Dan Marsicano: What does Pulse represent to you as a musician and a songwriter?
Tommy Rogers: I feel like this record just sums me up in general. It’s such a personal record. Everything about it is completely me. The lyrics, I tried to really dig down deep and write some honest things. The music I felt was really similar. I think this record fits me really well. I’ve always been the kind of guy that never gets really honest with my lyrics. I don’t like to expose my real self to the public. I feel like with this record, it felt good to let some stuff out and write some real heartfelt lyrics and write some music that was totally different. It was a good experience all around for me.
Do you feel like being with Between The Buried And Me holds you back in that way? You don’t have a reason to get personal because of that band?
I wouldn’t say it holds me back. The more recent material, the music definitely calls for story-based lyrics. I can’t say it holds me back because I enjoy writing stuff like that. I feel like it’s a different way to express myself. The way I write lyrics for Between The Buried And Me, I can get really out there and get weird, which I dig doing.
It was cool to have the totally opposite end with the solo record. Just talk about what I’m thinking and what I’m dealing with. That’s where the name came from, Pulse. It felt like it was the right title. I feel like a lot of the music has a pulse and I felt that the lyrics and the music are kind of my pulse.
Do you find writing the story-based lyrics for Between The Buried And Me easier than personal lyrics?
It’s hard to say. I would say about the same. Sometimes, the story-based lyrics, you have to constantly be creative, and the personal lyrics just kind of flows out naturally. The story-based stuff keeps me on my toes and makes me be more creative, which is a good thing, I think.
Explain the writing process that helped to craft the eleven tracks that make up Pulse.
The material has been written over the last two or three years. I constantly write music when I am home. I record at home, and basically, I record a lot of stuff. I started collecting a lot of the songs that didn’t feel like it would be suitable for Between The Buried And Me. I’m glad I finally did it. It was one of those things I had on the back burner forever, but I didn’t have the time or the motivation to do it, and the time was right, finally.
Does writing melodic-based material come easier for you than the heavier stuff?
I feel like metal is what I am. I grew up listening to metal. That comes naturally to me. The melodic stuff is still kind of a new world for me. Obviously, Between The Buried And Me spend time in there a lot, but this is the first time I sat down and wrote complete rock songs. It was something totally new for me. It was really exciting and it was fun because it was something different and stepping outside my normal box. I would definitely say that metal is easier for me because that is my natural instinct.
Were there any bands that influenced the songwriting for Pulse?
There are a lot of bands that influence me in general. Bands like Radiohead, Mars Volta, Muse; they are groups I’ve been into for years. When I write music, I don’t try to use influences to inspire the song, but I think that naturally happens when you listen to a lot of music. I’m constantly looking for new music and I still stay up-to-date and try to find stuff that interest me. What I am listening to at the moment is going to influence me, either if I don’t want it to or not.
What kind of concepts are discussed on Pulse?
“Hamilton Anxiety Scale,” there aren’t a whole lot of lyrics to it, but I have horrible social anxiety, and it’s my cry for help for my friends (laughs). I have a song written for my parents. They went through some tough times over the last couple of years with work, like most of the country has. I wrote a song for them, the last song “Hypoxia.” “Armchair Travel,” I wrote that song a while ago for my family, my friends, and my loved ones. Anybody who tours in a band understands how hard it is to leave and miss people. That’s saying no matter how far I am or what I’m doing, I’m still thinking of you all, even though it doesn’t seem like that a lot. There’s a song about my dog (laughs). It’s all about my life.
Why did you decide to handle all the instruments yourself?
It was easier. All the material is fairly simple. I knew I could play it. I wanted to try it. I’ve never gone in the studio and done it all. It was fun. It was tiring as hell, but I honestly just wanted to try it. I’ve always thought about doing it. I thought it would be fun and I just went for it. But if I ever write some crazy stuff that I can’t perform, I’ll have to get Blake (Richardson) or somebody to play the drums (laughs).
What was the hardest part about doing the whole album by yourself?
It wasn’t really hard because it was over such a long period of time. I think if I had a deadline and had to write this record in a certain amount of time, it would be really stressful and really hard. There’s material that’s two or three years old on the record. It was a very relaxed writing process. Whenever I had time or whenever I felt motivated to do it, I did it. Most of the writing and a lot of the recording, outside of live drums and guitars, was done at home. The only thing about recording that was hard was the time. I was the only one there, spending 12-13 hour days by yourself gets pretty tiring. Other than that, it was pretty smooth.
How much material did you write? Are those 11 songs the only ones you wrote or was there more stuff that didn’t get onto the album?
There are parts and ideas that didn’t get onto the album, but as far as songs, all I wrote is on there. How I start with a song is that I have a folder on my computer and it’s called “New Music Ideas.” Basically, if I come up with a chord progression, when I’m messing around one day, I’ll either record it or I’ll film it on a video and just save it. I’ll come back to it and build off that, write a song around it. That’s how a lot of the material was written. I still have a lot of stuff like that laying around. I’m not worried about writing more later, but I definitely don’t have the time.
What track are you most proud of?
That’s tough. The song “Mr. Bird,” I don’t know if it’s one I’m most proud of, but that was one of those songs...I’ve never done anything like that before. It’s all piano. It’s a lot of vocal harmonies. I’m a huge Queen fan, which you can probably tell by hearing the song. I’ve always wanted to write a song like that. Real dry and minimal, but the vocals are real elaborate. It was one of those songs where I was like, ‘Am I going to be able to pull this song off?’ I’m really happy with how it came out. I’m glad I did it.
Are there any plans to do a tour in support of the album?
I’m going to do some shows. I doubt I’m doing any extensive touring cross-country or anything. It looks like I’m probably going to do some East Coast shows hopefully in March. That’s getting figured out right now. It’ll probably just be a handful of shows and then after that, Between The Buried And Me is going full force. I have no idea what the future holds, but as of now, some things here and there, if I have some time. Other than that, not a whole lot live. I’m getting a band together right now, so that’s not completely figured out. I’ve kind of been lazy about that. That should be figured out shortly.
