"THERE'S somewhat of a misconception that Buffalo Tom are obviously normal, nice guys. I don't think we're necessarily normal." The way bassist Chris Colbourn toys with his lovely green deerstalker hat while stressing the word 'normal' is very persuasive.

Today he is sitting in the bar of a London hotel, drinking mineral water, on the last leg of a lengthy press tour to promote their fourth and finest album, Big Red Letter Day. Buffalo Tom go back to Boston in two days time. Two days later, Chris will be back working in the jazz and blues music agency he's been with since leaving college.

"Everybody's kind of weird," he continues. "It just never occurred to us to act like rock stars, who drink whisky during interviews in the middle of the day. On this press tour, people kept going 'If Bill could just be brooding or just live that rock star part, that might be our angle'. But Bill is the opposite, he's really outgoing and friendly."