up venues in fucking... houses with their grandmother and sister booking it. I think that all the different venues have a lot of different experiences with the people that are working there or the bouncers, which has a huge thing with the quality of a venue. The bands can come to shows and have kids getting hurt, but it's a bad thing with some huge random guy who has no idea why he's there except he's getting fifty bucks at the end of the night picking kids up and throwing them outside. That's what they need to figure out, that kids don't come out for fights, and that kids don't randomly come out and beat the shit out of someone for no reason. Bouncers have a huge reason in why a venue can be cool or can be shit. That's one of the big things about how a show will go down. A lot of the great venues are run by hardcore kids. Venues are great as long as there are no fucking riots I guess.
Do you have any final words to the readers and fans?rnrn
SLIM: Have fun and thanks so much. I think it's awesome that kids are coming out and buying the records. It's awesome that we can play places all over and not just locally. It's been great. The band's been great and a lot of fun, and we're never going to stop. We love going on the road and playing one show at a time. Keep your eyes open and we'll be there. Rock out.
