Banzai is a Brooklyn quartet formed in 2004. They play a fun and exciting variety of eclectic music, with influences such as (but not limited to) jazz, hip-hop, country, film music, electronic, funk, classical and pop, in addition to the myriad of styles heard in the underbelly of modern rock music. Banzai melds creativity with accessibility, while taking pride in their noted lack of stylistic definition. Readily switching genres mid-song may seem challenging to the ear, but Banzai establishes a logical flow that has made them a musical force to be reckoned with. Banzai will release a 11-track album, KABLOOIE (Here Comes the Fun) in September
Banzai originally existed under the name, "Defibrillator" when they formed around April 2004 with Lucian B. and Julian B. H. on drums and bass respectively (both now in Fiasco and Runtime Error). Lucian quit in early 2005 and was replaced by Jonathan (also in Fiasco), and a couple months after, Julian quit and was replaced by Max. The band didn't meet over the following summer, but after the fall semester began, they went back on track with their new members. With this new line-up Defibrillator began build their following. At their first Knitting Factory gig in March 2006, Defibrillator announced an official name change to Banzai (name credit goes to Jonathan) because of countless spelling issues with the former name.
At the beginning of 2007, Banzai tied for first at a Battle of the Bands at the Knitting Factory with Blondes Pass Out. Later in early summer, Banzai completed their first EP, Please Enjoy, and it is now on sale. On March 8th, 2008, Banzai won first again at the Knitting Factory battle.
Banzai's first full-length album, KABLOOIE (Here Comes the Fun) will be out in September of this year.
Songwriting
While the songs we write now are often quite complex, we weren't always writing that way. In fact, it was a very gradual process. Back in the good ol' days, our songs were quite basic, with nothing really out of the ordinary. This was likely due to our limited tastes in music. But as we continued to grow, so did our influences. We found ourselves to be in a state of constant musical exploration, and that exploration is (and continues to be) reflected through the music we create now. The songs we write are hardly ever fully written before they are introduced to us. In most cases, one of us has a riff, or two that may work together, and we all help build a song from there. This can take anywhere from a half hour to six months, and can be very frustrating at times. (But hey, what's good art without sacrifice?) Once we've finished a tune, we may add lyrics, if we feel it could use them. Since none of us are singers, polishing vocal parts may take a good while. It's because of that, that we often play tunes we have in the works at our shows. Overall, we have no definite way of creating music, since our music has no definite way of creating us as a band. High risk, high return. (I think?)
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