Drummer Stephen Perkins has stretched his arms, complete with drumsticks in hand, much farther than the musical confines of Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros. While both bands explored punk, garage and hook-driven psychedelic rock with a good grip on the alternative music world of the 1990s, Perkins was also drumming up a storm in other projects, which included the group Banyan.
A supergroup of sorts, Banyan is a punk-influenced improvisational band blurring the lines between numerous genres. Formed in the mid-1990s when legendary punk-rock bass player Mike Watt and Perkins made up the rhythm section in Porno for Pyros because the two wanted to continue to play together in another band, the outfit became kind of a supergroup whose members were a who’s-who of the indie-music world. Nels Cline, Les Claypool, Flea, Buckethead and Money Mark have all at one time played in this without-a-net musical collective, driven by the monster, aggressive and experimental drumming of Perkins.
Banyan will return to Durango on Saturday with a performance at Animas City Theatre.
In addition to Perkins, the current lineup of Banyan is trumpet player Willie Waldman, percussionist Terry Saffold, guitar player Brian Jordan (from Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe) and Norwood Fisher (from Fishbone) on bass.
If you go
WHAT: Banyan featuring members of Jane’s Addiction, Fishbone; Cheap Skates opens.
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive.
TICKETS: $30. Available online at https://bit.ly/3vg9g7W.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit https://bit.ly/3jwfAm2 or call 799-2281.
This is a band with no set list, therefore, there are no songs. It’s a fly by the seat of your pants set of improvisational music similar to how free-form jazz or jam bands fly. They’re not a jam band but they do jam, nor are they a jazz band.
“We make it up as we go along. We don’t play jazz, because jazz has a ceiling and it’s in a box, just like any other genre,” Perkins said. “What we do is play music, but in the sense that jazz will be in the moment, and it won’t be the same tomorrow and it’s not the same as yesterday. We use the philosophy of jazz, but by no means does it sound jazzy.”
While this is a night of aggressive and exploratory music with no pre-planned songs or melodies, there is a bit of a plan as well as some pre-show experiences that influence the music. Movement and mood, setting and atmosphere all go into what they play.
“I take what happened to me that day, the experience, getting to Durango, eating the food, meeting the people, listening to the radio station, I really suck up the day and the night and I put it into the music,” Perkins said.
Perkins is a hyper-focused band leader who sees a big-musical picture, while also orchestrating an experience where his band is introducing themselves to the audience with their instruments. It’s like a musical meet and greet.
There’s a pre-show meeting where Perkins rallies his musical team, discussing what key they’ll all play in, as well as the time-signature of the music. They then hit the stage and go for it.
“I explain to everybody we’re playing with, you can brush the silence, you can pierce the silence, you can be violent, you can be gentle. But make sure you mean it, and make sure you put it there for a reason, because that reason is going to be there in the room. Its this unusual experience, so I talk about those things before we get on stage. Let’s caress these people. No one wants to be screamed at, come out and introduce yourself with your instrument. Know that you have time, an hour, two, two and a half hours to get to tell these people what you’re thinking” he said. “And trust me, we’re going to get crazy, and we’ll get there pretty quickly because we’re all anxious to play.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
