Don’t look for simplicity on Between The Buried And Me’s latest album Colors. The musicians in the critically acclaimed prog-metal band unanimously decided to go above and beyond the typical recording, even if that meant bending the rules by adding in jazz interludes or airy, synthesized sections. And while some bands struggle to get through any track longer than a few minutes, writing 10-minute-plus songs has now become the norm for BTBAM. It’s exactly that fearless approach to songwriting that has enticed many a dedicated fan since the band’s 2002’s self-titled debut.
Those same fans likely are well aware that BTBAM’s previous studio release Alaska was an undertaking in itself, but guitarist Paul Waggoner told Ultimate Guitar writer Amy Kelly that Colors has been his ultimate achievement thus far. Although there was not one specific band member that came up with the bulk of the eclectic material, it’s obvious that Waggoner’s own spin on his varied influences (everyone from virtuoso Steve Vai to jazz veteran Pat Metheny) is reflected in the multiple styles featured in Colors.
UG: I read a quote stating that the band went into making Colors with the intention of writing epic songs. How do you prepare yourself for an undertaking like that?
Paul: I think when we wrote the album, we were just really excited because we had been touring so much. We were just so excited to start writing and create something new. I think that we were like, “Okay, let’s really go all-out with this one.” We wrote the first song, which actually ended up being “Ants Of The Sky,” which is kind of in the middle of the album. It sort of ended up being this long, epic song that’s 10 minutes long. At that point you’re just like, “Let’s just do it. Let’s just write every song like this.”
We decided to make it one continuous piece of music. We were confident that we could pull it off, so we just started from there and wrote to the end of the album. Then we started at the beginning of the album and wrote back up to “Ants Of The Sky.” So it was kind of a conscious decision for us, and we never doubted ourselves. We thought we would be able to pull it off. I think it came out pretty good.
How long did it take to write the entire album?
I think it was about 4 months. Before that, even while we were on tour and stuff, we would come up with cool ideas here and there. We actually spent 4 months at home actually writing diligently and practicing religiously.
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| "We were all self-taught, grew up playing, sat in a room and practiced for hours on end!" |
Do you all sit in a room together and toss around ideas, or do you write separately and then meet up?
The latter. We all write individually. For example, Dan and me would individually write ideas. We actually tabbed them out on computer software and then sent them to each other. We’d be like, “Hey, this is an idea I came up with.” We would each expand on that idea. Before we knew it, we had a series of pretty tangible ideas. We would go and practice at our drummer’s house, put them all together, and put our heads together to figure it out from there, where the song needed to go.
“Sun Of Nothing” blew me away with all of its complex sections. There are so many distinct styles – metal, jazz, you name it. Is there one member who might be more prone to write a metal or jazz section?
We all kind of have an interest in that and we have been influenced by so many genres. We’re all capable of writing anything. Any of us could write a total death metal part or any one of us could write a really jazzy interlude type part. That song has a lot of dynamics. I don’t even remember who wrote some of that stuff! Our bass player, he has sort of a tendency to write more improv-y kind of parts. He was influenced by King Crimson and stuff like that. Our other guitar player is more of a metal guitar player, but we’re still all very inspired by all different kinds of music. So we all write all kinds of different stuff.
Are you a self-taught guitarist?
None of us really went to college. I think our bass player went to college for a little bit for music, but he ended up dropping out to do the band. But the rest of us are pretty much self-taught. I took lessons when I was like 15 for a year, and I learned a lot. For the most part, the style that I’ve sort of developed now, it’s mostly just from listening to other guitar players and developing my own personality on the guitar. I think we’re all that way. We were all self-taught, grew up playing, sat in a room and practiced for hours on end!
Who were some of the guitarists that originally peaked your interest?
For me, I’ve always been influenced by the 80’s shred guitar players like Steve Vai. I love Jason Becker, Tony MacAlpine, players like that. Now I love John Petrucci from Dream Theater. He’s my favorite. Pat Metheny is one of my favorites. All those guys. Any guitar player – regardless of what style they play – if they’re really good, I love them.
I noticed that Dan (Briggs, bassist) came up with a book of tablature for the album Alaska. Have you also released a book of your own tabs?
I’ve actually got a guitar tab book for the new album. I sell it on tour and it’s available from our MySpace page. You can purchase it online.
Are you pretty comfortable reading music?
I can read music, but I can’t really sight-read. I’m not a classically trained musician or anything, but I can read music well enough to notate rhythms. I use it more as a communication tool within the band. I can send it over the computer, and it’s cool to notate it out and everything. I don’t really sight-read classical pieces.
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| "We decided to make it one continuous piece of music." |
When the newest members joined the band a few years back, was the musical chemistry immediately there?
Yeah, I would say to some extent. I think it’s developed to so much more now. Then, we had basically replaced 2 members. We replaced the drummer and the bass player at the same time, so it was a little weird at first actually. We didn’t really know where the band was going to go from a creative standpoint.
So when we wrote Alaska, we were sort of trying to find our identity. Now we’ve found it, I think. Colors, that was the culmination of writing Alaska and doing all of the touring. It did take some time. At first, it was a little awkward. We weren’t used to writing with new people and stuff like that, but over time it’s developed into a really cool chemistry.
Did you use the same equipment on the new album that you did on Alaska?
We used pretty much the same thing, but the new album was mixed by a different person. So a lot of the tones are a lot different. Primarily we used the same guitars, the same amps, pretty much the same everything.
What does that setup include?
I’ve been using an old, 90’s-model Mesa dual rectifier as my amp. I’ve been playing Ibanez S-Series guitars and basically an assortment of pedals. I have a Boss delay pedal and a Tube Screamer. That’s about it, really!
Have you used other guitars besides Ibanez in the past?
I’ve honestly been playing Ibanez for like 10 years, I think. In ’96 or ’97, I bought an S-Series Ibanez, just because I like the way it looked! I just got it and fell in love with it. I’ve been playing it ever since. Prior to that as a little kid, I had a Fender Strat and a Jaguar. I pretty much sold them both and have been playing Ibanez ever since!
Have you worked with Ibanez to create a custom model?
No, they haven’t done a custom model with me yet! (Laughs) Maybe in the future they’ll do that! You never know, it might happen. We do have an endorsement with them.
On your album The Anatomy Of, did everyone select a particular song to cover on the CD?
Yeah, I think when we decided on what songs to do, we all kind of picked songs individually that we would like to do. So we would each pick maybe like 5 songs, and then from there we would narrow it down. I don’t even remember who picked what songs, but we all just made a list and narrowed it down.
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| "I've always been influenced by the 80’s shred guitar players like Steve Vai." |
Do you have any recollection of which member picked “Cemetery Gates”? I thought it might have been you because there is such a prominent guitar line.
I think that was Tommy, actually. We knew we wanted to do a Pantera song. We almost felt obligated to do one with Dimebag’s death and all. It was just a matter of what song. That one was just one that Tommy threw out. We were all like, “Yeah, that would be cool to do.” I thought it was more suitable to our style and just kind of a more dynamic Pantera song. You’ve got the clean stuff and a lot of melodic guitar playing, stuff like that. That was a good one for us.
When you go on tour, how difficult is it to translate your epic songs to the stage show? Do you have to rehearse a while?
Oh, yeah! That’s what we’re doing now, actually. We’re playing the whole new album, start to finish. It took a while to get down. It’s quite an undertaking because before we recorded it, we had never played the songs together at all.
What has the response from audiences been so far?
It’s been awesome. I think everyone is really stoked to hear the new album. They’re excited to hear us play it live all the way through.
You wrote some pretty incredible material on Colors. Is it going to be a challenge to find ways to push the envelope even further when the next album comes around?
Yeah, it’s definitely going to be hard. I don’t even like thinking about it! We’re sitting on this one right now, but when we start thinking about writing the new one, it’s definitely going to be stressful to top what we’ve just done.
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