The Median Man spoke with Ernie, the main man from Bison Face.
The Median Man spoke with Ernie, the main man from Bison Face.
COMICS
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
Bison Face was initially a character I used to draw in comics, subsequently the adopted nickname of one of my cats on occasion. Currently I’d say my main influences are guitar bands like Sonic Youth, Soundgarden and Radiohead. David Lynch is in there somewhere too. There’s a dystopian, sci-fi feel flowing into a few of the recent ideas. I love all the 90s era guitar music, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and Blur. Anything that’s catchy but also a bit odd ticks my boxes. On a lazy day – Kevin Smith films and scotch whiskey…
How do you approach songwriting and are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I usually sit and play guitar most evenings and into the night, recording riffs and melodies. A lot of those ideas build up in a kind of digital skip to be sifted through, and other times they become a full song in a very short space of time. I wouldn’t say I sit down with a view to writing anything in particular, a lot of the time I’ll get a hook or a drum beat or something will scurry into my head while I’m trying to sleep or at the shop.
Lyrics wise, I’ve got mountains of notebooks covered in phrases, words and poetic ramblings which a lot of the time can inspire a full song, or I’ll have a clear idea about what something is about.
DIGITAL SKIP
DIGITAL SKIP
How do you approach songwriting and are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
I usually sit and play guitar most evenings and into the night, recording riffs and melodies. A lot of those ideas build up in a kind of digital skip to be sifted through, and other times they become a full song in a very short space of time. I wouldn’t say I sit down with a view to writing anything in particular, a lot of the time I’ll get a hook or a drum beat or something will scurry into my head while I’m trying to sleep or at the shop.
Lyrics wise, I’ve got mountains of notebooks covered in phrases, words and poetic ramblings which a lot of the time can inspire a full song, or I’ll have a clear idea about what something is about.
EVOLVED
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
I guess it’s just evolved from the music that I listen to myself, and the subtle things you subconsciously pick up. I’ve always enjoyed music where all the instruments play noticeably different parts, using a band to its full potential, like an orchestra. I started writing music pretty young, once I realised you didn’t have to be Jimmy Page to write a good guitar hook, I think Nirvana were the band to make that penny drop. These songs started as demos I wasn’t planning on releasing, but somewhere down the line I wanted to put them to use.
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
Up until recently, as a band, we only knew just enough songs for a live set so we haven’t had to make any cutthroat decisions yet. We’ve all got favourite tracks to play live, so once there’s more material out there it’ll get tougher.
Transposing is pretty much non-existent, I’m quite against having a record that sounds huge and polished and then the live version being deflated and thin sounding, so I normally only write for what we have – vocals, 2 guitars, bass and drums.
CUTTHROAT
CUTTHROAT
How do you decide what songs to perform live?
Up until recently, as a band, we only knew just enough songs for a live set so we haven’t had to make any cutthroat decisions yet. We’ve all got favourite tracks to play live, so once there’s more material out there it’ll get tougher.
Transposing is pretty much non-existent, I’m quite against having a record that sounds huge and polished and then the live version being deflated and thin sounding, so I normally only write for what we have – vocals, 2 guitars, bass and drums.
WHAT WORKS
DEBUT E.P.
What plans do you have for the future?
Once we get out of the lockdown, I’m going to finish recording our debut EP. We’ve pushed the release of that back, so as soon as that’s done we’ll be putting it out and playing as many shows as we can in support of it. After we’ve exhausted that setlist, we’ll think about the next release. I’ll have a lot of songs written once the quarantine ends, so we’ll sit down as a band and jam through a load of them and see what feels good.