interview with jj bannasch, former touring bassist with eve6

eve6 media hq was able to catch up with jj bannasch, the former touring bassist with eve6, to ask him some questions on his time in eve6 and what he's doing now.. we hope you enjoy it..

don't forget to check out jj's new bnad, kill fast casino on myspace at www.myspace.com/killfastcasino

the basics

when did you start playing music? and what was the first instrument you played?

i started messing around on an acoustic guitar my sister owned when i was a freshman in high school and picked up the bass guitar a few months later. i spent pretty much all my free time during my freshman year teaching myself how to playing music by listening to cds in my room.

did you play in any bands before you joined up with eve6?

i played in a few bands before i played with eve6. i started a punk band with some friends in high school and played guitar and bass in a couple alternative rock bands while i was going to college. i pretty much wasnt playing in a band for about a year and a half before playing with eve6 so i had to quickly brush up on my bass playing before jamming with max, tony and jon.

about his time with eve6

how did you first meet max, tony and jon and was there a good connection with you guys from the start?

the first time i meet them was when they were trying out bass players to go on tour with them. a friend of mine who knew jon heard that eve6 was trying out bass players and mentioned that they should think about jamming with me. their management called me up and told me to learn how much longer, heres to the night and inside out. two days later i was in los angeles meeting them for the first time and rocking out eve6 songs.

how did they ask you (or you find out) that they wanted you to be in the band with them?

they told me they were interested in me after i jammed with them the first time but obviously they needed to think about it and jam with me some more before making a decision. i think the first time i realized that they wanted me to play with them was after one of the warm up show at the viper room in hollywood when max called left a message on my cell phone saying they were excited about having me play with them.

how was your first live show with them? when and where was it?

we did a few unannounced warm-up shows around los angeles but the first announced show was an earth day festival in fullerton, ca during spring of 2003. the very very first show i played with them was at a place called the gig in hollywood. i remember a guy from one of the bands who played after us came up to me after our set and told me we were one of the best cover bands he had ever heard. he didnt realize it was eve6 playing and not a cover band, it was pretty funny.

what was your favorite, most memorable moment with eve6?

this is a hard question because i have a lot of memorable moments with them. i think the time i spent with them as friends were some of the most memorable for me. for example, before leaving on a tour tony and i would hang out at his house watching movies, music videos and playing video games all night before we left for the airport early the next morning. it became somewhat of a pre-tour ritual for me and tony while iwas playing with them.

what was your favorite song to play live?

i would have to say good lives was my favorite song to play live probably because its one of my all-time favorite eve6 songs. max's lyrics are amazing and i love the music, its just a great song. "promise that forever we will never get better at growing up and learning to lie", is one of my favorite lyrical lines in a song.

when you were touring with eve6 towards the end, did you have the feeling that rca was gonna drop them?

honestly, it didnt cross my mind at all while i was playing with them. i knew rca previously dropped a lot of their rock bands but i was a bit shocked when i heard about it.

it was rumored that you wanted to finish your schooling and thats why you stopped playing with eve6. is this accurate or is there any other reason?

i always knew that i was going to return back to san diego state university to finish my last two semesters of college after touring but that wasnt the only reason i decided to leave. there were numerous reasons i decided to stop playing with them and school was one of the reasons.

purely speclative - but if max and tony wanted you to play bass with them again, would it be something you would be interested in?

i have so much respect for max and tony, they are amazing musicians and good friends. i was so honored to have the opportunity to play music with them in eve6. last week i heard the their new songs for the first time and was really into their new tunes, so if they wanted me to play bass with them again it would not be out of the question.

what he's doing now

for the eve6 fans that don't know, you're in a new band called kill fast casino. how did you get together with these guys?

after my last tour with eve6, I spent some time in birmingham, al doing a lot of song writing and when i got back to san diego a few of my longtime friends and i decided to start what would become kill fast casino.

what kinda of music would you say kill fast casino is?

we are an alternative rock band that plays music that honest and written from the deepest regions of our personal lives. all of our songs are written about a personal aspect of our lives and presented in a way that allows listeners to personally interrupt and relate to similar event in their lives.

have you been able to get a record contract with anyone yet?

no record contract, we have been focusing on writing music and playing as many shows as we can. i believe that if a band works hard and focuses on those two things everything else will come to them in time.

do you have plans to come to the midwest or east coast anytime soon for some shows?

currently, there are no plans for the mid-west or east coast but hopefully very soon we will be able to get out there, i miss touring. we are playing in az, ca and nv and hopefully getting over to the east coast in a few months.

some random thoughts

what bands are you currently into?

muse, ours, sigur rios, blue october, dredg, matisyahu and the raconterurs to name a few.

what is the most recent cd you've listened to?

i am actually listening to the new muse record black holes and revelations right now. i picked it up this morning and i love what i hear so far.

any other things you want the fans to know?

i heard max and tonys new project the other night and it is very good. i know you guys are curious what it sounds like but it will be worth the wait. its slightly different from eve6 but in a good way. if you guys get a chance check out my new project at www.myspace.com/killfastcasino.