Buffalo Summer session for Classic Rock magazine

"You don't get too many bands who actually look like bands these days," complains Buffalo Summer frontman Andrew Hunt. "You know, like a proper gang of mates, rather than four individuals who met through an advert."
Definitely a gang, Buffalo Summer are four Welsh lads who've never forgotten that rock'n'roll should be about good times and fun. They love blues rock, almost as much as they love football -- all four are huge Swansea City fans. (If you dig around YouTube you can even find footage of them enjoying a cheeky post-gig kickaround.)
But it was that shared appreciation of 70s rock that brought them together back in 2010. "People like Free, the Coverdale/ Hughes era of Deep Purple, we love all that," says Andrew. "I used to go round to Jonny's (Williams, guitar) house overlooking Swansea Bay and in the summertime we'd sit outside with the guitars just writing and playing songs. We'd be there up on the mountainside; it wasn't exactly Laurel Canyon but..." His voice drifts away.
There's always been strong support for rock in South Wales, but successful acts from Swansea have been rarer than a blue shirt at the Liberty Stadium. "There are a lot of good bands in the area but I always feel that people come down the M4 as far as Cardiff and turn back. The Swansea scene tends to get overlooked.
"But in a way that's made the bands more self sufficient. There's definitely that 'Seattle' mentality here of everyone supporting each other's shows and helping each other. I think if you're a bit off the beaten track it gives you that added impetus to go out and make things happen for yourself, rather than waiting for somebody to come to you."
Which is exactly what Buffalo Summer have done by releasing their self-financed debut album on their own label. "It's completely out of our own pockets," the singer explains. "Any money that we've earned we've ploughed it all back into the band, because we all believe in it."
The process of financing the album has included a few hairy moments, like the time a gig at a local biker bar ended in a riot. "It wasn't the usual rock crowd," says Andrew. "More like people just out for a punch-up. Some of them got too close to the front of the stage, things started getting knocked over and before we knew it there were tables overturning and barstools flying through the air. We had to escape the venue by jumping over the fence. Johnny was running down the road with his guitar and jumping into the van as it was moving off."
"But these things are a kind of regular occurrence where we're from," he laughs. "It's like the wild wild west out here."
*Buffalo Summer's self-titled debut album is available now at http://buffalosummer.net

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