The incredibly talented Gino Banks has a resume that reads like a guest list rather than musical Curriculum Vitae.In this day and age of YouTube channels and online drum clinics, Gino maintains a level of proficiency behind the drum kit which is his work station.

Gino has done it all, Bollywood movies, studio work; drum lessons, concert tours, music albums and clinics. While he continues to amass an amazing amount of work of which he is very proud of, including playing a few tracks on the 2009 Grammy nominated album ‘Miles from India’ along with his father the legendary Louiz Banks, the Mumbai born 36 year oldis also a producer, arranger and runs his own studio production Double Shift Productions.

When Verus Ferreira met up with Gino a few days before Mumbai Drum Day 2019, it was evident that he lives his life according to the music and art that lives inside of him.  

What inspired you to take up drumming? Was drums your first love or was there any other instrument before that?

I did learn a little piano before the drums as well as dabbling a little bit with the trumpet but I fell in love with the drums - the sound - the rhythm - the physicality of the instrument. Also it was something I could pick up a lot easier than the other instruments. So that made it more fun to play I guess.

Going back in time, at what age did you start playing the drums?

I started playing the drums at around 7 or 8 years old. My first few drum lessons were with Cowas Lord, he taught me the basic rudiments and how to hold the sticks with the traditional grip.

Did your father Louiz play any role in fostering your talent? Did you also accompany him on any tours?

The musical and positive environment my dad and mum created for me at home was instrumental in me becoming who I am today. My first time on stage was me playing percussion on tour with dad’s fusion group Sangam - 3 concerts in Australia and 4 concerts n China. I was 9 years old.

Are you more into the jazz kind of sound or any other style of music?

I am into all kinds of music. I grew up with Jazz and that has been my main source of learning But I enjoy and like playing Indian Classical, Rock, Metal, Pop, Funk, Latin ... even Polka. I enjoy it all.

While learning the drums, were you self taught or took formal lessons from a music teacher?

Most of my learning has been self taught - growing up watching and listening to Ranjit Barot, Sivamani, Franco Vaz, Benny Soans, Adrian D’Souza, Lester Godhino and many others who played with dad. I got to be around everyone at close quarters. A big education. You don’t get that at schools. But I did take a few lessons with various teachers like Cowas Lord, Lester Godhino and Adrian D’Souza, a few years into my playing I got chance to hang out in LA with Jai Row Kavi who was a student of mine at the time and he was studying at MI and I got to meet and take a lesson with a rude Imran technique guru Rob Carson - later on I got to know Steve Smith and he mentored me and taught me stuff. I also did a few private lessons at the Drummers Collective in New York with Kim Plainfield, Pat Petrillo, Frank Katz and Jason Gianni. But apart from drum set I learn a lot of rhythm from our master percussionists here in India like Sridar Parthasarathy, Satyajit Talwalkar and earlier on with Shahdaab Bhartiya.

Who were some of your early musical influences? Who was it that caught your ear and you remarked, “Oh, I just love listening to that drummer”?

Dave Weckl and Dennis Chambers. These two stood out for me at an early age and still influence as much if not more now.

The drum machine has been around for some time now, do you think new learners have it easy, or do you prefer learners to begin with the drum kit?

They are different yet the same. Obviously a drummer will program beats more practically to how a drummer would play. But sometimes you can get creative and program crazy beats that maybe in playable but sound cool. It has to be musical. Serve the music. Everything else will fall into place. But I recommend someone interested in drums should learn the drum set first and develop his or her skill on the acoustic instrument and then move on and work with drum machines.

What skills would you look for in a drummer that would make you say the drummer is good?

Needs to have a Great groove, feel, sound, consistency, musicality and tempo.

What brand of drums do you usually use and on what basis did you make these choices? Are you a brand ambassador of any particular brand?

I am very lucky and humbled to be supported by our great musical instruments distributors here in India. There’s Furtados Music, Bhargavas Musik, Musicians Mall and through them I have had and continue to have the pleasure of playing Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals, Evans Drumheads, Promark Drumsticks, Meinl Percussion and Puresound all exclusively. I work directly with Yamaha Music India playing the DTX series electronic drum kits. I also endorse Audix Microphones distributed by Promusicals and in my studio work with Sonodyne studio monitors exclusively as well.

When you are really free of all the music work, and sit back and listen as an observer, what music do you listen to as an audience member?

Silence, (Laughs) not kidding, but listening or watching any good musician I will enjoy. Lately I keep listening to a band called Everything Everything, the great classic Prog Rock band Marillion and this awesome fusion guitar virtuoso Tim Miller.

You are curating the Mumbai drum Festival for the fourth time this year. Are you trying to fall back on the lines of the Modern Drummer Festival from the US?

I grew up watching the Modern Drummer Festival. And always wanted something like that here in India. And through Mumbai Drum Day I hope I can achieve something of that level. We are in our 3rd year and I am very excited about it.  We have so much talent on the drum set in India. So many drummers. Some known some unknown to the public. And I wanna showcase everyone. Can’t have all in one night but then this festival will be on year after year and give everyone a chance to perform.

What made you decide upon having a Drum festival? How do you put all this together?

My friends Nayaab Udhas from the Event Company and Vaibhav Patil from ginger PR wanted to do something with me. We have worked together on many projects with other artists. So I brought this drum day idea to them and they just said Ok let’s do it. And we were off. It’s not easy. But we are working hard and making it happen. Our wonderful host (my girlfriend) Eden Shyodhi is supporting me as well and helping me make it bigger and better every year.

How has the response been to the Drum festival so far and how do you decide which drum players to showcase in your show?

The response for both years has been great and the support we are getting on social media this year is fantastic so hoping for a great show this year as well. The drumming community is tight knit and really strong. We all share a special connection that doesn’t exist as much other instrumentalists. And this is the world over. That’s why so many drum fests all over the world. Deciding which drummers is hard, but I want variety of musical styles, in ages and also from different cities too.

The last two years have seen a mix of traditional drums and the percussion, what is your preference?

We would like to focus more on the drum set. But at the same time we have incredible percussionist in India who play hybrid setups derived from the traditional drum set. So we want to include that sound and performance mastery in the show as well.

Do you plan on taking this festival to other cities in India in the future?

Maybe ... but for now it’s Mumbai Drum Day.

The last time we met, I had noticed a studio – Gino’s Den. Is that your recording studio and work station? What about Double Shift Productions?

This is a musical space for dad and me. It’s a Rehearsal room. Practice station. Recording facility. A musician’s temple. Everyone has been here and played here. Double Shift is my production when I am recording producing projects of mine or other artists.

Have you released any music albums, done workshops on drumming?

I have my own album out online called ‘Logically Speaking’. I do workshops very often through the Furtados School of Music and the True School of Music here in Mumbai as well as Babu School Of Rhythms in Bangalore and many other freelance workshops around the country.

Have you done any work for Bollywood? Anything in the pipeline?

Quite a lot actually. Done a lot of recording work with Salim Sulaiman, Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy (Mendonsa), Vishal Shekhar, Pritam, Ankit Tiwari, Sachin Jigar and many others. Right now nothing in the pipeline that I can mention here.

Being in the music industry for quite a long time, can you tell us the good and the bad side of it?

It’s all good. I just keep out the bad.

For someone who is just beginning to play drums, what advice would you give them?

Play along to good music. Play in time and groove hard. Concentrate on sound. That is paramount.

What do you think of the current Drum scene in Mumbai / India?

It’s fantastic. I think it’s the best it’s ever been and it’s moving along well. We need to get it to a world class level. And I think we are on our way there.

So what do you have on your to do list for 2019?

I am working on a new solo album plus a few singles with new collaborations. I will continue touring with the artists I work with on a regular basis like Rakesh Chaurasia’ RAF, or The Ravi Chary Crossing Band. I am also working on a new album with my dad as well as a few concerts. There might be tours with Kush Upadhyay (new album coming out soon) and Chandresh Kudwa. Besides this I will continue to teach as an adjunct faculty at The NMIMS School of Performing Arts.

Interviewed by Verus Ferreira