In anticipation of our 50th event on Mon 20th October and her first performance at Under The Influence, Grace Banks talks about her song choice and influences:
Grace Banks started touring her own music in Europe, Brazil and New York, following a couple of years as a band member of Emmy The Great. With influences including Elliott Smith and Leonard Cohen, her music has been described as “mesmerising brilliance,” and a mixture of “beauty, innocent nostalgia and uplifting melancholy.
I was almost named Prudence, after the Beatles’ Dear Prudence. Not being a fan of the Beatles, this would surely have entailed a life of explanations and defensive justifications. I’m not really into Bob Dylan either and, similarly, that statement can feel like pissing on hallowed ground.
1964 saw both acts make headlines and, although I do not choose to spend much time with them, it is undeniable that their influence has seeped into me. The last track I released, Want One Back, actually quotes a Beatles melody – something I was oblivious to until a friend pointed it out, post-release. The Bob Dylan song I’ll perform, It Ain’t Me Babe, nestles uncannily neatly in my set. In fact, while choosing a cover for Under The Influence, I’ve noticed an abundance of pickings and phrasings in my songs that have been borrowed and bungled from Dylan and his ilk.
It Ain’t Me Babe; I like to think of it as an apology from someone all too aware they fall short. For some, it is the greatest anti-war statement there ever was. I think it has that wonderful quality that wherever you stand, you feel like it’s looking at you.
Grace Banks (Oct 2014)
Website: www.gracebanks.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/gracebanks