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

However, "we're all honestly a little worried about our hearing," jokes frontman Bill Janovitz. "We wanted to lean into the acoustic guitars a bit more"

• Buffalo Tom kick off their latest tour this weekend

• Their new album, Jump Rope, was released Friday

• The music video for their song "Autumn Letter" premieres on PEOPLE

Alternative rockers Buffalo Tom are off on their ‘middle-aged man’ tour.

"If you talk to our fans, they're just outraged that we're only doing 10 shows or something," remarks Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz, 57, during a recent interview with PEOPLE. "We're not getting up to the Northwest yet, and we haven't been to Texas in a long time."

It’s just the reality for the band that continues getting older, but a band that still finds themselves plugging along amongst a musical landscape that is much different from the one they entered back in 1986 when they were just three kids playing in their Massachusetts college town.

"It's still kind of a struggle to piece together a really satisfying string of dates in the states," explains Janovitz of the constantly changing schedule of him and his Buffalo Tom bandmates Chris Colbourn and Tom Maginnis. "It really has to do with the three of us having a conversation and trying to figure out where we are all in our lives and when we can get time away from work and family. We haven't been doing this full time for a long time."

In fact, it’s been three years since the band that became a cult favorite with songs such as "Taillights Fade" have toured, and six years since they released their last album Quiet and Peace. "We never broke up," says Janovitz. "We always had different things going on."

But no matter how many years have gone by, the fans have always stayed.

"There was one time that we played in Massachusetts, and it was a really hot day," remembers Janovitz. "There was a guy at the front of the stage who fainted. They gave him an EKG, and afterwards, he brought his EKG print out for me to autograph. That’s the kind of fans we have."

And Buffalo Tom continues to provide those fans with new music, having just released their tenth studio album Jump Rope. "I mean, I don't know how much fans of Buffalo Tom 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."

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Certainly, Jump Rope does not waver too far off from the melancholy yet upbeat sound that Buffalo Tom has long been known for.

"We went into it wanting to make an acoustic record, sitting around a campfire type thing, but it turned into a Buffalo Tom record by default," says Janovitz of the album which includes the breathtaking track "Autumn Letter," whose music video premieres 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 were going for. We wanted to lean into the acoustic guitars a bit more."

But maybe, there was another reason.

"We're all honestly a little worried about our hearing," laughs Janovitz.

He jokes again, but Janovitz is the first to admit that with age comes a bunch of stuff, but most importantly, it comes with wisdom.

"I think I was such a control freak back in the day," explains Janovitz. "Bands break up because of ego clashes usually, or just insecurities. And I feel like there was a time when I needed maybe too much. I think I felt like I was a little out of control. I was not in control of my destiny. But then you get through all that and you come out on the other side."

The art of starting over is a trait that lays within the creative threads of Buffalo Tom, especially when one thinks of how far they have come.

"To have the same three guys all healthy and all still friends is so very cool," he says. "Is it a pain in the ass sometimes? Yeah, it's a giant pain in the ass, but we wouldn't do it if it wasn't fulfilling. We wouldn't put ourselves through all the compromise and artistic committees. It's just all about perspective and that dreaded word maturity."

U.S. TOUR DATES

May 31 / AMHERST, MA @ The Drake

June 29 / LOWELL, MA @ The 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

SEPT 13 / PORTLAND, ME @ Portland State Theater

SEPT 14 / PROVIDENCE, RI @ FETE

NOV 1-3 / BOSTON, MA @ Please Come to Boston Festival

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES

Sept 27 / DUBLIN, IE @ Whelan’s

Sept 28 / GLASGOW, UK @ SWG3 Warehouse

Sept 30 / LONDON, UK @ Lafayette

Oct 3 / ANTWERP, BE @ De Roma

Oct 4 / SNEEK, NL @ Het Bolwerk

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

Oct 7 / COLOGNE, DE @ Luxor

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