July 29, 2004

"Listening Up" - review of the final Banter show @ Sky Bar, Somerville, MA.

I've rediscovered—briefly—the Boston music scene, tough, durable, and waterproof, with the aid of an important tool: earplugs. Last weekend, I heard two rock bands: Banter, headed by Dan Sheehan, (a sometime That There Paul visitor), with feet-on-the-ground tunes off their latest Urban Pastures CD like "Take A Walk," "Metaphysics," and "Open Wide," the latter of which ostensibly describes a visit to the dentist, but veers, as far as I can tell, into a full-speed-ahead rock n' roll treatise on the human condition. The neo-speed-punk songs of the next band, Reaxis, were leavened with garage kid antics, including an angular drummer removing his shirt for us: "Maybe he should put it back on," the singer joked. "No, keep it off!" two guys drinking beer shouted. Maybe it was just the beer, but the raucous, joyful music seemed as it should be.

"Just wanted you to know that your new CD rocks so hard that I totaled my '96 Bonneville SSEi last Monday with Urban Pastures in the CD player. The good news is that no one was hurt. The CD SOUNDS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!"

- anonymous Banter fan, Philadelphia, PA (via email)

July 2002

blurb about Urban Pastures CD

This hard rock quartet takes simple progressions and pumps them up with muscle on their debut CD, Urban Pastures. Loud and in-your-face, Banter's energy and enthusiasm are well chronicled on anthems like "Open Wide," "Lowered" and "Farewell."

June 2002

Band profile w/photo

BANTER has been rocking the Northeastern United States with a vengeance since 1996, when founding members Dan Sheehan and Joe Smith met and began laying down the foundation of what has been, by Boston standards, an enduring rock legacy. In a college town where bands come and go, BANTER has managed to stay on top of the rock scene while musical fads have risen and fallen.

In five years time the band has been selected to contribute two songs to the MONDRIAN compilation CD in 1999; were featured in the first-ever Zebox.com showcase; have released an e.p. and a single and have just unleashed their debut full length 14-song album, URBAN PASTURES.

From the opening, Eastern drones of the album's radio friendly hit "Open Wide" to the high spirited power-pop of "Three Weeks," BANTER takes the listener on a musical journey of highs and lows, tackling lyrical content ranging from the plight of American Indians to contemplations of the philosophical realm of "Metaphysics."
BANTER is a breath of fresh air in an age of formula-dominated rock.

BANTER wins second "song of the month" honors!

Review of our songs on the MONDRIAN compilation disc
(excerpt from Audiodoodah)

("Farewell") is the keeper--a reverb-fest in the opening bars turns into an introspective bass and cymbal thing, and the song's quasi-mocking mawkishness suits it well--it sounds, quite unintentionally, perhaps, like a spot-on parody of late-period Zombies ca. Odyssey and Oracle. Our Song of the Month for August.

(4 stars out of 5)

NOTE: "Farewell" went on to be #6 on the Audiodoodah top 20 songs of 1999.

February 1998

Band profile w/photo

Out of the harsh winter of 1995-1996 came the band known as BANTER. Originally named Rogues Gallery, they changed their name to Banter due to an incidence that involved members of a heavy metal band throwing chairs at Dan while on stage, claiming to have chosen the name first.

Since then, the band has quickly established themselves in the Boston music scene and released a new CD featuring a slew of new songs as well as many old favorites.

Filled with vigorous spirit, their new CD is sure to delight longtime BANTER fans as well as new ones as the band continues to play and record throughout the Bay State and beyond.

review of "Springtime in February" single
(complete review)

Ex-Rogues' Gallery, Banter produces a sound that says "All the squares go home." Through the A-side may well owe something to "Needles and Pins" by the Searchers (and perhaps "Makes No Sense At All" by Husker Du), it's one of the finer songs to come our way in quite a spell. The surly vocals are belligerent yet strangely affectionate. This tune should be the theme song of Central Square, de facto capital of the Boston music scene now that The Rat has bitten the dust for good. Even when the band turns in a less than stellar song, as on the B-side, there's still something intriguing about the effort which rewards repeated listenings--in this case, it's the angular guitar riff, as continually frustrated of final resolution as the lyric theme of the song itself. "Springtime in February" is my pick for song of the month.

(4 1/2 stars out of 5).

NOTE: "Springtime in Februaryl" went on to be #12 on the Audiodoodah top 20 songs of 1997.

review of Side One e.p.
before we changed our name from Rogues Gallery to BANTER and before the e.p. was pressed or titled.
(complete review)

Considering the name, we were anticipating with utter dread some sort of shlock-gore screamfest, in which quasi-literate yobbos pester us with nerve-softening drivel for hell-and-a-day. Picture, then, our delight when, instead, we were soothed by five tracks torn fresh from the unmixed and unmastered tracks of a forthcoming EP. Manic, yes, but with the same sort of manic intensity as local avatars of yore such as the pre-drunken-blues Neats and Native Tongue, and all with a quietly depressive quality to attenuate the manic edge. Best of show: the aptly named "Metaphysics," with its soi-disant garage feel and inescapably heartful edge, practically up there with "Live for Today" by The Rascals. (A song they play on WODS a lot. The people who like this song and follow this philosophy are, in fact, just the kind of go-nowhere working stiffs that WODS longs to cater to). Send us more like this.

(4 stars out of 5)