My Chat With Tony Banks

[wilcox660]

http://progsheet1.hypermart.net/tonybanks2018.html

A jolly time!

[Top Cat]

Thank you John, as a big Tony Banks fan this was a very enjoyable read.
And the photo of him standing with his Prophet 10 gave me synth envy.
Interesting he mentions he likes The Musical Box(which I've had the pleasure seeing perform The Lamb in Detroit), and I personally love Steve's interpretations as well.
A little bit of me can't help but think when he's alone, he lowers the lights and listens to some of Hackett's live versions to check him out.

To be honest I don't have any of these instrumental albums, but it was enjoyable reading his process of creating these musical pieces.

Thank you again

[Ken Baird]

Thanks for posting that, John. Very enjoyable interview! I love "Five", and have "Six" and "Seven" too, but for some reason I'm much more hooked on Five than I was the others.

[Baribrotzer]

And the photo of him standing with his Prophet 10 gave me synth envy.

And the CS-80. Bulky, heavy, expensive (back then, you could get a pretty decent new car for what they cost), breakdown-prone, barely roadable, but what a sound!

[Progatron]

Enjoyed that, thanks for posting! And I'm still in love with 5. Gets tons of play around here.

[Baribrotzer]

Some of his comments about rhythmic feel and timing are interesting. It would be nice to hear him get a bit more specific on that: Does he mean that classical players tend to unconsciously speed up and slow down with the musical phrases? (I once tried to play with a classically-trained singer-songwriter, and could not play her music because her tempo variations were so unceasing and extreme.) Or that classical players don't or can't track the difference between playing behind the beat (like soul music), on top of the beat (like a marching band), or ahead of the beat (like some jazz)? Or something else?

[regenerativemusic]

A brilliant soul...whether or not he still works on that level I will take Tony's approach to not listening to Steve's current version of Genesis music (lol) but he sure wrote his name into the history of music with his work with Genesis in the 70s. Thanks for posting and taking the time to do the interview

[wilcox660]

If I had more time, I would've asked him to elaborate. Perhaps next time!

Some of his comments about rhythmic feel and timing are interesting. It would be nice to hear him get a bit more specific on that: Does he mean that classical players tend to unconsciously speed up and slow down with the musical phrases? (I once tried to play with a classically-trained singer-songwriter, and could not play her music because her tempo variations were so unceasing and extreme.) Or that classical players don't or can't track the difference between playing behind the beat (like soul music), on top of the beat (like a marching band), or ahead of the beat (like some jazz)? Or something else?

[Gizmotron]

Thank you! I always enjoy an interview with Tony. Great questions!

[undergroundrailroad]

Some of his comments about rhythmic feel and timing are interesting. It would be nice to hear him get a bit more specific on that: Does he mean that classical players tend to unconsciously speed up and slow down with the musical phrases? (I once tried to play with a classically-trained singer-songwriter, and could not play her music because her tempo variations were so unceasing and extreme.) Or that classical players don't or can't track the difference between playing behind the beat (like soul music), on top of the beat (like a marching band), or ahead of the beat (like some jazz)? Or something else?

Zappa made the same kind of comments about working with orchestras, even getting frustrated with the ultra-meticulous Boulez for not being as precise and (IIRC) grooving with his tuplets as he would have liked.

[bill g]

What a wonderful interview! Nice that he talks a little about prog. I like his thoughts on it.

Five is a gorgeous record. 'Ebb and Flow' is probably my favorite.

[Ken Baird]

What a wonderful interview! Nice that he talks a little about prog. I like his thoughts on it.

Five is a gorgeous record. 'Ebb and Flow' is probably my favorite.

Hi Bill, I don't know the individual titles yet--which track is that one? but I've played the album tons of times now, I really seem to connect with this one--great stuff!

[wilcox660]

I'm glad everyone is enjoying this. . Also - look for his comments on my upcoming pieces on See Emily Play & Wuthering Heights.