Where Yellow Turns
To Gold!
in the great music city
of Cleveland, Ohio
|
Banana Links: |
Welcome Discerning Music Fans! To the World Wide Web home of Banana Records. Banana released its first record in 1982 - long before the debut of
that entity known as the internet - but here we are! Banana Records traces its history in Cleveland to as far back as 1973, when it emerged as a concept in the heads of a few music heads plying the scene in those long ago times. Please feel free to explore these pages. You'll find a concise history of Banana on the about page, you can explore the Banana stable of artists, and purchase their material. You can also check out Mab Zab Music publishing, which continues to be operational and can handle your music publishing needs. (Protect that intellectual property, folks!) And of course, there is the Banana Store, where you can buy select titles from archived and current Banana artists. Thanks for visiting, and
send us email
with any questions/additions/subtractions.
What's New at Banana Records: Critics Rave On Jinni Fontana! In a recent review in the Observer, rock critic Buzz Kompier lauded Jinni Fontana's new Banana release as "charming... nostalgic power pop." He noted that "King & Queen of the Metroparks" sounds "very much like a Butterfield 8 song... But it's good." It appears that the reviewer was unaware of the fact that "Jimmy & Me" is a song about late Cleveland crooner Jimmy Armstrong. We forgive him - he's young! All in all, Kompier continues to appreciate the recent slate of Banana releases. Look for a review of the Les Vincent release soon!
New Releases by Two Banana Records Legacy Artists!
New
Album from Les Vicent
Another Winner from Banana’s Best Boston Bopper Les Vincent’s sophomore effort
builds on the success of 2023’s “Black & White” debut.
The new 9-song album is titled
“Short Introductions to Circular Dreams”,
and features eight original compositions and one cover.
Les shares song-writing duties with his
wife, Liz, on one song, and his daughter, Ali, on the other.
The latter song, “Lemonade”, is a
heart-warming tune sung as a father/daughter duet. Les continues to impress with
his mix of introspective mood benders, and outright rockers.
He produced this entire collection in his
adopted hometown of Boston, but you can’t take the Cleveland (or Banana
Records) out of this boy. The album is available on all streaming services, and will be available soon in compact disc format for $12 (including shipping & handling). We're waiting for the hard CDs to arrive, but you can pre-order today. HOW TO ORDER: Banana Records isn't Amazon! We don't have a fancy E-commerce platform like Amazon, and we don't do secure financial transactions through the site. For your safety, we only accept payments through PayPal, Venmo, or by check or money order. Here are the three ways: 1. If you have a paypal account, visit this link: http://www.paypal.me/BananaRecords. Click the "Send" button. Sent $12 to Banana Records, and include your name and address in the "What's This For" box. You're done! 2. We accept Venmo for all titles. Direct payment to @bananarecords. Also send an email to jim@bananarecords.net with your name and shipping address. 3. If you don't have either of these online payment accounts, you can send a check payable to Banana Records to Jim Butterfield, 3916 West 158th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44111. PLEASE NOTE: IF you are outside the United States, there is an increased shipping fee. International fans should send an email to jim@bananarecords.net for more details. * * *
Banana Records T-Shirts Now Available!
Banana Records Logo T-Shirts are now available!!!
We have contracted with a local Cleveland apparel company to
bring you the official Banana Records T-Shirts, featuring our iconic
logo, with the birthplace city “Cleveland, Ohio” attached.
People have been asking us for years to come out with a line of Banana
merch, and this is the first installment.
Available in sizes M – 2XL in either black or white,
these shirts are of the highest quality and are 100% cotton.
They're from the "Comfort Colors" line of shirts,
crafted from 100% ring spun cotton,
and
they're pigment-dyed, which redefines comfort and style.
Other colors and sizes are also available for a small additional
fee. The stock sizes/colors
are available for $35.00 plus $7.00 shipping and handling to USA
addresses.
Be the first kid on your block to own this ultra cool shirt! More merchandise will be introduced during 2025. * * *
A New Album from Butterfield 8 Jim Butterfield and his friends (aka
“Butterfield 8”) have just released a new 11-song album entitled
“The Lies That Hurt The Most” on Banana Records.
This is the fourth release in as many years, fulfilling Jim’s
promise to “do this every year until I run out of songs to write”. This time around Jim shares the producing duties with
long-time friend (and fellow Banana Recording Artist), Paul Nickels.
Most of the 10 original songs were penned by Jim in Florida,
with the basic tracks recorded there before Jim permanently returned to
his native Cleveland. One new twist on this album is the inclusion of a
live recording of a cover tune.
The song is “Final Solution” by legendary Cleveland avant-punk
band Pere Ubu. The recording is from Butterfield 8’s final live
performance at The Phantasy Night Club in 1991. Also prominently featured on the new album are the
vocal stylings of long-time BU8 member Les Vincent.
Les performs the Lead Vocal role on “Coloring Book” along with
backing vocals on two other songs.
Rick Christyson, the perennial winner of the “Best Guitar
Player” Zabby Award, lends his unique talents to three of the tunes.
The album is available on all streaming services, and
the physical CD is also available direct from this website (Store
page) for $12.00 including shipping and handling.
You can also listen to the album on bandcamp.com under the artist
“butterfield81”.
Mab Zab Best of 2024 Zabby
Best Guitar Player: Brian Butterfield Best Bassist: Mark Bluhm Best Drummer: Jim Begin (Congas) Best Keyboardist:
Tom Leatherman Best Male Vocalist:
Pat Malloy Best Female Vocalist:
Katie Butterfield Best Band:
Old Brown Shoe Review Best Producer: Paul
Nickels Best Album: ”The Lies
That Hurt The Most” – Butterfield 8 Best Song:
”Life” (Paul Nickels) Best Mansion:
Ryel Parma Mansion
Best Bar: Penny’s Mousetrap Bar (Punta Gorda, FL) Biggest Disappointment:
Cleveland Browns Comeback of the Year:
Pat Connor Best Couple:
Hasani and Anna Rita Fields Handsomest Man:
Terry Gallagher Most Beautiful Girl in the World:
Leen Gallagher Most Extravagant Lifestyle:
Tom Fayen
All Contents © Mab Zab Ltd.,
2023. Content may be reproduced or shared with permission only.
|
.jpeg)
