Tony Banks (musician)

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Tony Banks

Background information
Born March 27, 1950 (1950-03-27) (age 58)
East Hoathly, East Sussex, England
Genre(s) Progressive rock
Pop rock
Instrument(s) Piano
Keyboard
12 string guitar
Synthesizer
Years active 1967 - present
Associated acts Genesis

Anthony George "Tony" Banks (born March 27, 1950) is an English songwriter, pianist/keyboard player, and guitarist. He is one of the founding members of progressive rock group Genesis and one of only two members (the other being guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford) to belong to Genesis throughout its entire history.

Banks is the most private of the Genesis members; most of what is known about his early life is from the book on Genesis by Armando Gallo.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Banks was born in East Hoathly, Sussex, England. He received classical training in piano, and taught himself to play guitar. He attended Charterhouse School in the mid-1960s, where he met fellow student Peter Gabriel in 1965. Banks originally planned to study mathematics in higher education, and after Charterhouse he took a leave of absence from Sussex University to explore Genesis, and never returned.[1]

[edit] Career

Banks and Gabriel, together with drummer Chris Stewart, formed a band called The Garden Wall. This band merged with another called Anon, which included Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips. They recorded a set of demos which ultimately led to the formation of the band that became Genesis.[2]

[edit] Role in Genesis

Banks's elaborate arrangements and keyboard solos — such as the piano introduction to "Firth of Fifth" and the instrumental section of "The Cinema Show" — helped to establish Genesis' sound. In addition to playing keyboards, Banks contributed (along with Steve Hackett and Mike Rutherford) to Genesis' 12-string acoustic passages in songs such as "The Musical Box", "The Cinema Show", and the beginning part of "Supper's Ready." Banks also was an occasional back-up vocalist and sang co-lead vocals on "Shepherd," an unreleased track from 1970 which finally surfaced on the Genesis Archive 1967-75 boxed set.

Banks's compositions are credited to be the driving force of Genesis' music, particularly in material recorded before 1979. Notable Banks-penned Genesis songs include "Mad Man Moon," "One for the Vine", and the anthemic ballad "Afterglow," which remained a popular exeunt to the Banks-driven "medleys" (conglomerations of Genesis' most-popular keyboard solos) that the group played during live shows for years.

After the departure of Gabriel and guitarist Steve Hackett from Genesis, Banks was the first of the three remaining members of the group to release a solo album. But unlike bandmates Phil Collins, who saw great solo success, and Mike Rutherford, who had a successful side career with Mike and the Mechanics, Banks's solo efforts usually sold only to a core audience of Genesis devotees. In 1998, fans formed a tribute band called Strictly Banks, and performed a set of Banks's solo songs.

On 7 November 2006, after so much speculation regarding a reunion, a press conference held by Banks, Collins, and Rutherford announced the upcoming Turn It On Again: The Tour in 2007.[3] This announcement comes as the band are about to celebrate 40 years in the music business.

[edit] Film scoring

Banks has also created some film scores. The movie The Wicked Lady features a score by Banks, and the film escaped sinking into total obscurity only because it featured (a bare-breasted) Marina Sirtis who later became well-known for her work on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He wrote the soundtrack to Quicksilver, starring Kevin Bacon the single from which was produced by Richard James Burgess. After Genesis went into hiatus in 1998, Banks continued to write. A set of (mostly) recently-composed orchestral pieces was recorded and released on the 2004 album Seven: A Suite for Orchestra.

[edit] Sound innovations

Banks pioneered many unique keyboard sounds along with the technique of using the trigger output of a LinnDrum drum machine to have the hi-hat pattern trigger an ARP Quadra synthesiser, creating the pulsating sound in "Mama" (on the 1983 Genesis album) and "By You" on The Fugitive. (Probably on other songs as well, but the effect was used sparingly). A unique synth technique he used on the track "Who Dunnit?" from the 1981 album Abacab was done with a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 by programming a few sounds and switching between the patches manually (via the panel preset tabs) while he played.

Banks uses a cross-hand playing style in several songs to allow himself to appear to play faster. This is notable on (the song) "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" and "The Carpet Crawlers". He also used the cross-hand technique on "No Reply At All", which can be seen briefly in the accompanying music video.

Another of Banks' trademark sounds was the use of MXR Phase 100 and Boss CE-1 effects pedals on his Hammond T-102 Tonewheel Organ from 1975 onwards, replacing the Leslie speaker formerly used. He used this technique all the way up to Duke in 1980. On Abacab in 1981, the Hammond organ was no longer featured; organ sounds were emulated using a Sequential Circuits Prophet 10 synthesiser. The chorus and phaser pedals were also used on his RMI Electra 368 electric piano set to organ mode, in conjunction with a fuzz pedal and a Leslie speaker to create a distinctive sound.

[edit] Solo discography

[edit] Guest vocalists on Tony Banks albums

  • Kim Beacon
  • Fish - Best known as the (former) Marillion frontman.
  • Jim Diamond
  • Toyah Willcox
  • Alistair Gordon
  • Jayney Klimek - of the Australian-German band The Other Ones, a one-hit wonder in 1987 with "Holiday".
  • Nik Kershaw
  • Andy Taylor - This is not the Andy Taylor of Duran Duran, as is commonly mistaken. (There is a photograph of this Andy Taylor in the CD booklet which proves this conclusively: He looks nothing like the Duran Duran guitarist, and is much younger looking than his namesake.)
  • Jack Hues - Best known as the Wang Chung frontman

[edit] Songs sung by Tony Banks solo

[edit] Equipment Used By Tony Banks

The equipment lists in this section are derived from The Genesis Discography [4] up until the 1991-era keyboard rig. This list was compiled in the early 1990s from various sources, including album liner notes, lists of tour gear for the band, etc. (The origin of the rest of the equipment lists is unknown.) Banks would not take his entire rig with him on tour, but did take most of it. Taking a grand piano on tour was not practical, so those parts were played on the electric piano live. (Before it was dropped, for example, the "Firth of Fifth" intro was played on the electric piano.) He did take the Synclavier on the road with him, and it is visible in many of the performance videos from the 1983-1987 era. Changes to the keyboard rig were incremental over the years. Probably the two most drastic changes were the removal of the acoustic sampling Mellotron around 1980, when the then-new polyphonic synthesizers made it possible to play string sounds; and the dramatic overhaul of the rig for the We Can't Dance tour where Banks had only four keyboards onstage and two racks that where controlled by the 4 keyboards.

[edit] From Genesis to Revelation (1969)

  • Piano
  • Farfisa Organ

[edit] Trespass (1970)

[edit] Nursery Cryme (1971)

[edit] Foxtrot (1972)

[edit] Selling England By The Pound (1973)

  • Piano [used on album only], notably 'Firth of Fifth'
  • Hammond T-102 tonewheel organ -> Leslie speaker
  • Hohner Pianet N
  • Mellotron M400 - with the 3 violins, 8 voice choir and brass tapeframes. The flute tapeframe is used on the album intro to "The Battle of Epping Forest" - live, this section was played on Hammond.
  • ARP Pro-Soloist (monophonic preset synthesizer) (used live from about half-way through the Foxtrot tour)
  • RMI Electric piano [used live only]

When he replaced the Mellotron Mk II with the M400, Banks discovered to his horror that the brass and strings tapes were too out of tune with each other to be mixed together, as had been previously possible with the Mk II". This resulted in Banks using the string tapes and brass tapes separately thereafter.

[edit] The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)

  • Steinway Piano [used on album only]
  • Hammond T-102 tonewheel organ -> Leslie speaker
  • RMI Electric piano (trough MXR100 phaser)
  • Mellotron M400 - with the 3 violins, 8 voice choir and Brass tape sets
  • Elka Rhapsody (string synth) [used on album only]
  • ARP Pro-Soloist

[edit] A Trick of the Tail (1976)

  • Piano [used on album only]
  • Hammond T-102 tonewheel organ -> Leslie Rotating Speaker -> MXR Phase 100 phaser (on "Robbery, Assault And Battery")
  • RMI Electra 368 Electric piano -> Fender Blender fuzz effect and MXR Phase 100 phaser
  • Mellotron M400 - with the 3 violins, 8 voice choir and Brass tape sets -> Echoplex tape echo and MXR 10 band EQ
  • ARP Pro -Soloist -> Echoplex tape echo and Leslie Rotating Speaker (on "Robbery, Assault and Battery")
  • ARP 2600 (analogue synthesizer) -> Echoplex tape echo [studio only]

[edit] Wind and Wuthering (1976)

  • Steinway Grand Piano [used on album only]
  • Hammond T-102 tonewheel organ -> MXR Phase 100 phaser and Boss CE-1 stereo chorus
  • RMI Electra 368 Electric piano -> Fender Blender fuzz effect and MXR Phase 100 phaser
  • Mellotron M400 - with the 3 violins, 8 voice choir and Brass tape sets -> Roland RE-201 space echo and MXR 10 band EQ
  • ARP Pro-Soloist -> Roland RE-201 space echo
  • ARP 2600 -> Roland RE-201 space echo [used on album only]
  • ARP Odyssey-> used on both in the studio and on tour
  • Roland RS-202 string synth [used on album only]
  • Fender Rhodes electric piano [used on album only, during the quiet section in 'Your Own Special Way']

Note: The MXR Phase 100 phaser and Boss CE-1 stereo chorus were used to replace the Leslie speaker. The RS-202 was mainly used to replace the Mellotron, though not used live.

[edit] ...And Then There Were Three... (1978)

  • Piano [studio only]
  • Hammond T-102 tonewheel organ -> MXR Phase 100 phaser and Boss CE-1 stereo chorus
  • Yamaha CP-70 Electric Grand piano -> Boss CE-1 stereo chorus
  • Mellotron M400 - with the 3 violins, 8 voice choir and Brass tape sets-> Roland RE-201 space echo and MXR 10 band graphic EQ
  • ARP 2600 -> Roland RE-201 space echo
  • ARP Odessey
  • Roland RS-202 [used on album only]
  • Moog Polymoog (polyphonic analogue synthesizer) -> MXR Distortion+ and MXR Phase 100 (notably used on the solo section of "The Lady Lies")

This album showcases the last time the Mellotron was used on any Genesis studio recording - a tiny section of Many Too Many, and on parts of Burning Rope. The very final time Banks used it was on 'A Curious Feeling' the following year.

[edit] Duke (1980)

  • Acoustic grand piano (studio only)
  • Yamaha CP-70 (through Boss CE-1 Chorus)
  • Yamaha CS80 (through Boss Chorus) [studio only]
  • Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 -> MXR Phase 100 phaser and Boss CE-1 stereo chorus
  • ARP Quadra (through MXR Distortion+)
  • Moog Polymoog (studio only)
  • Roland VP330 -> MXR 10-band EQ and Boss Chorus
  • Hammond T-102 organ -> MXR Phase 100 Phaser and Boss CE-1 Chorus

The CS80 was used on the album as well as the CP-70 piano. Banks used the Prophet 5 and Quadra on just a few occasions for the album. The Quadra especially was used as a polysynth and lead synth on the Duke tour. The Prophet 5 was used more for string-like sounds as well as the flutes on Duke's Travels (last bars before Duke's End kicks in) and Cul-De-Sac.

[edit] Abacab (1981)

  • Piano (studio only)
  • Yamaha CP-70 (through Boss CE-1 Chorus)
  • Moog Polymoog (studio only)
  • Yamaha CS80 (studio only) (through Boss CE-1 Chorus and MXR Distortion+)
  • ARP Quadra (through MXR Distortion+ and Lexicon Digital Delays)
  • Sequential Circuits Prophet 10
  • Roland VP330+ Vocoder (through MXR 10 band EQ)
  • NED Synclavier 2 [studio only]

There are rumours that the EDP Wasp was used.

[edit] Genesis (1983)

  • Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano -> Boss CE-1 Stereo Chorus
  • ARP Quadra polyphonic analogue synthesizer
  • Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 polyphonic analogue synthesizer -> MXR Phase 100 phaser and Boss CE-1 stereo chorus
  • NED Synclavier II digital synthesizer (FM and Additive, no sampling option)
  • E-mu Emulator early digital sampler
  • Roland VP-330 Vocoder and string/choir [studio only]
  • Some equipment put through MXR and Lexicon digital delays

[edit] Invisible Touch (1986)

  • Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano (with Kenton MIDI retrofit)
  • ARP Quadra synthesizer/string machine
  • Sequential Circuits Prophet-10 synthesizer (with Kenton MIDI retrofit)
  • NED Synclavier II digital synthesizer (FM and Additive, no sampling option)
  • E-mu Emulator II digital sampler (with analog SSM filter and VCAs)
  • Yamaha DX7 digital FM synthesizer
  • AKAI S900 12-bit Digital Rack sampler
  • Roland MKS-80 analogue rack synthesizer
  • Yamaha TX816 digital FM rack synthesizer - 8 DX7s in a rack
  • Sycologic M16x MIDI patch bay with controller (seen on top of Emulator II)
  • Korg DVP voice processor - vocoder
  • Equipment put through Yamaha REV7 digital reverb and Lexicon digital delays

[edit] We Can't Dance (1991)

  • Korg Wavestation digital vector synthesizer
  • Roland JD-800 digital synthesizer
  • Roland Rhodes MK-80 digital piano / mother keyboard
  • Roland Rhodes VK-1000 digital organ / electric piano
  • Ensoniq VFX digital synthesizer
  • Yamaha CP-80 electric grand piano- (88-key version of CP-70)
  • E-mu Emulator III digital 16 bit sampler
  • Equipment put through Yamaha SPX1000 and SPX90 effects plus Roland reverb unit

The Roland JD-800 was responsible for the distinctive percussion sounds on the title track.

[edit] The Way We Walk (We Can't Dance Tour) (1991–1992)

  • Korg Wavestation digital vector synthesizer
  • Roland JD-800 digital synthesizer
  • Roland Rhodes MK-80 mother keyboard
  • Ensoniq SD1 digital synthesizer - More reliable sibling of VFX
  • Sequenced by Alesis MMT-8

Tony used these synths to also control his 2x 20HE rack units with the following gear:

  • E-Mu Emulator III digital 16 bit sampler in rack form
  • Kurzweil 1000PX digital piano module
  • E-Mu Proteus/2 XR sample playback modules (four units with Tony's own samples, one with Proteus presets)
  • Voce DMI-64 MkII digital organ module (two units)
  • Yamaha TX7 synth module DX7 in a rack

All of the above are mixed into two Roland M480 mixers and put through Yamaha SPX90 effects and a Roland SDE3000 reverb unit. All midi routings done by two MidiTemp MMP88 patchbays. Audio routings from the mixer through the effect units done with the Yamaha PLS1 line switcher which is also used to extract the Roland JD-800 audio and send it to the main PA desk.

Also used was a MIDI Gate unit (brand unknown) which is used for the song Mama which they performed 5 times in the USA leg of the WCD tour.

To recreate the sounds from various keyboards he used in the 70ies and 80ies, Tony sat down with Emu to sample his old synths and put them in soundroms which where placed in Emu Proteus racks, instead of the factory roms. This enabled tony to give him more control over the sound by independent processing, slim down his setup by removing the Prophet 10, Synclavier, Emulator and Quadra and be able to control the sound from whatever keyboard he wanted too instead of beeing more dependent on the physical location for a keyboard.

Synths sampled into the Emu proteus modules where his NED Synclavier (for the old medley, throwing it all away, home by the sea/second home by the sea, mama, domino), Arp Pro Soloist (Dance on a volcano), Arp Quadra (Mama), Emulator 2 (Land of confusion, Mama, Domino, Turn it on again) and Prophet 5/10 (Home by the sea/Second home by the sea, Mama, Domino).

The Roland delay was only used for the Yamaha TX7. Other synths where never routed trough it (as video footage shows).

[edit] Calling All Stations (1997)

  • Korg Trinity digital workstation synthesizer
  • Korg Wavestation digital vector synthesizer
  • Roland JD-800 digital synthesizer
  • Roland JV-1080 digital rack synthesizer
  • Yamaha CP-80 electric grand piano

[edit] Calling All Stations Tour (1997–1998)

  • Korg Trinity Plus digital workstation synthesizer
  • Roland A-90 MIDI mother keyboard
  • Roland JD-800 digital synthesizer

These are then linked into 2 Opcode Studio 5 LX MIDI processor and 2 custom-made MIDI mixers and used to control these rack units:

  • Two E-mu Emulator]] 4 digital 16-bit rack samplers
  • Two Korg Wavestation SR digital rack vector synthesizer
  • Korg Wavestation A/D digital rack vector synthesizer and vocoder
  • Korg 01R/W digital rack synthesizer
  • Roland JV-1080 digital synthesizer
  • Three E-mu Proteus/2 XR digital sample playback modules
  • E-mu Proteus/2 XR Orchestral digital sample playback module
  • E-mu Proteus/1 digital sample playback module
  • Two E-mu Vintage Keys digital sample playback modules
  • Yamaha TX7 synth module - Yamaha DX7 in rack

All of the above are mixed into a Mackie LM3204 line mixer then put through Yamaha SPX1000 effects processor (four units) and Roland SRV-2000 effects processor. A Yamaha PLS1 line selector sends this to a Chiddingfold Mixer for his Shure SM600 transmitter to his ear monitor.

[edit] Turn It On Again Tour (2007–present)

  • Korg OASYS digital workstation synthesizer (Banks used the organ section from the Oasys as well as the sample section. He used the pianos from the Oasys at least during the rehearsal stages The preparation for the tour took some time and lots of vintage sounds where sampled like his Trons, the ARP ProSoloist and surely other synths as well, but they aren't used for some strange reason)
  • Korg Wavestation synthesizer (only used as a controller)
  • Roland A90
  • Shure SM58 mic

Rack 1:

  • Mackie LM3204 mixer
  • Yamaha SPX2000 (2 units)
  • Korg Wavestation SR
  • Roland JD990 (its unclear if tony uses some of the SRX boards)
  • Korg Wavestation SR (second unit - has a rectangular shaped sticker on it. White with some blue and black text)
  • Roland JD990 (second unit - has a rectangular shaped sticker on it. White with some blue and black text)
  • Yamaha TX7

Rack 2:

  • Mackie LM3204 mixer (turned on for some reason but not labeled, nor used. Had a plexiglass plate (to prevent modifying settings) in front of it)
  • Emu Proteus 1
  • Emu Proteus 2
  • Air fan
  • Emu Proteus 1
  • Emu Proteus 2
  • Miditemp PMM88 patchbays (controller on the wavestation)
  • Custom midi gate (mama)

It is also unsure why Tony took duplicates of the Wavestation and the JD990 with him as it didn't seemed he used the second wavestation (the midi indicator never lit up during the show)

[edit] Live Earth Concert

Banks used the Korg 01/W instead of a Wavestation during the Live Earth concert. He also had a condensed rack which consisted of a LM3204 Rackmixer (just put on top of the rack, no screws attached), his Yamaha effect units, a Wavestation SR, a JD990, a Proteus unit, a TX7 and a Patchbay. The midi gates weren't used as "Mama" wasn't played.

[edit] Rehearsals

Banks used a different setup for the rehearsals. He was assisted by Dave Kezner (aka Squids, CEO of SonikReality)

Rack (top to bottom)

  • Yamaha TX7 (just put on top)
  • Yamaha SPX2000
  • Mackie LM3204
  • Korg Wavestation SR
  • Muse Receptor (guess is that he used sonik synth and maybe other softsynths as well)
  • An unindentified white 1he rack with only a logo on the right side. It looks like the M-audio logo but its not confirmed)
  • Custom Midi gate (2 units)
  • Emu Proteus 1 (his regular one)
  • Emu Proteus 2
  • Roland JD990
  • Miditemp PMM88 patchbay (1 unit)
  • Emu Proteus 2 (not used)
  • 3 unit unindentified rack (probably not used at all)
  • Korg Wavestation SR (turned off so not used)

He used the Korg Oasys, Korg Trinity (as a controller) and the Roland A90. Also used was an Apple Macbook Pro or Powerbook g4 (model unsure) with a Digidesign Mbox 1. And he used the Shure SM58 mic.

Tony had more then 1 Korg Oasys and both of them where used at the Neuchâtel rehearsals.

[edit] Other gear owned and used

  • Sequential Circuits Prophet 2000 sampler
  • Sequential Circuits Prophet T8
  • Roland MKS20
  • Roland D50
  • Korg 01/W
  • Korg Legacy collection
  • Kurzweil K1000
  • Kurzweil PX1000
  • Kurzweil GX1000
  • Linn Linndrum
  • Moog Taurus 1

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gallo
  2. ^ Gallo
  3. ^ Masters, Tim. "Genesis reunion 'not about money'", BBC News, 7 November 2006.
  4. ^ cyberreviews.skwc.com/genesis.html

[edit] External links

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Tony Banks • Phil Collins • Mike Rutherford
Peter Gabriel • Steve Hackett • Anthony Phillips • John Mayhew • John Silver • Chris Stewart • Ray Wilson
Session Musicians: Bill Bruford • Chester Thompson • Daryl Stuermer • Nir Zidkyahu • Nick D'Virgilio • Anthony Drennan
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