What are your names?
Run, Sanchez, Captain, Sketch and Barefoot
What is the bands name?
Banana High
How did you come up with the band’s name?
The banana has always been an important part of human evolution. It is one of the first fruits we learn and enjoy as children, it is a connection to history, the answer to all life’s mysteries. It’s the fruit of life.
How did you guys meet?
Run, Sanchez and Sketch met at an acoustic night in their hometown. Eventually sharing song ideas, and having the opportunity to record them. On that day, Captain, an old school friend of Sanchez, just finished university and wanted to get musically creative again so we got him to put some bass on Still In Disguise and it went from there. Barefoot met Sanchez on a friends uni project and he joined us in Late 2015. And we began recording ‘Join The Evolution’ in December. We consider it fate.
What is your genre of music?
We call it Banana Rock. It’s a fusion of everything we love. And we’ve been told there is something in there for everyone. There’s a lot of reggae-rock grooves switching into a ska/dance sorta vibe and we like to experiment with our tempos and harmonies a lot. Metal inspired riffs mixed with punky bass lines bring a real energetic and powerful vibe to our sound. We all feed off each other and create a musical cocktail.
Give us a little bio about you as a band?
We are a 5 piece ‘Banana Rock’ band from the South West of England. We like to weave between genres to produce a new sound that highlights all the beautiful elements of music- with punk infusions, reggae bass grooves and metal inspired lead guitar licks, we really are a mix!
What made you go into music?
It’s hard to pick a particular moment or event, for most of us it would be starting to learn an instrument but it takes time and is sometimes frustrating. For me (Sanchez) it wasn’t until I started playing in a band that I really started enjoying it. Getting that buzz from playing a gig with your mates, that feeling is addictive that’s what made us do music and is what keeps us in love with music.
You are currently working on your second EP, what can you tell us about it?
When we recorded the first EP our sound was fresh and we were still discovering what it was ourselves. Since then we have been playing and writing together focusing on developing our sound and constantly experimenting with new ideas. We have recently introduced a keyboard which has opened up a whole new range of timbres. The New EP is due out in the new year, we are recording at the moment and we can’t wait to show everyone!
Can you tell us more about any of the tracks on the EP?
We are thrilled to announce we will be releasing our first single, ‘Rhythm of Your Soul’ soon, with exclusive early access for our subscribed fans! We’re really digging the sound of this track and is the perfect example of how far we have come.
Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
Hell yeah. We love the idea, it would be great to collaborate with an artist that has a totally different sound to us. It’s a chance for both of us to get creative and try something new. These sorts of challenges keep us creative as musicians. Info@bananahigh.co.uk
Do you have gigs coming up or a tour in planning?
We have our first launch party for the EP later this year, details out soon! Following that we are definitely looking into touring, as a band we love the music scenes in Los Angeles and Melbourne, as I’m sure you can tell from ‘Join the Evolution’ so we would love to get out there!
Who are your influences?
Having 5 members with their own individual musical background means that we have a huge array of influences spanning many genres. Run brings his own upbeat reggae vibe influenced by such acts as Sublime and Less Than Jake. Sanchez adds his own soulful tastes with the likes of Queen’s Freddie Mercury and James Brown. ((The fusion of their influences, along with their complementing vocal abilities is what greatly shapes our sound)) Barefoot brings the vibrant beats and ruthless energy of such acts as The Dillinger Escape Plan and Sikth. Captain Jack seamlessly captures the funky punky element of the bass with influences derived from Taking Back Sunday and Allister. And Sketch brings a heavy yet quick paced, technical flavour to the lead guitar, influenced by such artists as Buckethead and In Flames.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Strangely, we believe that the influence comes from the music itself. It’s not until you all get together and create a sound that the ideas begin to flow. Some songs rise out of nothing at a band practice and sometimes a new idea can spark life back into old ideas and I/we believe it’s our ability as a band to harness the flow of those ideas until they become songs.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 years?
5 years is a long time. Looking at what we’ve achieved together in a year, within the next 5 we would like to have toured some other countries, bring the Bananavibe to some of the further reaches of the globe. Headline the odd major festival here and there. Big yellow plane ‘Banana Fly’… But just to still be doing this kind of thing together in 5 years would be enough for us.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
Some of us live in the same house and we all live near by so we spend a lot of time together. It’s hard to not be creative and not make music of some sort most days. We’ve all got a similar sense of humour so we’re often playing pranks on each other and cracking jokes, we like to keep that energy as a band and have fun making our music!
What was the song you listened to that most influenced you to go into the music scene?
Not necessarily one song but I always remember my parents showing me Queen at Wembley on VHS when I was a kid, seeing the way they performed and how everyone sang their songs at the top of their lungs to fill the stadium. It looked incredible. – (Sanchez)
If you had one of your songs played on a TV show or Film which would you want it to be?
A cheesy remake of an 80s cop programme. Rhythm would work perfectly!
What’s the best advice you have ever been given as a band?
Someone once said to me “one day it might feel like it’s not worth it and you might want to give up, but more often than not that’s right before it all slots into place.”
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Dream big! The world is a big place and there’s plenty of room for new music if you’re willing to give it a go. We are from small towns and villages in rural England and we are talking to you all the way over in LA! The internet has just connected our little towns to the rest of the world. So if you have a good idea and you want to make it into something give it a shot. Be creative, embrace differences and make music.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Honesty is the best policy. As a musician you have to be honest with yourself and your band constantly. Music doesn’t lie, sometimes we write lyrics even whole songs not realising what it’s about and then when you look at it afterwards you can see it’s often something that’s playing on your mind a lot.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Smokes Capo Strings Sketch Pad Bananas
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes we certainly do! You can follow us on:
Instagram at BananaHighmusic
Twitter @banana_high
Facebook.com/BananaHigh SoundCloud – Banana High But if you don’t have social media just look for the big yellow Banana Bus!
