On the advice of Cam from Mini Skirt, I am at The Bearded Lady, navigating the minefield of Dad jokes and double entendre in an attempt to peel away the bright yellow skin from the assorted hand that is Love Banana. A band I didn’t realise that I already liked way before Cam recommended them!
Dad jokes are aplenty with the aptly named Love Banana songs like: Flowers, Plants, Hot Pink Milkshake, Eat A Banana, and Tummy, all of which are adorable AF! I will attempt to steer clear of my shithouse humour, although it will be a challenge with my mild food allergy to… bananas.
Love Banana are:
- Ethan Eyles: Bass and Vox
- Henry Collins: Lead Guitar/Lead Vox
- Mikey Clark: Drums
- Sam Brown: Percussion
- Paris Rodd: Keys and Guitar
1. With so many eighties banana themed/related characters out there such as Banana Man, Warwick Capper, Curious George, and Tarzan, which classic eighties album could Love Banana reimagine in your own style?
Mikey: Fuck yeah!
Paris: Reimagine… Hm…
Mikey: Yeah, we would want to do one in our own style. All our favourite albums would be like… Acca Dacca.
Ethan: Tattoo You, or yeah AC/DC.
Mikey: Rolling Stones Tattoo You, just so we can do Start Me Up.
All: Oh yeah! (Clapping)
Paris: Have you heard the Stones’ Surprise Surprise?
Mickey: This is such a good question, because all the eighties albums that I can think of are in the genre we love.
OB: Oh, I knew that, and glad I set the eighties theme.
Ethan: Oh man… Emotional Rescue is such a great album. She’s so gorgeous… (singing)
Mikey: HA! Yeah, I’m detecting a big Stones theme.
Henry: The Beatles?
Mikey: No, it’s too late.
(Group mumbles in a huddle)
Mikey: Lock in Tattoo You by the Rolling Stones. Apparently, make sure to mention that it’s apparently.
OB: Obviously this is performed live at the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour in summer.
2. I’m going to do a flash card activity. I want you to assign the band member that best matches the banana related words I say. Ready? Energy, Lovely, Bent, Bruised, and Slippery.
Paris: I’ve been all of these things!
OB: I wasn’t anticipating a group of five for this, so it’s going to be a bit hectic, I’ll call one out and you give me a response.
There was a heated debate over the titles to names, revisiting original responses, with a final group consensus of:
- Energy – Mikey
- Lovely – Henry
- Bent – Ethan
- Bruised – Paris
- Slippery – Sam
OB: Feel free to share any anecdotes you may have attached to those choices?
Mikey: I don’t think we need to describe why Ethan is bent; I reckon that works.
Paris: Yeah, it just works.
Sam: I think you need to explain why I am slippery?
Ethan: That could be taken any way.
Mikey: That’s just like a weird lubrication thing.
Paris: We were literally just talking about this in the car,
Sam: Yeah. Like who uses Vaseline?
Mikey: You man! You’re slick, instead of slippery, you are slick, super slick.
3. Any salty fisherman will decree that taking bananas on a boat is bad luck. Does this affect your travel plans on tour? Do you have to avoid the Brisbane River City Cats, Sydney Ferries etc.? What is the best/worst luck the band has ever had?
Mikey: Oh, good story coming here…
OB: Great, let us have it.
Mickey: We drove to Sydney to play some shows. And stopped at Coffs Harbour at the Big Banana of course, classic. We fucked around and filmed a video; you know the subject matter makes sense. And… we broke down, at the Big Banana!
OB: Are you for real? You couldn’t write this!
Mikey: Yeah, we ended up getting there so late, the alternator in my car had died.
Ethan: When we got to Port Macquarie, we had to buy like two or three batteries.
Mikey: It was the worst day, and night. It took us forever to get there.
OB: I’m going to remember that every time I drive past the Big Banana now.
Mikey: We had to drive with lights off and it got too dark, so we pulled into the GYG in Coffs Harbour. Don’t stop in Coffs!
OB: What is the best luck the band has had, after telling me the worst luck.
Mickey: Well ok, yeah, we’ve had some good luck.
Paris: Definitely had our share of bad luck too.
Mikey: We’ve never really had to push it. Like generally we have never really had to organise our own shows ever, and somehow just met really nice people and just made it.
Ethan: Like Browny (Sam). When Browny joined the band, that was great luck for us. Right timing.
OB: Nice, I really like that.
Henry: Yeah, right time, right environment, changed the dynamics in a positive way.
Mikey: There’s the energy!
Ethan: Just all meeting each other, that was good luck.
Mickey: Somehow, doing not much and somehow getting somewhere, and being best friends, and getting gigs handed to us. We are still yet to have to organise our own shows.
Sam: But we do work for it.
Mikey: Yeah, but we are also lucky because of all these great friends that we have made along the way that do everything with us, and come to all our shows.
Paris: It is very generous of them, and we love them so much.
4. Steering well clear of any phallic connotations to the term Love Banana. Did you know botanically a banana is technically a berry? With this in mind, was there ever a time in the band that you discovered something surprising within the band?
Mikey: It’s not a sexual reference. (The deadpan tone confirms this)
(A general discussion ensued on banana being a berry)
Sam: I thought it was more in line of being a grass than a berry… I don’t want to believe that!
(OB: Bananas are a monocot, so I get your direction Sam)
OB: What about hidden talents?
Mikey: Connect Four… I’m hogging the mic at the moment! This isn’t hidden… But I will fucking beat anyone on Connect Four, in Australia, worldwide, anyone!
OB: You need to play BC Michaels from Dune Rats.
Mikey: I’ll beat him!
OB: David “Bunny Man” Herrington told me that he (BC) is unbeatable at Connect Four.
Mikey: Nah he’s not! Ha-ha-ha Splendour, mad albums, Dunies (respect) do your thing, whatever. But I will fuck you up in Connect Four every time! Ha-ha-ha-ha!
OB: What about musically? Is there a surprise skillset someone has?
Mikey: Nah…
Paris: Ethan can drink as many beers as he wants!
Mikey: Ethan used to be a pro squash player.
Ethan: Not musical, but the way I played it was pretty musical.
Mikey: And we found out that Henry has this sweet little voice.
Paris: Yeah, we did.
Mikey: We were like seventeen, and were like we need someone to sing, and you’re going to have to do it!
OB: Do you know how many bands tell me that? Saying, no one wanted to sing, but someone had to, and got cornered into singing.
5. The latest release of tracks in July this year Tummy, Get In, and Puppet on a String is bang on, with the experimentation of sounds and techniques, a proper mind melter. Tell me what’s something you want in your Tummy, something you wouldn’t let Get In to anywhere, and someone you consider a Puppet on a String.
- Tummy
Paris: Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly.
Henry: Red Frogs.
Sam: A nice sandwich. I like a well-made sandwich.
Mikey: Chocolate coconut water.
OB: That stuff tastes more like chocolate than chocolate, I don’t get it!
Mikey: It does! It’s so crazy! It’s my only healthy thing!
Ethan: Oh man… too many things
Mikey: Right now, what do you want in your tummy Ethan?
Ethan: I do want a beer hey! I always want a beer in my tummy (All laugh).
- Get In
Ethan: I got this chuck the mic over here man. Sweederaland. I wouldn’t let any anyone into Sweederaland.
OB: Huh? Swinderlerland?
Mikey: Sweederland, it’s a new country dropping soon
(laughs from Paris)
OB: How am I going to spell that ha-ha?
Mikey: S-W-E-E-D-E-R-Land. Are we doing double E?
Paris: Yeah, it’s spelt like that.
Ethan: It hasn’t dropped yet, it’s our practice space in Coolangatta… It’s on the QLD/NSW border, I wouldn’t let anyone in there.
Sam: It’s between Switzerland and Sweden.
OB: I get it, because the name has weed in it?
All: No, no, no! They are your words, not ours!
Sam: I wouldn’t let in Clarence Property into the Wallum on Brunswick Heads.
All: Ooooow! (Clapping and cheering in support)
Mikey: Yeah, Shout out Wallum…. It’s like a patch of coastal heathlands they are trying to destroy to build houses on.
Sam: Trying to, but I’m not going to let them, it’s to special to do that.
Mikey: Yeah, Sam has been out there protesting to help save it.
OB: Good stuff Sam!
(A Wallum is a coastal scrub land ecosystem, with low nutrient sandy soil, supporting native fauna and flora, vulnerable to erosion and land clearing. Follow Save Wallum here.)
Paris: I wouldn’t let… The cat out of the bag! Ha-ha!
Henry: Which cat?
Paris: Yo mumma!
Mikey: Oh, pass it on hey (the mic). I wouldn’t let Henry into a tent when we are camping. When I am in there with oh, my girlfriend…
Paris: What the hell is this, why? What!
Henry: This is off topic! Ha-ha.
Mikey: Yeah, ah-ha this off the record…
Sam: But why are you still talking onto the mic… still! Ha-ha!
OB: I have to agree with Sam, if you keep telling a story into the mic in an interview, is it really off the record?
Mikey: Yeah, fair enough. What’s the next question ha-ha! Puppet on a String?
- Puppet on a String
Sam: Who is the Prime Minister…
Henry: Anthony Albanese.
Paris: Ah… Jar Jar Binks.
OB: Ha-ha, Jar Jar Binks!
Sam: I think all politicians are a Puppet on a String.
Henry: This is hard. He is asking us to diss a Puppet on String.
Ethan: Oh, I got so many strings hey!
Mikey: Oh, there’s plenty, watch me make up tomorrow and go ahhh! I remember now that guy, and that guy is a puppet on a string! Wait… We are all puppets on a string, because we are owned and completely controlled by Holiday Maker Records, our record label. We truly own our soul to them.
Paris: Andrew and Shawny.
Mikey: Andrew Hodges and Shawn McMeekin.
Ethan: We love you!
Henry: They are gentlemen on a string.
OB: Such a genuine love I take it.
Mikey: It’s good, we love them.
Paris: We are falling in love heavily with them.
Sam: It’s quite manipulative, how much we love them.
OB: The love is manipulative, sweet. Well, that’s it, thank you so much Love Banana!
We really bent the definition of quickfire interview here because this interview was not quick to be released nor was it quick to conduct. But it was plenty of fun the whole time! And isn’t that really what OnlyBands is about at the end of the day? (Aside from severe alcohol and drug addiction). We certainly think so. Thank you to Love Banana for putting up with the delay.
Another massive thank you to Lachlan Neil (@nognogglesnog) for all his amazing snaps in the article!
Love Banana are full of nutrients and good for your heart. For all you Sydneysiders, check out their next gig coming up on October 26th with Gee Tee, RMFC and more.
