Banyan is an

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band with heavy

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

influence based in Los Angeles, California.

History

The leader and co-founder is

Stephen Perkins Stephen Andrew Perkins (September 13, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter. A drummer and percussionist, he currently plays with Jane's Addiction and Hellride. Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, Perkins continued to play ...

, who first played drums for

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

(1986–1991, plus later regroupings), and then for

Porno for Pyros Porno for Pyros is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1992, following the break-up of Jane's Addiction. The band currently consists of former Jane's Addiction members Perry Farrell (vocals) and ...

. He co-founded the group with Emit Bloch. The core members of the band are

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex Cline, Alex, a percussionis ...

on guitar, Willie Waldman on trumpet and

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

(

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

) on bass. Mike Watt also sings on some Banyan songs. Both

and

generally play only West Coast dates and at various times the band has had

Rob Wasserman Rob Wasserman (April 1, 1952 – June 29, 2016) was an American composer and bass player. A Grammy Award and NEA grant winner, he played and recorded with a wide variety of musicians including Bob Weir, Bruce Cockburn, Elvis Costello, Ani di F ...

and

Daniel Shulman Daniel Shulman (born 2 October 1966) is an American performer; playing bass guitar. Although he has made a significant contribution as a session musician, working with Run-DMC and Meredith Brooks, he is best known for his work with the Scottish ...

who played with Garbage on bass and Clint Wagner on guitar fill in when they are unavailable. Saxophone players

Steve Mackay Steve Mackay (September 25, 1949 – October 10, 2015) was an American tenor saxophonist best known for his membership in the Stooges. His performances are showcased on three songs on the band's second album, '' Fun House'' (1970). The Stooge ...

and Herman Green, guitar player

Calvin Newborn Edwin Calvin Newborn (April 27, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American jazz guitarist. Career He was the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931–89), with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with the ...

Dave Aron David Royce Aron (August 29, 1964 – March 11, 2019) was an American recording engineer, live music, live and studio Audio engineering, mixer, record producer, and musician. Early life Aron was born and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the so ...

on clarinet, and bass player J. D. Westmoreland have also joined the band during select live shows. Los Angeles artist Norton Wisdom paints on a wet-erase board while the band plays, and the imagery he creates interprets the music much in the same way that lyrics might. To see the band in more than one performance, you will see some images that recur and some that are new, since the songs are compositions whose structure remains the same while there is also a large amount of

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

, in the jazz tradition. The first EP featured

Money Mark Mark Ramos Nishita (born February 10, 1960), known professionally as Money Mark, is an American producer and musician, best known for his collaborations with the Beastie Boys from 1992 until 2011. Early life Born in Detroit to a Japanese-Hawai ...

as keyboardist labeled as the ''Freeway Keyboardist''. The first album was engineered by the

Dust Brothers The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike ( Michael Simpson) and King Gizmo ( John King). They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work on ...

at their studio and produced by Turin and Perkins. Notable guest appearances on the second album ''Anytime at All'' include

Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

(both from the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

Martyn LeNoble Martyn LeNoble ( nl, Martijn LeNoble; born 14 April 1969) is a Dutch bassist and a founding member of the alternative rock band Porno for Pyros. He started his musical career by playing bass in a Dutch punk rock band when he was 14. In 1989, h ...

(Perkins' former bandmate from

and

Buckethead Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has received critical acclaim for his innovative electric guitar playing. His music spans severa ...

. It was produced by

(Producer/Engineer/Mixer of Snoopdogg, Sublime and moe.) and Willie Waldman as the Blunt Brothers. For their third album '' Live At Perkins' Palace'' (named after the fact that it was recorded at Perkins' home studio, not after the live performance venue of the same name), the band reduced itself to a four-piece unit of Perkins, Watt, Cline, and Waldman. Steve Kimock sat in with Banyan during their August 26, 2007 performance at the Riverview Music Festival in Chicago. In liner notes and personal conversations, members of the band cite

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

as influences.

Discography

*''

Banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

'' (

CyberOctave Higher Octave Music is a sub-label imprint of Narada Productions. Since 2013, it is part of Universal Music Group's Capitol Music Group, which is located in Los Angeles. History Higher Octave was acquired by Virgin Records on behalf of EMI in 19 ...

, 1997) *''

Anytime at All ''Anytime at All'' is the second album by American rock band Banyan, founded by Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros fame, and David Turin. The record features nearly two dozens players, half of which are well-known. Like th ...

'', (CyberOctave, 1999) *'' Live at Perkins' Palace'', (Sanctuary, 2004)

References

External links

Official websiteBanyan at Archive.orgWillie Waldman of Banyan Interview and Performance Filmed by The Musician Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banyan Alternative rock groups from California