Rum Buffalo

Who are Rum Buffalo? Where you’re from, how you met, how long have you been playing together etc

we are Rum Buffalo. a collective of musicians who share a passion for making big and dramatic sounds through music whilst making people dance! we are all london based and met through festivals and parties in london. we came together 9 years ago on the streets of Covent garden, busking old jazz for money.

Who came up with the band name and does it have a story or any meaning behind it?

I came up with the band name . in the early stages we were busking on the streets and playing old 1920s jazz music. we mingled in a very old subgenre thats not so well known now called western swing. this was a cross between jazz and country music. “cowboy jazz” we called it. it was fun to play om the streets an bought the crowds in. anyway we started getting offered gigs so we had to choose a name and this one just came out. the buffalo to represent the western music and the Rum, well, we like Rum. even though we play original music now and the genres we play are completely different to how we started, the name stuck!

If you had to describe the band using just five words, what would they be?

Riffing

Circus

Explosive

Filth

Powerhouse

Who are your biggest influences musically?

Rage against the machine, Duke Ellington, Destaat Jack White, Queens of the Stoneage, Tom Waits and of course Beyonce

What’s the band’s biggest claim to fame so far?

Performed to 10,000 people at one of glastonbury’s headline stages

What’s your songwriting process?

melodies and riffs come to me, I try and put them to chords. I take them to the drums and bass and we work out a strong groove. We write horn lines to layer on top. sometimes the horn lines play the

If you could go on tour with any current band or artist, who would it be and why?

Destaat: amazing band from the netherlands. i think our sounds would work well together

Yard Act : they seem like a proper laugh

St Vincent : shes a legend

If you could put your dream team band together consisting of any musicians from the past or present who would the band members be?

Prince on guitar

Cory Wong on rhythm guitar

Ella Fitzgerald vocals

Jaco Pastorius on Bass

John Bohnham on drums

Sheila E on percussion

Cory Henry on Keys

Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone

Bill Hughes on trombone

Charles Fowlkes on baritone saxophone

Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet

How would you describe your live show to someone who has never seen you perform before?

it’s an explosion of unified sound, bringing you all kinds of mad Riffs layered on top of a heavy beat. we will make you dance. you will be singing the melodies on your way home. We like to make a big thing out of our live show, the music is raw and dramatic. it’s a bit like a garage rock, space punk circus…

Do any of you have any pre-gig or post gig rituals? If so, what and why?

not really.

What would your ultimate rider be if you could have anything without being accused of being a diva?

a statue of each member of the band made entirely out of bourbon biscuits

the best champagne

This question is for all band members. If we were to browse your music library what is the most embarrassing song we might find? Or who is your guilty pleasure artist?

we have none. we are proud of them all. although some are rather dates :/

Tell us one thing your fans would be really shocked or surprised to hear or learn about the band

front man got run over by at 2 ton sand lorry when he was 4 and survived!

keyboard player actually makes cheese!