| King Louie Bankston | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Louis Paul Bankston |
| Born | Harahan, Louisiana, United States |
| Genres | Garage Punk, Punk, Garage |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Keyboards |
| Years active | 1987 – present |
| Labels | Goner Records, Sympathy for the Record Industry, Dirtnap Records, Empty Records |
| Associated acts | King Louie One Man Band, Royal Pendeltons, The Loose DiamondsThe Persuaders, Kajun SS, Kondor, Bad Times, Exploding Hearts, Black Rose Band, King Louie's Missing Monuments |
King Louie Bankston (born Louis Paul Bankston ) is a prolific garage punk musician from Harahan, Louisiana. He is best known for his work in The Royal Pendletons, The Persuaders, The Exploding Hearts, and The King Louie One Man Band.[1]
Contents |
King Louie helped found the Royal Pendeltons in 1991 along with Michael Hurtt on guitar/vocals, J. Matthew Uhlman on guitar/vocals, and G. Thomas Oliver on organ. The Pendeltons put out their first 7" out on Goner Records in 1995, and in 1998 put out a full-length LP out on Sympathy for the Record Industry with producer Alex Chilton entitled Oh, Yeah Baby.[2]
King Louie Bankston formed the critically acclaimed and highly influential garage rock band, The Persuaders in 1996, along with Jason Panzer on guitar, and Shaggy on drums.[3] In The Persuaders, Louie and Jason Panzer both sang and played Gibson Flying V guitars. The Reatards, featuring Jay Reatard opened for The Persuaders on the very first The Reatards tour.[4]
Bad Times were a one-off band which also included Eric Friedl and Jay Reatard. The band recorded an album’s worth of material after only one practice session in 1998, releasing a self-titled LP in 2001. After one live performance the band disbanded, the members returning to their respective solo commitments.[5]
In 2000, Louie moved to Portland, OR and joined the Exploding Hearts, where he co-wrote, and played keyboards on their only LP, Guitar Romantic.[6]
In 2007, Empty Records released Memphis Treet by King Louie and the Loose Diamonds. The Loose Diamonds are: King Louie Bankston, Jack Yarber (Oblivians, Cool Jerks, Tearjerkers), Harlan T. Bobo (Viva L'American Deathray Music), Adam Woodard (Tearjerkers), and Chad Booth (Kajun SS).[7]
King Louie started his One Man Band in 1999. In the King Louie One Man Band, Louie sings, plays drums, guitar, cowbell, and harmonica.[8] The King Louie One Man Band has released several 7" records on various labels, and put out a full-length LP on Goner in 2004.[9]
In 2009, King Louie along with longtime friend and collaborator, revered lead guitarist Julien Fried formerly of Seattle, recruited drummer Aaron Hill and Bassist Bennett Bartley— both members of Ian Saint Pé's (Black Lips, Almighty Defenders) side project theFixedFocus— to form the power pop group King Louie's Missing Monuments. In April 2010, King Louie's Missing Monuments released their first 7" on Douchemaster Records.[10]
King Louie Bankston has played in a number of bands in the past 20 years. These bands include the Intelligenitals (1987), The Lame Ones (1988) The Clickems (1990–1991), Dirt Boys/Harahan Crack Combo (1991–1992) Gerry and the bastard Makers (1992–1994), The Royal Pendletons (1991-1999/2003–present), Christies Paddad Toilet Seat (1992), Sun of the Caesar (1994), Funny Boys (1995), The Persuaders (1996–1999), Bad Times (1998), Head Wounds (1999), King Louie One Man Band (1999–present), 10-4 Backdoor (2000–2003), Exploding Hearts (2002–2003), King louie and the Loose Diamonds (2003–present), Hot Dog (2004), Kajun SS (2004–2005), Kondor (2003–present), Black Rose Band (2005–present), Lonely Knights (2007–present)... sang on an Oblivians record (199?).[11]