Today we’d like to introduce you to Phillip Banks
Phillip, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hailing from Northeast Arkansas, I grew up in a musical family. My father plays guitar, my grandmother played piano and all my uncles on both sides of the family play guitar or bass as well, so I started playing guitar at a young age – 11 years old. I was never formally trained on guitar when I was a child, but I learned to play by ear and memory as I got older. I was gifted a guitar from my uncle and learned to play decent enough when I became a teenager.
I began performing live at the age of 14 in my first band, which was a Christian Rock band that would play locally throughout the Tri-State area. On the side I was playing Percussion in the marching band, so I come from a basic understanding of music theory and sight reading. Throughout High School I played in various punk, metal, and emo bands including Yuppie Mentality, Contageus, and After the Altar. In college I was juggling between singing in an Indie Dance band and playing drums in a Christian Metalcore band. At the same time, I was getting my degree in Audio Production with a minor in music theory. I was taking Jazz guitar lessons and learning more about the instrument from an academic level. At this point I had gained experience in the studio and working with DAWs well enough to produce and release music on my own.
So, once I graduated from MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN) I moved out to Santa Clarita valley back in November of 2014 and put out my first release under the group Auburntown. I contributed the instrumentation, co-produced and engineered the 4 song Self-titled EP released in 2016. We had some indie radio success and booked a National Tour across the US in January-February of 2017. Then I randomly met the drummer of my next band, The Digital Native at a Music store in Hollywood in summer 2017. We got to talking about music and found out we both lived in the same area then exchanged numbers and the rest is history. I played guitar for that band from about August 2017-January 2018. Then I linked up with a friend of the bands later, Yuki Dean. She was a singer from the same school as some of the rest of the band and she needed a guitar player, so I obliged. We played at Kulak’s Woodshed for a two-song live recording and then got the chance to record a song together in both English and Japanese!
At the same time as all of this is going on I’m going to guitar center and other music stores meeting other musicians and getting invited to local jams and live performances. One jam was in Culver City at the 77 lounge every Sunday night back in like 2017. I had the chance to meet and perform with some of the most elite musicians in town. Some who would go off and play with huge mainstream acts! One of the artists I met there was Jae Hill, an independent R&B singer from Texas. We had the chance to perform throughout Hollywood at venues like The Mint. I would also like to add another cool jam was at the Baked Potato in Universal City. It’s a Jazz/Blues club that has a jam night on Mondays. I got to perform and meet some amazing musicians, some of the best of all time including Jay Graydon and Michael Landau.
Around this time, I’m starting to pick up DJ shifts at the local pub in town, JJs. I started out playing all vinyl sets then switched to more modern gear in my later time there. It was a nice side hustle at the time. Fast forward a few years and in the summer of 2022, I link back up with the singer of my old band The Digital Native. He says he needs a bass player and co-writer/producer for some of the songs he’s writing for his new band, Sharper’s Florist, so I said yes and then we started to rehearse for live gigs. Once we got tight, we started to book shows throughout West Hollywood at venues like the Whiskey A Go Go and the Viper Room as well as venues in San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Some of the songs I’ve co-produced/Mixed/Mastered for Sharper’s Florist include “Caroline”, “Bummer”, “Dukes”, and the upcoming single “Shatter”.
So that pretty much wraps up what I’m doing now. These days you can find me performing and producing tracks for the Indie Pop/Rock band Sharper’s Florist, DJing, working on my own music, as well as producing/mixing/mastering others.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Luckily everything has been smooth in life so far. Of course, there are times when things aren’t always going as planned and it makes you wonder if you’re doing the right thing or not, but in the end it all depends on the effort you put in to be a better version of yourself. I try not to focus on the obstacles, I would rather spend my attention on how to achieve my goals.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I compose, produce, and arrange music and have been playing guitar for around 23 years now. I would say my specialty is guitar then producing/mixing/arranging. I am most proud of the work I’ve done for other artists including Jerred Price, Yuki Dean, Auburntown, and Sharper’s Florist. I think the choice in instrumentation and the way I fuse various styles into one sets me apart from other artists and producers. I’m always willing to collaborate and work with other artists of different genres and backgrounds to give the desired sound for each occasion. I always like to get the best out of the artists I work with in the moment for the best result.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
As mentioned before I’ve had the chance to meet and play with some of the best players in town, so I would say I got lucky in that sense. But if it wasn’t for going out on a limb and meeting and networking with others it would have never happened. So never be afraid to go up to someone and introduce yourself and get to know them and you never know, something good may come from it.
Pricing:
- $60 Mix and Master
- $60 Full Production
- $50 Feature (Guitar, Bass)
- $30 Lessons (Guitar, Bass)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillipbanks88/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phillipbanks88/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/phillipbanks88
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PhillipBanks88
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/phillipbanks88
Image Credits
Kathleen Banks.
