Getting to Know… Bison Face | Interview 🎤

For the 72^nd interview in the Getting to Know… series, The Musical Hype gets the scoop on English rock band, Bison Face.

When asked about what makes Bison Face unique, the rock collective responded, “The four of us have such vastly different musical backgrounds and styles that it rarely stays in the boundaries of one genre.” Fair answer by all means.  Prior to that excerpt, the St. Albans band lists a number of different sounds that ultimately make their own, including referencing grunge. Not always the case, on the 72^nd interview in the Getting to Know… series, we’re not only privy to representation of just one member of the collective, but we get answers from two – Ernie and Alex! Without further ado, let’s dive into Getting to Know… Bison Face: Interview #72.

Let’s get this started off right. For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Bison Face distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Bison Face: We’re a pretty hefty mix of sounds, the crux of it is that 90’s guitar band sound. But there are elements of shoegaze, stoner rock, punk, even some psychedelic and noise rock stuff in there. The term grunge is thrown around the most, but it all combines into an accessible chaos. The four of us have such vastly different musical backgrounds and styles that it rarely stays in the boundaries of one genre.

Awesome! Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Bison Face form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

Ernie: It started as me writing a bunch of new songs like a reclusive, musical hermit at the tail end of 2018/beginning of 2019. I’d been doing some session work and a bit of writing but didn’t have an outlet to use the songs. I established the project under a working name and started making some proper demos and a bit more of a “plan.” When Alex (Guitar) moved back up from Brighton I sent him a load of the tracks as we’d been in bands in the past. He got involved and we trawled through about 5 different lineups, I think. At that point the goal was pretty loose, I just wanted to get the songs to a point where I could put them out and play them live.

Alex: I grew up on the same street as Jonny (Drums) and I went to school with Ernie. Arthur joined us after overhearing we needed a bassist when he was working in our local; It’s funny how these things come together but this has a real feeling that things have fallen into place and anything could happen.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Ernie: I think they’ve remained pretty much the same for me. I just love creating and playing music, I couldn’t see myself doing much else. If I can do this for the rest of my life and get by then that’s the dream fulfilled. Obviously, playing our music to a whole load of people would be incredible. But first and foremost, I want to write songs that help me and potentially others.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

Ernie: I can’t list them all, or somewhere they’ll start playing that Oscar speech music to get me to shut up. The big hitter influences will be bands like Soundgarden, Nirvana, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Foos, My Bloody Valentine & QOTSA. Nirvana were like THE band for me growing up. When I first heard them, something just clicked, and I was set on music. It’s the cliché, but it’s like that because it happens right? Recently, bands like Fangclub, Big Spring and Gold Key have been a huge motivator for me to keep at it. Guitar music is alive and absolutely stonking.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

Ernie: At our first ever headline show I accidentally played a VERY prominent lead riff with all my dirt pedals off. It’s got this big building crescendo and then in comparison, just dropped into what can only be described as the sound of someone scraping a pan with a spatula. Less than ideal.

Whoa, that’s wacky indeed! Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

Alex: It’s “Treason” for me. For me Treason is the track with the most intrigue to it, every time we play it live it inspires something different and no two performances of it have ever been the same. It has a certain quality and feeling from it that prompts spontaneity and creativeness. It really hits a sweet spot between the desert rock sound I’m mainly influenced by and the garage rock/grunge sound that Ernie is. 

Ernie: I love playing “Heathers,” it’s just got this driving energy. Big singalong chorus, the room feels electric when that gets going. Or the outro of UFO, which we end shows on. That’s just a maelstrom of filth.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Ernie: Jonny and Arthur both have other projects too, The Mighty Orchid King and Father Benjamin and The Frosty Mornings respectively. Alex makes the best drunk pasta. I do art in my minimal spare time and have a stupidly high tolerance for hot sauce (Sean Evans – sign me up).

Cool! Closing this thing out, what is you/your band currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

Ernie: The lockdown has delayed us finishing the EP, so the release for that and the shows for it will be announced once we’ve got an idea of when it’s safe for everyone to be in venues again. I’m using the isolation to write the next salvo of material, so there will be a shit-ton of riffs for us to sift through out the other end. It’s been a blessing in disguise, time to reset the mind and be creative.  Our debut single (“Ladybird”) came out just over 3 weeks ago, so that’s doing the rounds on Spotify et al, and our friend Tom Sharp made an incredible lyric video for it which is up on YouTube now!

Thank you so much for sharing taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.

Photo Credit: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Bison Head