BURNT BY THE SUN – Interview with Mike

Relapse Records has always been a label that puts out some great extreme metal bands. I recently caught up with mike olender the vocalist of the band burnt by the sun. Here’s what he had to say:

How did bbts first come together and what was your initial thought of the band?

BBTS began when John and Dave started writing together again. They asked me to come check it out to see if I would be interested in singing and I was very impressed with what they were doing. It wasn't very focused, but it like a roughly cut diamond. You could just sense that there was something really good there so I just waited a bit until they had some more material written. I came back down and bam!- I was floored. I loved the material. From there on things just started developing and we went through a few line-up changes to get where we are now, which is writing our second album.

Speaking of line-up changes, there has recently been one with a loss of a guitar player. What happened there, and how is it effecting the band musically? Especially live where two guitarist make the sound more full.

Chris' departure was ultimately for the best of the band. Let's just say that his personal life was interferring with the band to a point that was unacceptable and he was let go. We tried out a number of guitar players, a few of which were very talented people, but after about 6 weeks of that we decided that it would be best for us to change gears and develop as a four-piece unit. We added a lot of equipment (we play out of two full stacks for guitar and two full bass rigs now, plus a number of effects pedals) and our new record will really reflect that change. When we came to make that decision, we were thinking more in terms of our future music, how it would develop, rather than worrying about our ability to play the older songs with only one guitar player. Fortunately there are only a few songs that we cannot play live and we make due. At the end of the day, we're happier as this 4-piece unit.

One thing i think that really sets you guys apart from everyone else is the lyrics. Soundtrack to the personal revolution is exactly what it says. You talk about the struggles in everyday life, not just some made up stuff about killing people and such. How much of a struggle has it been to accomplish your goals musicly, and do you feel content with the amount of success you've attained this far?

I don't think that any of us really look at music as a goal in any sense. I think that our individual paths have their own ways of shaping the kind of music that we contribute to bbts. I would say that our experiences have helped us DEVELOP ourselves in a creative sense, rather than implying that we've reached some kind of goal. Hopefully that doesn't sound all too pretentious because we're really anything but that. At the end of the day we just want to do music that means something to us. As far as being content goes, I personally am content only when I'm working on something. I find that the satisfaction of reaching a goal only lasts so long and that you must continuously push yourself to achieve new things throughout your life to keep thing from getting stale. In a musical sense that means being open to try new things and keep things interested. The new bbts record will be different from “Soundtrack..”, just like “soundtrack” was different from the ep. As a band, its seems that we're not really content with much for too long.

One thing I would really like to know and I'm sure you've been asked before but who comes up with the names of the songs? Some of them are really creative like…the fish under the sea dance…dow jones and the temple of doom….and many others. And do they have more of a metaphoricle meaning behind the words?

I come up with the names of the songs, with the exception of Boston Tea-Bag Party, which I credit to our guitarist John. Many of the titles are references to films (fish under the sea dance is from Back to the Future, Dow Jones.. is pretty obviously an Indiana Jones reference) and I do that not only because I enjoy it but because it helps to offer a sense of balance to bbts. We're not a band of activists, we don't have a specific agenda, and the song titles help illustrate that you can have something significant to say lyrically without having to take yourself too seriously. There have been too many bands that take themselves so seriously that people can't take them seriously. At some point, you begin to wonder what in their past makes them so angry and serious about certain issues, and the whole pyschology of it can really compromise the effectiveness of what they're trying to say. But if you enoy life, such as pop culture and movies, and aren't afraid to show that in your music, I think it has a way of being more accepted and understood. Plus, its a hell of a lot more fun.

Is there all ready new material in the works and what can we expect with the next bbts release?

Yes, new material is being written for the next record, which we will be recording this may for a september (hopefully) release. The material is definitely different from the previous record, much like that was different from the records before that. Except this time we're writing and recording as a 4-piece. I cannot say too much about it because we're still developing the record and its a bit too early to give any real description other than some of the material is heavier than most of our older material.

Where did the name burnt by the sun derive from?

It was not inspired from the film. It was actually the first proposed name that we all didn't hate. I like it because its so open to interpretation. Sorry no real elaborate explanation here- it was just very simple and seemed to fit what we were doing.

I know you guys are a New Jersey based band, how's the underground seen there and are your hometown fans more fanatic than elswhere?

The scene in NJ has really slowed over the last 6-7 years. In New Brunswick alone, there were 3 regular venues that had great shows all the time. Now we are down to one regular venue and the shows aren't nearly as diverse as they used to be. But in the last year things outside of New Bruswick have been doing pretty well. Some shows will still draw 1000 kids, and that's good to see. As for us, we have a much more “fanatic” fan base outside of NJ. Through all the bands we've done, people just know us and expect that they can see bbts play whenever they want. The best crowds in NJ that we get are when we play larger venues with bigger bands. Kids will come out to see the touring bands, and when we get on to play everyone will just go off and have a good time. That's about the only time you'll see kids piling up and singing alone to bbts in NJ!

What can the fans of bbts expect to hear from you guys in the future and what would you say to people who have not heard you yet?

The new bbts full length may be out as soon as Fall of 2003. It is tentatively titled “360 degrees” and will be out on Relapse. It will be a progression from Soundtrack in a more experimental sense- a bit more dark and very pissed. There are far fewer boundaries with this new record. Thanks for the interview and best of luck. Check out burnt by the sun at or …