5 minutes with ... Bury Me In Lights

Posted February 28, 2018 5:00 am

Brian Shamie

According to Robert Biskoski, Wheaton native and lead vocalist for DuPage rock band Bury Me In Lights, the band's name has a personal significance.

To Biskoski, it's about “living the best life you can while you're alive so that when it's your time to go, people celebrate your life rather than mourn your death.” That sense of introspection weaves through the band's latest release, “Moments Between,” a blend of emotional and yearning alternative lyrics, punchy punk rhythms and shout-along backing vocals that tap into a metal vein.

Here's a look at Bury Me In Lights:

Band members: Robert Biskoski of Wheaton (vocals/guitar), Randy Gorecki of Orland Hills (guitar), Chris Vallaro of Wheaton (bass), Tim Vallaro of Wheaton (drums)

I know you have some big things coming up soon. Tell us about the big show in March?

We're super excited to be playing The Bottom Lounge (Saturday, March 10) as direct support for the reunion of Myllhouse! It's their first show in a decade, and we're playing with some of our amazingly talented friends in Take the Reins, The Glory Years and The Burst and Bloom. We will be premiering some new material as well as resurrecting some old songs that we have never played live. It's going to be an awesome night.

What's one song from your recently released “Moments Between” EP that really speaks to you?

I would have to say “The Devil You Know.” It was one of those writing moments where everything seemed to come together. It's a very meaningful song for me, and I remember the process pretty clearly. We had just played one of our first shows with the new lineup at Double Door (right before they closed), and that very same night I had some drama occur in my personal life. Some things were said to me that night that really made me stop and evaluate my life. The very next day I had the words and the title. It was probably the fastest I've ever written lyrics. A few days after that, we had rehearsal and we wrote the music within a couple hours. Everything just seemed to fit, and I think that song marked a step in a new direction for the band.

You guys have been around in various forms since 2009 and already have two albums out. How has your music evolved from your previous releases?

I think we're evolving as songwriters as a band. Instead of in the past where I might come in with a fully written song, we now begin the songwriting process as a group. A lot of our new songs came together in rehearsal from us just jamming around. Writing from scratch with everyone present is great because you get each person's take on how the song should sound, and you kind of combine that into the best possible version.

Bury Me In Lights is the featured band on the Spotify playlist "2018 Chicago Sound Check vol. 2," a collection of local musicians recently covered in the Daily Herald. Courtesy of Brian Shamie

What has been one of your favorite or most memorable shows?

There's been so many good ones, but for me my most memorable was playing The House of Blues. I saw so many of my favorite artists on that stage growing up, and I never thought I'd play there. There were also people in the crowd singing along to some of my lyrics, so that was a huge night for me.

What are you guys working on now? What do fans have to look forward to?

Right now we've gone back to writing new songs. We want to keep giving people something new, so we want to always be writing. We also want to get out on the road this summer in support of “Moments Between” to do a mini tour to bring our music to people who haven't heard us before. We are also working on some possible collaborations with some extremely talented Chicago artists as well, so 2018 should be a very exciting year for us.

There's a lot of talent on the Chicago and suburban scenes, which can make standing out a challenge for musicians. How does Bury Me in Lights rise to that?

We couldn't be more proud to play in the scene that we do, and with all the amazing bands that we do. I have made friends with so many incredibly talented people, and I love it. When it comes down to it, we just try and write the best songs we possibly can, and hope people take notice of it, like it, and most importantly, relate to it.

Bury Me In Lights is the featured band on this month's local music playlist, “2018 Chicago Sound Check vol. 2,” now streaming on Spotify. Give it a listen below and check out some of the other Chicago and suburban musicians we've featured recently in the Daily Herald.

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