Bridging The Gap

There's sort of two camps in Bullhorn – there's the older generation and younger. There's [a few] of us that are all around the 30-year-old mark” – sousaphone demon Stevie Buchanan, Joel Alexander (drums) and Mikael Strand (trombone) of Dubmarine and Tommy Stewart, sax player from The Upsteppers and Darky Roots – “and then the rest are young guns from the [Queensland Conservatorium] that are about 20-odd. But us older guys do a lot of the writing so that '90s influence is definitely in there.”

Buchanan is giving a little insight into the background of Bullhorn, who have emerged with yet another kicking track in the form of So You Think. The third and final single to drop from a forthcoming LP it again shows a different dimension from a band that have recently brought us the honking sass of Resonate Right and some hip hop punch with Roll Off The Top. The local group clearly aren't one to shy away from stirring a big pot of styles.

“We're especially proud of this song, it's a real different direction,” Buchanan beams. “This one's more '90s drum'n'bass and jungle – it's a rad sound.”

The generational divide that Buchanan speaks of clearly works in Bullhorn's favour, providing the group with not only experience, but exuberance, too. Or as he puts it, “YCV”. “Have you ever heard of that 'young cunt's vibe'? It's totally a thing. But we've got a really good dynamic, everyone gets along well and we're blessed in that way, especially when you've got nine people in the band, often it's inevitable that you'll get some clashes, but so far it's been all good.”

That vibe flows over on the stage as well, which is the place to absorb the full feeling of Bullhorn. And although some punters might be hard to draw in, once they realise that this isn't some stiff marching band they're quick to ditch assumptions and take the group as the party starters they are.

“When we first get up you often get people just standing there clapping politely – they treat it like a concert because of the instrumentation. But you'll find that one or two songs in you'll get some bump on the dancefloor, especially with Roman Albert MCing as well, he's just one of these guys that's just really natural in front of a crowd. He's been such an asset to the group, he really breaks down those barriers of us being a weird band and makes us that much more approachable.

“It just goes to show you can do anything with any instrumentation really, it's just a matter of the material you choose and having good players.”