By Brian Kwan

First off, what’s up with the band’s name?
What's up with the band name ah? Everything man. We'd like people to perceive our music as big, bright and yellow. And when you think of our band name, Bus Company, I don't know about you but it simply tells me a big group of friends road tripping on a music journey and how fun it is to pick up some new friends that are made along the way too.

What sort of music do you play?
Rock ’n’ roll baby! But we also have this term about our music where we'd call it 'alternative fusion rock'. Just because we incorporate beatboxing into our music. Glamour sake lah. [Laughs]

Who are the people that make up Bus Company?
Five guys. But before I go on I would like to give a tribute to four band members who in the past have come and gone. We wouldn't be here without you. You know who you are. So at the moment we have Samuel Oh as the front man of the band who also plays the guitar. Shaun Xavier on lead guitar. Larry Chew on bass. Eugene Goh on keys and last but not least, Darren Ashley on drums/beatbox.

Do you do anything other than play in the band?
Yes, most of us are students studying in different colleges around the Klang Valley. But the most tragic thing that's going to happen soon is our drummer boy is leaving the band temporarily for a year to further his studies in Bangkok, Thailand. So this goes out to all aspiring drummers out there: give us a call. Oh by the way, minimum criteria: must be able to beatbox. [Laughs] Just kidding. But seriously, give us a call.

Who or what influences your music?
Great bands like Switchfoot, MuteMath, Anberlin, Fall Out Boys, Jet Lag Gemini, Imogen Heap and Dixie Chicks (helps our versatility). But it's not only bands that influence our music. It's the other random inspirations that really influence our music like food, burger arnab (rabbit burger), ribena, and did I say food already? Crap; they are all food!

We hear you’ve won a number of awards from the Malaysian Revival Songwriting Competition. Has that helped you in your music?
Well it has definitely boosted our confidence to stick to our guns and dive deeper into this passion. Same goes for anything thing that one wins right? I mean if you won a golf tournament, you'd pursue golf somewhat right? Or at least be motivated to continue. Or if you won a pie eating contest you'd... umm... no wait a minute.

Planning to release your own album yet?
Well that is the plan eventually. For now we are aiming for a single; baby steps if you know what I mean. The process is slow but we are picky about our sounds and put a lot of thought into each part. I hope that says something about making it worth your time. But currently we already have two studio tracks up our sleeves. So if you have a thumb drive and you want a listen...

If you did run a bus company, what sort of services would you offer?
Free flight tickets.