BULLETPROOF

Locked & Loaded Pub Rock 🔒🔫 🎸🍺

Bulletproof exists for one reason: give the punters what they want – big choruses, fat grooves and a setlist that hits hard from the first song to the last. Based in the Northern Rivers and working across Northern NSW and SEQ, Bulletproof is a crowd-first party band that adjusts to the room: the lads can lean into heavier Aussie pub energy, switch to big universal singalongs, or push a country edge when it fits.

The repertoire pulls from the ’70s to now — think AC/DC, Cold Chisel, The Angels, INXS, Rose Tattoo, Dragon, Dire Straits, The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Matchbox Twenty, The Killers, Wheatus, Johnny Cash and more — all delivered with proper feel, tight arrangements, and the kind of live energy that keeps the dancefloor moving.

The Lineup

James “BRICK” Palmer
Musical Director, Drums & Vocals

James Palmer is the engine room and the organiser behind the scenes – the guy calling the shots, shaping the set, and making sure the band lands every time. Originally from Lismore and now Brisbane-based, Jimmy has built a career across performance, music education and audio engineering, and he’s the main operator behind EPIC – running repertoire, arrangements, rehearsals and the production side. He’s also worked across a stack of professional contexts (including studio/ad work and live production), which is why Bulletproof shows flow properly and land every time.

James Palmer music padua drums rugby referee educator

Dean “Hippy” Jones
Bass & Vocals

Dean Jones is one of the best bass players and harmony vocalists getting around – huge tone, rock-solid time and the kind of musical control that makes the whole band feel easier. He’s done the miles in some of the Northern Rivers’ hardest-working live outfits, including Tokyo Joe, The Henchmen, PUSH, Blurter, Kiss My Art, and he remains a key part of SuperCheeze. Where Deano really hurts people is the harmony work: ridiculously accurate, strong blend, and it makes big choruses sound like a record. In Bulletproof, he’s the bloke you can trust in any room. Loud, loose, polished, messy, whatever – he stays musical and consistent.

Dean Jones Bass Vocals EPIC Bulletproof Supercheeze Blurter Kiss My Art

Harry “Rooster” Nichols
Guitar & Vocals

Harry Nichols joined Bulletproof in late 2025 and stepped into the mix with a skill set that suits this band perfectly: blues-informed feel, tight rhythm guitar, tasteful leads and a vocal that sits naturally in pub-rock repertoire. He’s a Northern Rivers mainstay, known around the traps through Pink Zinc Presents and the Harry Nichols Band, and he held a long tenure with Lisa Hunt’s Forever Soul project. Haz has also done plenty of time in busy pub-band formats and original projects like Rig City, so he’s calm under pressure and knows how to keep a show moving. Onstage, he’s confident and musical without overcooking it; offstage, he’s an easy, positive presence – professional, respectful and a genuinely great bloke.

Gary “LONG FINGERS” Pinkerton
KEYBOARDS & VOCALS

Gary Pinkerton — better known as Gaz — is Bulletproof’s resident keys wizard and has been playing alongside Jimmy for 15 years. Rock ’n’ roll riffs and honky-tonk swagger one minute, then massive organs and big synth textures the next – always landing in a way that makes the band sound wider and meaner. Gaz has played with a long list of acts over the years, including The Cockroaches, Stan and Natalie Wood, Candy-O, Bacchus, Blackjack, Just Jiving, Raindance and Boogie Nights. Offstage, he’s also the President of the North Coast Entertainment Industry Association – so yes, he’s allowed to care this much about live music. Every now and then he’ll drop in a perfectly timed “extra” from the keys; most of the time it’s bang-on, and when it’s not, Gaz shrugs and switches hats instead.

Past Members

Stuart “Noodles” Kent
Founding Guitarist & Vocals

Stuart Kent was Bulletproof’s OG guitarist and co-frontman, and a massive part of what the band has become – big riffs, proper pub-rock attitude and one-of-a-kind guitar wizardry. He helped shape the repertoire, the feel and the overall ‘locked & loaded’ identity from the ground up. Plenty of Bulletproof’s best nights were built on Stu doing what he does.

Toward the end of 2025, Stu stepped back from Bulletproof as life priorities shifted. As his departure happened at quite short notice, the band kept shows covered through an interim stint on guitar from EPIC’s Greg Strong, before Harry Nichols stepped into the chair moving forward. Stu’s contribution is stamped all over the Bulletproof story and the band’s better for the work he put in. Cheers Stu 🍻