Artist of the Day - Bison Face

Question: What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison? Answer: You can't wash your hands in a buffalo. Thank you, I'm here all week!

Yes, there is a reason for the terrible joke, and it's to give a tenuous link to our Artist of the Day, Bison Face. We caught up with Ernie and asked our series of difficult and probing questions...

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Who are Bison Face?

Bison Face are Ernie Hill - Vocals/Guitar, Alex Bowden - Guitar, Jonny Bennett - Drums and

Arthur Sawyer - Bass

Where are you based?

We’re all from St Albans, just outside London in the UK. Luckily for us we’ve got a great local scene for a small town, and one of the best grassroots venues in the country in The Horn.

What genre would you describe yourselves as?

We’re a mish mash of a few different sonic plains, alternative rock would be the umbrella. We’re a grunge band with elements of desert rock, shoegaze but I wouldn’t say we stick to just one religiously.

Who is your main inspiration?

Someone like Dave Grohl, that was dealt a few blows but had the drive to do their own thing, go it alone despite a lot of negative people. That outlook and perseverance has always stuck with me. Other than that, I feel like you should let everything and anything inspire you.

How do you write your songs?

Songs can materialise at any point, I play guitar a lot and sometimes particular ideas just jump out. I almost always finish the music first, I have lyrics and poetry knocking about in notebooks but the music is the most important part for me. So I usually write about 95% of the song holed up at home, then when we start practicing the other guys add their own flavour on top.

What made you want to start in music?

At age 9 or 10 I saw ‘School of Rock’ and was like “oh this soundtrack is kinda cool”. I asked for it for a birthday, and instead got Nevermind, Raw Power and Zeppelin 3. Those 3 records began an infatuation with music, specifically guitar-based music. Nirvana were my gateway drug, they made me want to learn every instrument.

What is on the horizon for you?

We’re gearing up to finish recording our first EP when the lockdown measures are relaxed a bit, once that’s finished we just want to tour. We haven’t played a show since late last year, so I know we’re all just itching to get back onstage. We’ll have to wait and see what the live music plateau looks like after the pandemic dust has settled.

Who would you most like to collaborate with?

I’d love to work with Hans Zimmer. To witness someone with a brain like that working and be able to put some huge cinematic swells behind a rock song would be incredible. Watching his Prague concert film really hammered home the brilliance in the construction of his music.

What is your ultimate goal?

I want to look back at my life and be able to say I stayed true to myself and put my all into something I love. To be able to support myself with music for the rest of my life would be a dream come true.

If you could cover any song, what would it be?

I’ve always wanted to do You Got It by Roy Orbison. It’s the perfect song, it’s the catchiest thing ever. Timelessly brilliant.

Tea making: milk first or last?

I actually only drink black or herbal tea, but milk last. Always. If it’s any lighter than Jedi robes brown you’ve made it wrong and you’re a savage.

Tell us your funniest joke!

The Great White Shark finally caught its dinner and it clapped - must have got the seal of approval.

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Follow Bison Face on Facebook, Twitter and Spotify

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