Sept. 21, 2026

Tyler Burgess of American Monster Talks Band Origins and Festival Debut at Louder Than Life

Show Notes
Transcript

On this episode of The Adventures of Pipeman, Pipeman sits down with Tyler Burgess of the band American Monster at the Louder Than Life festival. The conversation delves into nostalgia-inspired fashion, the motivation behind forming American Monster, the realities of performing under extreme conditions, and the freedom of creative self-expression. Listeners are treated to stories from the festival, insights into band life, and encouragement to check out American Monster’s music.Main Topics Covered

The inspiration behind Tyler Burgess's vibrant style and nostalgic flair
The story of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and inclusivity in metal culture
American Monster's festival debut and live performance experiences
The personal journey from hired musician to band leader
The joys and challenges of starting a new band
Engaging with fans amidst difficult festival conditions
The value of artistic self-expression in music

Key Discussions & Stories80s/90s Nostalgia & Metal Fashion

Tyler Burgess explains his colorful fashion sense, drawing from late '80s and early '90s influences—mixing elements from Headbanger's Ball and Fangoria for a distinctive aesthetic 00:38.

The Sophie Lancaster Foundation & Solidarity in Metal

Pipeman recounts the tragic story of Sophie Lancaster, who was attacked for her alternative appearance. He highlights the Foundation’s efforts at Bloodstock Festival, where everyone dresses in pink to honor her memory and promote acceptance 01:11.

American Monster’s Debut at Louder Than Life

Tyler Burgess shares that this is American Monster's festival debut and only their second show to date, expressing excitement and pride in their early achievements 02:40.

Performing in Extreme Conditions

Pipeman describes the heat and challenges of playing at the festival, emphasizing the dedication artists show for their fans 03:01.
Tyler Burgess recounts engaging fans dressed in costumes and keeping the energy high despite early set times and tough weather 04:04.

Creating American Monster & True Artistic Expression

Tyler Burgess discusses his journey from being a hired musician to starting his own band, desiring a space for full artistic expression and inviting listeners into his creative world 05:22.
He draws a parallel to artists like Rob Zombie, elaborating on the importance of vision and authenticity 05:55.

Final Thoughts & Fan Engagement

Both speakers reflect on the importance of having fun and passion in music 04:38, with Tyler Burgess noting the joy he experiences building something that is unapologetically himself 05:02.

Notable Quotes

"Everything I try to— it lands kind of somewhere between what you'd see on Headbanger's Ball or what you'd read about in Fangoria." – Tyler Burgess 00:50
"Because if you're not having fun in this industry, especially doing a live show, yeah, you're in the wrong industry." – Pipeman 04:38
"Some guys just want to be really good at drums. Some guys just want to be really good at playing guitar. And then there's some guys who like, they want to build this world and then like invite you to it." – Tyler Burgess 05:49
"It's just unapologetically me and, and, uh, the only way it should be." – Tyler Burgess 05:06
"Louder Than Life, fucking amazing. American Monster, check us out. Um, we're online, we're on YouTube, americanmonster.com. Live it, love it, learn it. We'll see the next show." – Tyler Burgess 08:27

Resources & Links Mentioned

American Monster Online:
- Website: americanmonster.com
- YouTube: Search "American Monster"
- Band has two singles currently available
Sophie Lancaster Foundation:
- The Foundation works toward promoting acceptance for alternative cultures in memory of Sophie Lancaster.
Festival:
- Louder Than Life

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-adventures-of-pipeman--941822/support.

Click Here to Subscribe for PERKS, BONUS Content & FREE GIVEWAYS!

Follow @pipemanradio on all socials & Pipeman Radio Requests & Info at www.linktr.ee/pipemanradio

Stream The Adventures of Pipeman daily & live Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays at 1PM ET on W4CY Radio & Talk 4 TV.

Download, Rate & Review the Podcast at The Adventures of Pipeman, Pipeman Radio, Talk 4 Media, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & All Podcast Apps.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:05.019 --> 00:00:13.589
Hey, you're listening to Adventure on W4CY Radio.

2
00:00:19.510 --> 00:00:22.070
This is Pipe Man here on the Adventure's Pipe Man

3
00:00:22.109 --> 00:00:23.710
W4CY Radio, and I'm here with.

4
00:00:24.449 --> 00:00:27.070
Tyler Burgess of the band American Monster.

5
00:00:27.410 --> 00:00:30.019
Nice. First, I just want to say I love your

6
00:00:30.059 --> 00:00:33.600
fucking hat. Thanks, dude. And I love at a metal

7
00:00:33.700 --> 00:00:36.950
festival where we're all in black that you have a

8
00:00:37.030 --> 00:00:38.310
killer pink hat.

9
00:00:38.850 --> 00:00:44.960
Well, I am a product of everything late 80s, early 90s.

10
00:00:45.630 --> 00:00:48.049
And whether it's the songs or the merch or any

11
00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:50.950
of that, it feels very nostalgic. I don't know what

12
00:00:50.969 --> 00:00:53.810
you've listened to or what you've seen yet, but everything

13
00:00:53.969 --> 00:00:57.689
I try to... It lands kind of somewhere between what

14
00:00:57.710 --> 00:01:00.390
you'd see on Headbangers Bar or what you'd read about

15
00:01:00.409 --> 00:01:03.770
in Fangoria. So all those fun colors and textures and

16
00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:05.650
all that kind of stuff. So this is just one

17
00:01:05.689 --> 00:01:07.090
of many of the designs that we have.

18
00:01:07.370 --> 00:01:12.510
Well, I come from the LA Sunset Strip 80s. Okay. So, yeah.

19
00:01:12.549 --> 00:01:14.810
Checks out. Yeah, you get it. And I'll tell you

20
00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:17.530
why I also like it, okay? So I just did

21
00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:22.159
this festival called Bloodstock in the UK. And the shirt

22
00:01:22.219 --> 00:01:26.390
I'm wearing represents one of the foundations there There were

23
00:01:26.430 --> 00:01:30.579
these two goth kids that left years ago in London,

24
00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:35.819
a gig, and they got attacked, and the girl died

25
00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:38.099
just because they were goth.

26
00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:38.980
That's horrible.

27
00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:43.620
So, like, this shirt says on it, Weird Mosher Freak.

28
00:01:44.620 --> 00:01:48.189
And what they do is they have a stage. She

29
00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:52.409
was Sophie Lancaster was her name. It's the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

30
00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:55.689
And they have a stage named after her. They have

31
00:01:55.769 --> 00:01:58.810
a merch booth. They're a very supportive foundation. And on

32
00:01:58.969 --> 00:02:03.870
Saturday of the festival, the whole festival, and as you know,

33
00:02:03.909 --> 00:02:07.480
it's a very metal festival. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody

34
00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:08.400
dresses in pink.

35
00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:09.330
I fucking love it.

36
00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:11.479
Right? I love it, man. You know? Yeah. And it's

37
00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.099
like so cool. So when I saw your hat, it

38
00:02:14.139 --> 00:02:16.110
made me think of that, but it made me think.

39
00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:20.500
You're a cool fucking dude because you're here. You got

40
00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.360
the black shirt on, but you're rocking the pink. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

41
00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:26.319
I got to switch it up, man. Everyone's got black hats. Exactly.

42
00:02:26.340 --> 00:02:26.699
Yeah, totally.

43
00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:30.169
That's it. So is this your first time at Louder?

44
00:02:31.099 --> 00:02:33.620
So this is not my first time at Louder Than Life.

45
00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:35.840
This is my first time at Louder Than Life with

46
00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:36.669
this band.

47
00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:37.889
Ah, okay.

48
00:02:37.949 --> 00:02:39.569
Yeah, so this is a brand new band.

49
00:02:39.610 --> 00:02:40.229
That's even better.

50
00:02:40.509 --> 00:02:44.719
Yeah, so this is our festival debut, and this is

51
00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:46.240
only our second show.

52
00:02:46.259 --> 00:02:48.319
Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

53
00:02:49.650 --> 00:02:52.129
We came, we saw, we conquered, we did what we

54
00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:55.360
had to do. We played a couple ass beaters, a

55
00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.199
couple emotional heaters, and called it a day, man.

56
00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:02.860
Packed it up. Keyword, heater. Heaters. Oh, yeah. I've been

57
00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.280
saying the past few days, I have mad respect for

58
00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.139
all you artists playing in this hell.

59
00:03:08.419 --> 00:03:08.639
Yeah.

60
00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:11.379
Because it is super hot. And I say it because

61
00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:14.120
I want the audience to know what bands really do

62
00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:17.909
for their fans. Yeah. It's not like you're just standing

63
00:03:17.990 --> 00:03:22.020
out there. You're giving it your all. in like the

64
00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:26.319
most evil environment to do it, you know, type of thing,

65
00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:30.060
you know, because it's like, it's like you're certainly performing

66
00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:30.759
in hell.

67
00:03:30.939 --> 00:03:31.120
Yeah.

68
00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:34.550
In this weather. Yeah. But hey, man, I'll perform anywhere.

69
00:03:34.830 --> 00:03:35.469
There you go.

70
00:03:35.569 --> 00:03:37.430
So, what better place and louder than life? It was,

71
00:03:37.810 --> 00:03:40.830
it was a lot of fun, man. This was, like

72
00:03:40.849 --> 00:03:44.129
I said, I played it before. I've played a few

73
00:03:44.169 --> 00:03:48.009
different set times. I played at night with Pyro. And

74
00:03:48.090 --> 00:03:51.669
today we played, like a little after doors. And, uh,

75
00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.830
it was just as fun, man. The fans here are awesome.

76
00:03:55.189 --> 00:03:56.960
Well, I was going to bring that up too. Like

77
00:03:57.340 --> 00:04:00.960
how shocked are you with the fans here coming out

78
00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:04.800
early in this heat to go to your set? Yeah.

79
00:04:04.840 --> 00:04:10.000
Well, we, uh, at our stage, there was a bunch

80
00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:12.319
of dudes dressed up like hot dogs. They were dressed

81
00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:17.459
up like members of Slipknot, like really thick, stuff going

82
00:04:17.540 --> 00:04:19.850
on you know and i mean i commanded them i

83
00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:22.050
was like let me see some fucking movement man like

84
00:04:22.089 --> 00:04:24.569
you know left to right front to back fucking make

85
00:04:24.589 --> 00:04:26.850
it happen and dude and i know i was like

86
00:04:26.970 --> 00:04:29.069
it's early in the day and they're still just so

87
00:04:29.110 --> 00:04:33.180
committed so just fucking rocking you know it's it was

88
00:04:33.189 --> 00:04:34.079
a lot of fun man.

89
00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:36.379
I love it and i i can see the smile

90
00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:39.779
on your face that's key yeah like because if you're

91
00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:43.050
not having fun in this industry you're especially doing a

92
00:04:43.089 --> 00:04:46.490
live show, you're in the wrong industry. Yeah. Because that

93
00:04:46.550 --> 00:04:48.910
should be the fun part right there. Yeah, it should be.

94
00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:49.740
It should be.

95
00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:55.360
And I, for one, have found so much joy in

96
00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:00.319
starting this band. Because the band is very, very new.

97
00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:04.490
We only have two singles out at the moment. And, yeah,

98
00:05:04.569 --> 00:05:06.250
it's one of the funnest things I've ever done. It's

99
00:05:06.370 --> 00:05:08.110
just unapologetically.

100
00:05:07.389 --> 00:05:11.779
Me and The only way it should be. Yeah. The music. Yeah, man.

101
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:16.980
It's really cool. So what prompted you to start this

102
00:05:17.060 --> 00:05:19.949
band the way you did? And how did this all

103
00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:21.850
come about with American Monster?

104
00:05:22.089 --> 00:05:25.670
Well, you know what? I feel like as a musician,

105
00:05:25.709 --> 00:05:27.850
you have a couple different options as to how you

106
00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:30.629
want to pursue the industry. Some people do the hired

107
00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.360
gun thing. Some people try to start bands. And I've

108
00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.620
done both. And while I find joy in being a

109
00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.199
hired gun, there, there's just a lot of things that

110
00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.699
were left on the table for me artistically. Some guys

111
00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:46.670
just want to be really good at drums. Some guys

112
00:05:46.689 --> 00:05:49.810
just want to be really good at playing guitar. And

113
00:05:49.829 --> 00:05:52.050
then there's some guys who like, they want to build

114
00:05:52.069 --> 00:05:56.230
this world and then like invite you to it, you know? So, um,

115
00:05:56.810 --> 00:05:58.509
you know, like look at like Rob Zombie, for instance,

116
00:05:58.540 --> 00:06:02.199
can you imagine him just like wanting to like sing for,

117
00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.500
I mean anybody, any band that's of equal caliber, it

118
00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:09.500
just wouldn't feel right. He had this vision, and he

119
00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:11.939
saw it through, and the world's a better place for it.

120
00:06:11.990 --> 00:06:13.379
So that's just kind of where I'm at in life,

121
00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:15.930
where it's like, I've toured all over the world, I've

122
00:06:15.949 --> 00:06:19.470
done a lot of really cool things, but I have

123
00:06:19.509 --> 00:06:22.230
this world that I want to invite people to still,

124
00:06:22.490 --> 00:06:23.459
and they're finally getting to see it.

125
00:06:24.110 --> 00:06:27.110
See, I think that's key, because as an artist, I

126
00:06:27.129 --> 00:06:30.829
think you should be able to express yourself. And The

127
00:06:30.870 --> 00:06:32.949
way you're doing it, that's the only way you do it,

128
00:06:32.970 --> 00:06:35.350
because you know what you want to put out there,

129
00:06:35.629 --> 00:06:37.240
and I think that's the reason you have the big

130
00:06:37.269 --> 00:06:40.459
smile on your face. Yeah, man. Because not everybody does

131
00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:43.540
in this industry, and that's because they're not doing what

132
00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:46.399
they want to do, or they're held back, or, you know,

133
00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:50.800
you even talk about whatever happened happened, but. You talk

134
00:06:50.810 --> 00:06:55.959
about Jason Newsted and he wanted to express himself, you know,

135
00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.439
and he should. And I think that's why there's a

136
00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:03.319
lot of successful bands out there that sometimes the members

137
00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:06.579
of the band have side projects so that they can

138
00:07:06.699 --> 00:07:09.720
do that. But then when you're doing it all yourself,

139
00:07:10.889 --> 00:07:13.569
That's a whole nother world because it is a whole

140
00:07:13.589 --> 00:07:18.350
really just now you're doing exactly what you want. Yeah.

141
00:07:18.449 --> 00:07:20.019
I mean, and, and you know what, there's, there's a

142
00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:22.720
lot to be said about that too, because when you're

143
00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:24.660
just a hired gun guy, it's like, you need to

144
00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:28.839
know when soundcheck is and when lunches, you know, but like,

145
00:07:29.709 --> 00:07:34.899
Being the guy, I commend the bands that have the

146
00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:37.160
one guy that does it all. Or if there's two

147
00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:39.879
or three guys that do it all, it's a completely

148
00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:40.600
different beast.

149
00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:41.160
Yes.

150
00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:44.199
Completely different. And I'm getting a crash course in it,

151
00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:47.339
but you know what? It's led me to fucking play

152
00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:48.040
louder than life.

153
00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:51.680
There you go. Why not? And so what do you

154
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.839
love most about doing this project now about being able

155
00:07:56.860 --> 00:07:58.399
to express yourself the way you do?

156
00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:03.069
What I, uh, there's a couple different, there's a couple

157
00:08:03.089 --> 00:08:06.189
different things that I enjoy most about it. Most importantly,

158
00:08:06.970 --> 00:08:07.589
I feel like.

159
00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:17.360
Oh boy, here we go. All right. Just like a

160
00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:22.339
lot of festivals. Yeah. We got a coat red people.

161
00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:24.759
We'll talk about it later. I guess a coat pink.

162
00:08:25.550 --> 00:08:29.439
But give your final words. Final words. Louder Than Life.

163
00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:30.600
Fucking amazing.

164
00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:35.460
American Monster. Check us out. We're online. We're on YouTube.

165
00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:36.679
AmericanMonster.com.

166
00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:39.070
Live it. Love it. Learn it.

167
00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:39.970
We'll see you at the next show.

168
00:08:40.929 --> 00:08:42.690
I love that you're here. I love the smile on

169
00:08:42.710 --> 00:08:45.090
your face. And thanks for doing what you do. And

170
00:08:45.129 --> 00:08:46.750
thanks for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man.

171
00:08:46.870 --> 00:08:47.230
Thanks, brother.

172
00:08:48.950 --> 00:08:53.179
Thank you for listening to the Adventures of Pipe Man podcast.

173
00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:54.840
On W4CY Radio.

Tyler Burgess of American Monster Talks Band Origins and Festival Debut at Louder Than Life

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

Support On