THERE'S ALWAYS MONEY IN THE BANANA STAND
PHOTOS & INTERVIEW BY MATT DIXON, MAY 13TH 2011. ORIGINALLY SUMMER 2010.

Hi Steve, thanks for agreeing to the interview! You guys are set to release your debut record "There's Always". Could you tell us a bit about the journey of the band from where you began to the point you're at now with this record about to hit the streets?

Steve: Hey Matt, thanks for the interview! I started this band in the summer of 2008 with my friends Joel Young and Jeremy Arsenault. I'd been in a few bands before with both of them, and I wanted them specifically because they are the two best all around musicians I know. So yeah, that lineup recorded two songs in Joel's Basement and played no shows. At the end of the summer Jeremy went back to St. FX for school, and Joel and myself moved to Charlottetown. We didn't do anything for a while until some band's (research tells me it was Ghetto Pony) van broke down on the way to a Lyons house show. We were added to the bill at 3:30 the day of. We hadn't jammed in months, and we didn't have a bass amp or a drummer. Luckily enough, I live with an extremely talented drummer. Enter Chase Macdonald. We threw a set together in the hours before the show, and then muckled our way through it. It was a shitload of fun. We wondered why we hadn't done it sooner. In December, Joel left for South America, where he spent the next 5 months backpacking. I switched to guitar, and James Jabbour started playing bass. Joel rejoined upon his return, which brings us to the current lineup.

As for the album itself, we started recording it last September. We intended to release it in December, then January, then March, and now it's looking like mid-May. So it's coming out a bit later than planned, but at the end of the day, we're really happy with how it sounds, and we had a blast doing it.

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You guys sure seem to have a good time; one of the things that draws me to your band is the energy and positivity that just seems to be contagious at your shows. But one can also quickly find out through your lyrics and generally how you go about your business is that you're also a band that clearly gives a damn. Could you shed some light on the role punk rock ethics (for lack of a better term) play in the band?

Steve: The funny thing about punk rock ethics for me is that it seems like that should be what comes naturally to people. I mean, most of it is the same stuff your mom told you to do when you were a kid; be considerate of others, work hard, be honest, put your heart into the things you do. And if it's not those things, it probably stems from them. Sometimes it seems like the world is set up so that no matter what you do, you're fucking someone else over. For me, punk rock ethics are about making a conscious effort to avoid that.

Whenever I read Propagandhi lyrics or listen to an Ian MacKaye talk about music, I just can't find fault in the things they say. It just seems like the right way to do things, so that's how we try to make music.

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With that in mind what is your take on the state of the Charlottetown DIY music community these days?

Steve: I've only lived in Charlottetown the past two and half years, so I don't really have any "good old days" to refer back to. That being said, it seems like kids just don't really start bands anymore. There are what, four punk/hardcore bands that play shows in Charlottetown right now? And of these four bands, I can think of one member who is under 19. I don't know, it's sort of weird. Like, when I was a kid, I was always sort of under the impression that if you weren't signed to some label by the time you were 20, then you'd missed your shot.

What's weirder than that even, is I remember my older brother telling me about there being a pretty legit scene up west when he was in high school. I specifically remember him saying this one band, Squirrel Soup (Skwerl Soup upon research) used to play Know Your Enemy (RATM). Fuck, what I wouldn't give to see some 16 year olds bust out some Rage songs.

We were just lucky I guess. I know when I was in junior high, that was during the whole pop-punk explosion. Everybody wanted to be Blink 182 or Sum 41. Now I have two younger brothers, in grades 9 and 12, both of whom play music, and I'm like "Start a band guys!" and they're both like "We'd love to, but there's nobody around who actually listens to good music."

I'd like to note that the bands around now are all pretty friggin solid, but yeah, no kids. Maybe that's the problem, ha, kids come to shows and see bands that really have their shit together and assume you need to really have your shit together to play music. I learned how to play guitar in grade 8 to be in a band with Chase and Joel. That makes 7 years we've been playing together, albeit on and off, and we still barely know what we're doing.

Start a band!

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I think you've hit on a very important point, steve. There is definitely a void where younger bands out of high school used to be very prevalent and just aren't there anymore. I wonder if its an accessibility issue; we're having a real tough time show-space / venue wise these days and there just aren't as many shows as there used to because of it. Do you have any ideas of how we can change that trend and get the young'uns out to shows and forming bands?

Steve: Yeah, the lack of venue space is bordering on ridiculous. And it's a tough problem, because it's sort of cyclic. It doesn't even seem feasible to put on local-only all ages shows, because it would be the same bands playing every weekend. But shows like these are actually vital to the growth of a scene. It lets bands feed off each other. If the only shows happening are bands from away with two opening slots, it turns every show into a competition to see who can get on the bill. I'm not saying that to knock anybody, who doesn't want a chance to play with a band from away that they love? But when the only shows happening have all the best bands in town wanting to get on them, it makes it nearly impossible for a new band to get started, especially if the members haven't really been involved in anything before.

I'm not sure whether that contradicts or goes hand-in-hand with what I said earlier, but it is a huge subject. So, to sum it up: kids don't start bands. If a few more kids did start forming bands, it would be virtually impossible for them to get shows. If lots more kids started forming bands, to the point where all-pei all ages shows were not only viable, but actually likely to happen, there wouldn't be the venues to support them. Maybe I have it wrong. Hopefully I have it wrong, 'cause that is some depressing shit.

Alright, let's get some solutions on the go. One thing I've heard of lately that excites me is the idea of a island punk rock comp. Pat MacInnis has been throwing this around a bit. I'm not talking professionally-manufactured-super-spiffy-cost-you-ten-dollars comp. I'm talking burned-cd-sharpie-labeled-give-it-away-try-not-to-lose-too-much-money comp. Give kids something they can hold onto, you know? Get them excited about PEI punk rock.

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Money In The Banana Stand: Genghis Khan Wouldn't Shop At Wal-Mart

 

PHOTOS FROM MONEY IN THE BANANA STAND CD RELEASE SHOW AT HUNTER'S ALE HOUSE, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA
ALONGSIDE CHARLOTTETOWN ACTS BOXER THE HORSE AND SYRACUSE ME. SUMMER, 2010