Denver’s Bury Mia are a high-energy pop-punk band making a name for themselves in venues all over. The members of the band joined TGEFM to take part in our Roll of the Dice series. Take a peak to learn about the band, their favorite animals and the rejuvenation of the pop-punk/emo scenes in recent years.
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about the members of Bury Mia, your history and your sound?
Justin: Thank you for your interest in our band & what we’re doing! Our band is a family & like all families it’s composed of distinct personalities with different interests & lifestyles outside of itself. But we love each other & celebrate our differences. As for each member… hmmm… well, a fun way to address that is to direct people to our most recent headlining show poster (Bluebird Theatre in Denver on June 16), it features a make believe animal created from parts of each member’s favorite animal: Justin/ giraffe, Devin/ cardinal, Steve/ Rottweiler, Marcus/ manatee. We’ll let readers interpret what these animals say about our personalities haha.
Steve: you should know that nobody actually knows Marcus’s real age.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst?
Marcus: Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique. There was nothing quite like this amalgamation of sounds, samples & self-expression at the time. When it came out I was blown away by the band’s pure expression of itself without concern for staying inside any preconceived lines of creative identity. It resonated with an authentic sense of self that was just beginning to find its voice. I knew then that if I ever had the opportunity to pursue music as a serious endeavor, self-expression as opposed to self-identification would be my path.
Devin: For me I think the catalyst for my dive into music was The Used performing on TRL. It was chaotic but in a good way. I grew up in a house were my grandfather played a lot of guitar as well and that was always a part of my life. But what made me want to pursue it was that whole era of onstage antics.
Steve: The year was 2002. I was 11 years old and went to my first “show” and saw bands like Bane, Nora, Everytime I Die, Unearth, and From Autumn to Ashes. I knew right away it was my thing. Music, specifically heavy music, was always my thing thanks to my dad, but playing in bands, being involved in a scene, forming strong opinions on topics like religion, politics, and veganism just became part of my life from then on.
With festivals like When We Were Young and Bamboozle or reformation of so many bands from the early 00s scenes over the last few years, a lot of people have been talking about the rebirth of emo. I don’t like the phrase “Rebirth” because I don’t think that the pop-punk/emo sound has gone anywhere that it would need to return from, but its definitely felt rejuvenated lately. As one of the newest waves to lead that renaissance, what do you think has happened to make people so open to the sound again?
J: Definitely agree with you that it never really went away altogether but maybe needed a little incubation period before it could infect a new generation on a broader level. Artists like MGK have certainly helped push it back into the mainstream. Ideas, fashion, art or whatever often cycle in & out of pop culture. What doesn’t change is a desire to express heartbreak, rebellion, & boredom.
S: I think Its a rebirth because all of us in our 30s who grew up in that scene, got old and tired, then got a second wind because we realized being a grown up is boring as hell and we’re all still angry.
D: I agree the scene never really went away but it did calm down. I think a lot of it is feeling the way they did back then, Nostalgia in a way. But also on the flip side of that, everyone has grown and so have the artists. We are all going through or have gone through very similar things.
Nobody can deny the world has been changing drastically over the last few years. Where do you see the future of music, both for Bury Mia and also for the scene at large transitioning in light of these events?
J: I think we build from them. I try to look at everything from a glass half full perspective. Take what has happened and build from it and that’s the only way to keep growing. Music helps a lot of people get away from the outside world and as long as we have people supporting the arts we can always find a way to make due.
One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
J: Who to check out? Man, there are so many of them! Well we have Goldsteps, House Parties, Van Full Of Nuns, Years Down, The Losers Club, Wastebasket, Suitable Miss, Fluorescents and Toxins. Go support these bands. They are all phenomenal and some of the best humans you’ll meet.
What’s next for Bury Mia?
J: We’ll be playing regional shows in Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins & Boulder, recording new music at The Blasting Room (Fort Collins), organizing a tour for possibly this fall. We’re also hoping to play festivals as well as support some national acts during tour stops in Denver.
Currently we have our headlining show here in Denver at the Bluebird Theater. If you are in or around Denver June 16th come out and say Hi. We would love to see you there and have a great night of music.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
J: We love interacting with our fans on social media. We see & read every comment & DM & try to respond to everyone who reaches out. It makes us feel really good to connect with people through our music, in turn connecting with them through their unique story & experiences. Without our fans, without connecting with other people through our art & how it touches them, none of this makes any sense. So, if you’re reading this and feel inspired to reach out, please do.
Thanks.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
