The Basics II : Reggie Bannister

There are only an elite few, unique, well crafted films that I would ever consider as being my "favorites". Of that small group, there is one title that holds a place in my heart above the others. A thoroughly enjoyable, genre-bending, scary, and downright charming film that I never tire of. That movie is Phantasm. A while ago, I e-mailed Reggie Bannister, kind of on a lark. I figured that between acting in films, playing and recording music, and helping to run an independent film production company, the guy would be a little short on spare time time. I was surprised when, instead of the standard form letter reply, Reggie himself got back to me and thanked me for my appreciation. So, when I was thinking of subjects for "The Basics", I always figured he would be a nice enough guy to take a moment out for his fans. He's a cool, down to earth person, and I'm extremely grateful that he took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us here.



Who?
My Mom and Dad, who supported and encouraged my creative spirit from a very early age. Anytime I played music somewhere or appeared in a play my Mom and Dad were there. They even appeared with me in 'Phantasm.' If you recall the scene of Tommy's funeral, my Dad played the priest and my Mom was a mourner. My Mom was actually standing next to Don Coscarelli's Mom Shirley, who also played a mourner in the scene. Don's parents were obviously as supportive as mine.

What?
Guitar. I was always a talented singer and performer but when I picked up guitar at the age of 15 it opened up a whole new world of entertainment for me. I was able to sing and accompany myself so, for the first time I was able to be a self sufficient entertainer. I took off on a musical career that led to concerts, TV and touring with icons of the time. From Bing Crosby, George Burns and Red Skelton to Chubby Checker, Sonny and Cher and Steve Wonder. I've had a remarkable musical career because I learned to play guitar.

When?
The 60's and 70's were powerful times for people like me to mature in. There was so much creative camaraderie flying around it was like a giant circus and we were all ringmasters. It's when I met and was in a group with brothers Carson and Van Dyke Parks two of the greatest musicians I've ever been blessed to play with. It's when I met Steve Stills and had the opportunity to pick up a guitar with him. It's when you'd go to a party and you're having a drink with the Righteous Brothers and Jackie DeShannon joins in the conversation then you turn around and David Crosby walks in. Great time to be alive.

Where?
Right here where I am. My wife and I live in a beautiful village called Crestline. We work from our home and have enjoyed a level of professional success that's been gratifying. I've worked on two film projects this year with one ongoing as I write. I've got several pictures ready for distribution this year and two of them will feature my music. so, Here is good.

Why?
Because in a larger sense, I really had no choice, other than to be who I am today. If you had asked me pretty much as soon as I was old enough to talk, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I would have replied that I want to be a singer an actor and a politician. I realized later that if you want to be a successful politician you need to drop music and acting and I wasn't willing to make that sacrifice...so much for politics. I've also had more than my share of day jobs. Everything from hauling hay in Washington State to driving Taxies in Long Beach California. Now, this is my day job.

How?
When I met Don Coscarelli in the early 70's I had returned to college classes at Long Beach City College. I had immersed myself in acting classes and was performing in one play after another. After a weekend performance of original vignettes called "Circle Games" which I also performed the music for, I received a call from Paul Pepperman who identified himself as the producer of a film that was shooting locally. He said that he and the director had seen my performance that weekend and had an important character role that needed to be filled and asked if I was interested. That picture was called "Jim the World's Greatest." It was Don's first picture my first picture and Angus Scrim's first picture with Don. The point of this story is, if you greatly desire something just keep your head down and keep working at it. Eventually you'll look up and find yourself exactly where you want to be.



[Thanks again to Reggie and Gigi Fast Elk Bannister. Please take some time and check out the hot links in the intro paragraph (click on the green text), there is a TON of cool stuff in the sites.]

New Feature!

I've always thought it would cool to have an interview feature on the blog, and now there is. I'm going to try and get a hold of some people I admire, being musicians, writers, artists, skaters, or whatever, and have them answer a few simple questions. In fact, I'm asking them the simplest journalistic questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? And, How? I'm leaving it up to the subject to decide how they want to answer. Some people will probably give us the most basic answers, others may rant, and others may take an entirely different path. The point is, these are creative people, and I want that to shine through. Personally, I find most interviews to be a little boring, because the questions are always the same. I'm hoping that by providing these questions, in their naked, most Basic form, the subjects will be able to express themselves without constraint. Who knows if it will work, but I'm looking forward to the results.

Our first guest is Todd Pot, of one of my all time favorite bands, Apocalypse Hoboken. If you're unaware of this band, I highly recommend you go back to my first post and check them out. Todd's got a totally unique voice, and his lyrics are an art on their own. Here is his interview:


Who .....What .....When.....Where.....Why.....and How..............first things first. I hate doing interviews. Back when Hoboken was in full swing I was the first to curl up in the fetal position and fey sleep when it came to interview time in the back of the van, some crappy bar, or some dudes shitty living room next to his shitty record collection, smack dab next to the shitty litter box that I was to surely curl up next to and try to get a couple hours of shitty shut eye......I was about seven years old when my uncle had given me two cassette tapes: "Computer World" by Kraftwerk and "Wild Planet" by the B-52s. Both of these albums shaped how I felt about music. There was more to music then the stuff that I heard on the radio.......four years would go by and that's when things really started to change... skateboarding made it's way to the Midwest... Nash and Variflex were the only decks we had to choose from, unless you went the mail-order route......I chose the latter. What came with skating was the marriage of music......skate rock......MRR.....Flipside.....Suburban Voice....and a slew of bedroom zines .......I was a sucker for American punk and heavy metal.........i never got on the whole Sex Pistols or Ramones kick....I could give a fuck about dressing a certain way ...I truly just dug the music......so years of stuffing my ears with as much as I could went by.....lots of drugs....lots of pussy.....and more drugs....my favorite local band was a band called Apocalypse Hoboken.......I tried to see them as much as possible, which was an easy feat. During 1987 to 1992 the band played what seemed like every weekend.....during that time the punk scene in Chicago and suburbs was a full fledge scene.....your usual gaggle of misfits and miscreants made up the scene and shit was cool.....I graduated highschool in 1991, floated around for two years, and stumbled upon a flier in a record store called The Turntable. Not only did The Turntable supply us with our records, but the kind owners supplied half the northwest suburbs with weed ....if you were lucky enough to be cool with the owner's son he would pull out his Trapper Keeper of Damned and Psychic TV photos......the whole Manchester thing was really big at the time, so this dude was all up in that shit, ya know Stone Roses ...Primal Scream...Loop.....you get the picture, and I digress....the flier that caught my eye "APOCALYPSE HOBOKEN is looking for a singer"......I tried out with a handful of lyrics and a gutfull of want, and for fuck's sake I became the singer!
The band tried hard to make a dent.....Fireside Bowl was in full swing....Elgin and the Third Floor was wiping the suburbs ass ...shit was good. Hoboken set out from the get go to be different than the bullshit Fat....Doctorstrange.....Epitaph shit that oozed through Chicago....Naked Raygun was another curse. I dont like Chicago styled anything ...keep it outta my music.........our need to be different only alienated us even further......the band toured a great deal, we signed to a horrible label out of California called Kung Fu, run by horrible people that play in now horrible bands......we were stuck and pigeonholed.....made it to Europe with a band called the Ataris, another fart in a dixie cup band.......had a blast though.....went out with At The Drive-In and Murder City Devils which proved to be a complete kick in the nuts....they don't like to share cocaine. Our best tour was with The Candy Snatchers - we finally found comrades!!!! needless to say Apocalypse Hoboken ran its course. Personal strife and band bullshit inevitability tore us apart....it was a good run though!!! Now to today.....I'm kept busy with a plethora of bands:
The House That Gloria Vanderbilt ...... Tongues....Vicelords......Jewsteeth......He-man.....and the occasional Apocalypse Hoboken reunion for all those "Chicago style hot-dogs" write me if ya want @ penistubes@yahoo.com xoxotpot

Todd also asked me to link you guys to God's Balls Records and Litter Box Studio, and so I did. Thank you Todd, for taking time to answer The Basics.