Thomas Giles (Between The Buried And Me) Interview

Thomas Giles has been a very busy man this past 12 months. Not only has he released his own solo album Pulse, he has also been relentlessly touring and writing new music with metal titans Between The Buried And Me. We managed to have a chat with the man while he took some much deserved time off.

DD: Hi Thomas, we have a lot to talk about today! First of all lets have an ice breaker. What do you do and what was the last album you listened to?

TG: I sing and play keyboards with Between The Buried And Me, and I sing and play a lot of random things with my own project Thomas Giles. Right now I’m jamming the new Thievery Corporation. So far so good!

DD: It’s been a busy year for yourself, releasing your own solo album along with BTBAM’s new record. Let’s talk about your solo effort first, Pulse. How did the writing process come about for these songs?

TG: Most of these songs I’ve been slowly writing for the last few years. It was something I only worked on when the time felt right and I actually had free time to be creative with it. It was a slow process, but I’m very pleased with the outcome. I think if I would have rushed it in the past it wouldn’t be the record it is today.

DD: I feel that with this album you really demonstrated you are a key part of the creative/experimental process with Between The Buried & Me. Would you say that’s a fair statement?

TG: I’ve always written with BTBAM. We all write. I think that is a big reason why our songs are very diverse. We are very lucky that we all love being creative together.

DD: Being in a metal band, were their any doubts that fans of BTBAM wouldn’t really “get” this album? Despite the creative similarities it’s quite a subdued record compared to BTBAM material.

TG: Just like anything, there will be people who really like it and people who don’t care for it. That’s always expected. I know it’s very different from BTBAM, so I expect a lot of people to not dig it, but the reaction to the record has been wonderful. There’s been no complaints on my end. I’m just glad it is something different from what I normally do. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people do side projects that sound exactly like their main band!

DD: What artists would you say influenced this record?

TG: Everything I listen to… which is LOTS! The obvious influences would be Radiohead, The Beatles, Muse and Kool and the Gang.

DD: This isn’t the first solo album you have recorded. How would you compare Pulse to Giles?

TG: Giles was very rushed and I was really trying to write some tongue in cheek weird electronic songs. It doesn’t seem natural at all when looking back. Pulse is one of the most natural things I’ve ever done and it’s completely serious. A very personal record. Giles was just fun.

DD: Lets talk about Between The Buried & Me. Your new record “The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues” is one half of a concept I believe. Can you explain what the concept is behind the record?

TG: No (laughs)! It’s about two men on different planets in two different time periods… they are on separate journeys to figure out the purpose of their life and they start to go crazy during the process. They will have connections with each other but none of that will surface until the next full length. It’s still an introduction to these mens lives… so there’s more to come.

DD: You guys have done well to keep progressing your sound with every record. Is it a challenge to keep pushing yourselves technically and from a song-writing perspective after so long in the music business?

TG: Our biggest goal is to write what naturally comes to us. I think if we start thinking too much about being “different” or “technical” it will really effect our music in a bad way. Hopefully we’ll continue to write songs we really enjoy… until the day that ends we will be writing our asses off!

DD: The record landed at number 54 in the Billboard Top 200, selling over 10,000 copies in its first week. A lot of bands say they don’t monitor their success by album sales thanks to us living in an era of illegal downloading, but 10,000 is a lot of sales! How do you feel about that figure? Does it put any pressure on you guys when writing the second half of this concept?

TG: We were very shocked, especially for an EP. We didn’t know what to expect because we have never done a shortened record, so we were for sure pleasantly surprised! There is always natural pressure from record to record, but we can’t think about that. We just have to do what we do… and hopefully it will kick ass!

DD: You were with Victory Records for quite a while before joining Metal Blade for the release of your solo record and the BTBAM record. Do you see this as a positive move for yourself and the band? Why Metal Blade?

TG: I really do. It is a decision we spent a lot of time figuring out. We were talking to a handful of labels, and Metal Blade just seems to be the best match for us. We are all on the same page as far as where we want the band to go and what the band wants to do with our music. It’s still early in our relationship, but so far it’s been wonderful.

DD: Touching base on the topic of illegal downloading again, you guys have been around for long enough to see the massive boom in Internet activity and what it has done for the music industry. For the most part, do you see the Internet as a tool for the good of music, or for the bad?

TG: I think in terms of getting your music out to people who wouldn’t normally hear it, it’s a great tool. Back in the day, you only had radio and TV and that was all basically controlled by record labels. Now you have the freedom to really search and find unique bands that you really connect with. I mean, CD sales for sure are dropping, but it is what it is. It just makes bands think more on their toes. Time to get creative folks!

DD: You just finished a US tour with some great bands; The Ocean, Job For A Cowboy and Cephalic Carnage. How did it go, and how did the crowds react to the new music?

TG: That tour was amazing! We were pleasantly surprised with how well all the shows did. The crowds were very stoked on the new stuff… we played the entire new EP, so we were nervous to see if people digged it or not, but the response was rad. There was some great bands on that tour as well.

DD: September will see you touring Europe once again. Looking back at the European shows you have done in the past, what is your favourite city to play and why?

TG: Hmmm. That’s tough to say. I really like walking around and seeing the cities on tour and one of my favorites was Prague in the Czech Republic. As far as shows, I really love London shows, because they are always pure chaos.

DD: Vice-versa, what has been your worst European experience?

TG: When we got stranded at Download Festival a few years ago. Let’s just say it was a very long night…

DD: You have a gap of a few months between your stateside and EU tours. What do you have planned in the Summer months? Any festival appearances in the pipe line?

TG: We are just hanging at home. Trying to do some traveling and hopefully write a little music. This is the first summer we’ve had off in years so we are trying to take advantage of being home for once.

DD: That’s just about it from us! Thank you for taking the time out to answer some of our questions Thomas. Any last words to your fans reading this interview?

TG: Thanks for the interview, and thanks to our amazing fans!