Buffalo Tom Have a New Album, Music Video and Tour: 'We Wouldn't Do It If It Wasn't Fulfilling' (Exclusive)

• Buffalo Tom kicks off his latest tour this weekend
• Their new album, Skipping ropewas published on Friday
• The music video for their song “Autumn Letter” premiered on PEOPLE

Alternative rockers Buffalo Tom have embarked on a ‘middle-aged men’ tour.

“If you talk to our fans, they’re just outraged that we’re only doing 10 shows or something,” notes Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz, 57, during a recent interview with PEOPLE. “We’re not going to the northwest yet, and we haven’t been to Texas in a long time.”

That’s just the reality for a band that continues to age, but one that still finds itself in a musical landscape far different from the one they entered back in 1986 when they were just three kids playing in their college town in Massachusetts.

“It’s still hard to put together a really satisfying run of dates in the States,” explains Janovitz of the ever-changing schedule between him and Buffalo Tom bandmates Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis. “It really has to do with the three of us talking and trying to figure out where we all are in our lives and when we can take time away from work and family. We didn’t do that full time for a a long time time.”

Buffalo Tom.

Studio Kelly Davidson

Namely, three years have passed since the tour of the band that became cult with songs such as “Taillights Fade”, and six years since they released their last album. Silence and peace. “We never broke up,” says Janovitz. – Different things always happened to us.

But no matter how many years pass, the fans always stay.

“We played in Massachusetts once, and it was a really hot day,” Janovitz remembers. “There was a guy in front of the stage who passed out. They gave him an EKG, and afterwards he brought me his EKG printout to sign. That’s the kind of fans we have.”

And Buffalo Tom continues to provide those fans with new music, having just released his tenth studio album Skipping rope. “I mean, I don’t know how many Buffalo Tom fans will even care that there’s new stuff,” laughs Janovitz. “I’m always pleasantly surprised when people even listen closely enough to realize it’s new.”

Buffalo Tom’s Skipping Rope.

Mark Cohen

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Safe, Skipping rope it doesn’t deviate too much from the melancholic, yet optimistic sound that Buffalo Tom has long been known for.

“We went into it wanting to make an acoustic record, sitting around a campfire, but by default it turned into a Buffalo Tom record,” Janovitz says of the album, which includes the breathtaking “Autumn Letter,” whose music video premiered on PEOPLE. “The way we write is kind of acoustic-based all the time. And that kind of dictated the tone of the album that we wanted. We wanted to lean a little more on the acoustic guitars.”

But maybe there was another reason.

“We’re all honestly a little worried about our hearing,” laughs Janovitz.

Buffalo Tom.

Studio Kelly Davidson

Again, he jokes, but Janovitz is the first to admit that with age comes a lot of things, but most importantly, it comes with wisdom.

“I think I was such a control freak at one time,” explains Janovitz. “Bands usually break up because of ego conflicts or because of insecurities. And I feel like there was a time when maybe I needed too much. I think I felt like I was a little bit out of control. I wasn’t in control of my destiny. But then you go through all that and you get out to the other side.”

The art of starting over is a trait that runs deep within Buffalo Tom’s creative threads, especially when you consider how far they’ve come.

“Having the same three guys, all healthy and all still friends, is so cool,” he says. “Is it a hassle sometimes? Yes, it’s a big hassle, but we wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t fulfilling. We wouldn’t be going through all the compromises and art committees. It’s just all about perspective and that dreaded word maturity.”

Buffalo Tom.

Studio Kelly Davidson

USA TOUR DATES

May 31 / AMHERST, MA @ The Drake

June 29 / LOWELL, MA @ Boarding House

August 8 / CHICAGO, IL @ Metro

August 10 / OMAHA, NE @ Outlandia Festival

August 13/ PIONEERTOWN, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s

August 15 / LOS ANGELES, CA @ Teragram Ballroom

August 17 / SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ The Independent

SEPTEMBER 13 / PORTLAND, ME @ Portland State Theatre

SEPTEMBER 14 / PROVIDENCE, RI @ FETE

1.-3. NOVEMBER / BOSTON, MA @ Please come to the Boston Festival

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES

27 Sep / DUBLIN, IE @ Whelan’s

September 28 / GLASGOW, UK @ SWG3 Warehouse

September 30 / LONDON, UK @ Lafayette

October 3 / ANTWERP, BE @ De Roma

October 4 / SNEEK, NL @ Het Bolwerk

October 5 / EINDHOVEN, NL @ Come As You Are Festival

October 7 / COLOGNE, DE @ Luxor

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Source: HIS Education