| Paul Banks | |
|---|---|
Paul Banks, Roskilde Festival 2005 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Julian Banks |
| Also known as | Julian Plenti DJ Fancypants |
| Born | 3 May 1978 Essex, England |
| Genres | Indie rock, alternative rock |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, drums |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Capitol, EMI, Matador |
| Associated acts | Interpol Julian Plenti[1] |
| Website | Interpol official Julian Plenti official |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Les Paul Custom Fender Jaguar Gibson Flying V Gibson ES-175 |
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Paul Julian Banks (born 3 May 1978) is an English American musician, best known as the lead singer, lyricist and guitarist of the rock band Interpol. He is also a solo artist under the name Julian Plenti. As a singer, Banks' voice lies in the baritone range.
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Banks was born in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England. His family left England when he was three years old, moving to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then to Spain where he attended the American School of Madrid.[2] His father was later transferred to Mexico, where Banks finished high school at the American School Foundation.[3] There he attended the American School Foundation, where he was involved in theatre productions, and played the lead role in the musical South Pacific. He speaks fluent Spanish with a Castilian and Mexican accent.
After high school, Banks attended New York University where he studied English and Comparative Literature,[4] and after graduating, he worked at magazines such as Gotham and Interview. Banks later took a job in data entry,[5] and then in a café,[6] in order to devote more of his time to music.
In contrast to Interpol's smooth and melancholic sound Paul Banks has been a fan of hip hop music since he was in seventh grade.[7] He has worked as a hip-hop DJ, under the pseudonym DJ Fancypants.[7]
Banks joined the band in the Summer of 1997 when he ran into Daniel Kessler, whom he had met on a study abroad program in Paris. When first asked to join Interpol, Banks initially refused, but after listening to the type of music they were writing, Banks joined.
Banks' voice, singing style and lyrics have been strongly compared to, most notably, Ian Curtis of Joy Division. A journalist from NME magazine even staged a joke at one of Interpol's concerts, trying to summon the spirit of Ian Curtis with a ouija board and make him say that Banks owed him.[8] But Banks protests that the comparison merely forces influences onto the band in an effort to describe their music style. He has also stated that he does not try to emulate his greatest influences because he thinks he cannot live up to them ("I would never try to sing like Frank Black or Kurt Cobain because you just can't do it").[9]
Banks released a solo album under the name Julian Plenti on August 4, 2009 entitled Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper. Banks claims to have multiple solo projects and monikers in mind. He intends to release an album "like Julian Plenti" in 2012.[10]
During Interpol's early years Banks typically played a black Les Paul Custom guitar. He then started using a Fender Jaguar and a Gibson Flying V (for a time with the word "breasts" spelled out in white tape on it [11][12]) for songs from Our Love to Admire and his Les Paul for songs from Antics and Turn on the Bright Lights, although some songs like "Obstacle 1" were played with Banks' Fender Jaguar because of the impracticality of switching and songs like "Mammoth" were used by his Les Paul for the same reason. Paul Banks did use his Fender Jaguar as his primary guitar for the end leg of the Our Love to Admire tour and was also seen using a Gibson ES-135 for songs such as "Not Even Jail", but since the 2010 tour leg, he has not been since using the Jaguar or Gibson ES-135 and has only been since using his traditional Les Paul, though the Flying V can be seen in the music video for Barricade with the tape no longer present. His Gibson ES-135 however, was his primary guitar during his live performances as his alter-ego Julian Plenti.
His pedalboard includes:
His pedalboard on the Julian Plenti tour:
Since Antics (2004) he uses two Fender Pro Reverb amplifiers.
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