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The Banana Convention

TBC is like a naked clown car in your ears

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Hometown	Saginaw, MI
Genres	Rock, Pop
Band Members	Shar Molina; Chris Howard; Monte Nothelfer; Jacob ... » more
Achievements	» more
Upcoming Shows	None

Contact Information:	Booking Monte Nothelfer contact@funtbc.com 989-771-1077
# Years Experience Performing Live:	8
# Live Perfomances Past Six-months:	25
Market Draw:	Saginaw, MI: 76-100; Bay City, MI: 76-100
Venue History:	White's Bar - Saginaw, MI Bemo's Bar - Bay City, MI Comerica Park \| Warped Tour - Detroit, Michigan House of Blues - Chicago , IL Elbo Room - Chicago, IL The Belmont - Detroit, MI Paycheck's Lounge - Hamtramck, MI Trolley Stop - Dayton, OH The Hi-Fi Club - Cleveland, OH Mulligan's Pub - Grand Rapids, MI The B.O.B. - Grand Rapids, MI Small's - Hamtramck , MI
Opener Experience:	All Time Low; ? and the Mysterians; All Girl Boy's Choir
Similar Artists:	No Doubt; Weezer; Presidents of the United States of America
Performing Rights Society:	ASCAP
Discography:	LEAP EP—2011; Taking Back The Fun LP—2009; LIVE @ White's Bar LP—2008; Freeze Dried Eclectic Singles EP—2007; Dirty Negatives LP—2007

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About the Artist

Putting the “F-U” into “FUN”

It’s the battle cry of The Banana Convention, the ambitious garage pop band from the scraggy rust-belt town of Saginaw Michigan. From New York to L.A., the band has dominated all stages. Whether it’s local bars, The House of...

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Music

New Guy (Is Hotter Than Me)

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Achievements

Rock Videos Winner, March 2014

Press Coverage

The Banana Convention by The Ewing Theory
The Banana Convention will be co-headlining our show at Goose Island this Saturday (April 7). These guys are the real deal. You may have seen them on one of their national tours, on the Vans Warped Tour, or tearing up their native Saginaw, MI. We are honored that they are taking time out of their busy tour schedule to head down to Chicago and share the stage with us. If you take a quick listen to the tunes they have available on their website and Reverb Nation page, you will be dazzled by the lead vocal stylings of Shar Molina. She reminds me of the Sublime song “Saw Red” in that she is a perfect combination of Brad Nowell and Gwen Stefani. Combing TBC’s press clippings, she is oft compared to Ms. Stefani. I think this tells half the story as Shar’s voice has a power and bite that Stefani’s lacks. Whoever you want to compare her too, girlfriend can sing and has a powerful stage presence. She may even leap out of your speakers or headphones and kick you in the face. You will also hear that these guys obviously enjoy playing their music. Their tunes are upbeat and whimsical, my favorite being their ode to Han Solo, and their attitude and energy are infectious. Guitarist Jake Voisine has a great jangly, ska-infused style and writes memorable riffs. Bassist Sean Drysdale lends some funk to the equation and vocalist/percussionist Monte Nothelfer keeps the crowd going with his enigmatic charisma. I’ve also learned that this show will be one of the last with longtime drummer Chris Howard. I’ll meet Chris for the first time on Saturday but want to wish him luck and success in whatever new adventure he tackles. I hope it involves drums. We are really excited to see these guys do what they’ve done coast to coast for almost a decade. This one shouldn’t be missed. Music starts at 9pm and $8 gets you a night’s worth of music. See you Saturday.

EP Review by Ferris State Torch
The Banana Convention– “Leap” Saginaw Michigan brought us this fun-loving band for a Saturday night stint at a local bar. With an interesting name and biography, The Banana Convention crew will not let you down with fun songs filled with a punk attitude. Working in harmony, The Banana Convention gives you something to look forward to in your player. They sound a lot like No Doubt, with the exception that their lead female vocalist actually has talent. I would compare their vocalist to Fiona Apple, but their music is much faster paced, and fits nicely into a punk-ska or rock genre. The lyrics range from political and societal innuendos to romantic intrigue. There are many themes The Banana Convention runs under, and their advertisement claimed the eccentric “Circus Rock,” but I heard no such thing on the CD that I would feel to be circus-like in the least. This album is definitely worth picking up and listening to, as it’s fun and light-hearted, though the lyrics may not be so fluffy as a ska-sounding guitar riff. 4 out of 5 Torches

Live Review: The Banana Convention by Detroit Metro Times
For those who spurned the Detroit Music Awards last night (or those whose wallets couldn’t meet the price) the rest of the city offered, well, just what it offers every Friday night; rock n’ roll furor fermenting around every corner. At least, that’s how it was at PJ’s Lager House. Surprisingly packed considering the wealth of festivities elsewhere, filling Friday night’s bill were the Banana Convention, Choking Susan, the Questions and the All Girls-Boys Choir. The curiously-named Banana Convention kicked off the night with an intense sugar-soaked blast of bouncy punk. The crew is one of the few bands around that can be accurately tagged as “pop punk” instead of just being a pop band with gelled up hair. Banana Convention’s tunes are vivacious numbers delivered with an almost sneering attitude. And their energy is infectious. They were having so much damned fun onstage you can’t help but be swept up into it. It seems they really can put the “FU in FUN.”

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Stage Specs

Technical Requirements

Very straight forward typical three piece band set up. One guitar, one bass, one drummer. Lead vocals center stage, back up vocals stage left, and back up vocals back stage for the drummer. Also have a small percussion stand on stage left that includes cowbells, tamborine, and vibraslap.

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The Banana Convention

About the Artist

Music

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Videos

Achievements

Press Coverage

Stage Specs

Technical Requirements

Technical Requirements