Carl M Banks

Goin’ into 2024 like…
Happy new year everybody.

C chord.

HBD to my mom. It’s a big 7-0 for her today. She is the best and I wish I could celebrate with her. Here’s a couple pics of her through the years. Love you mom.

Just out here “feedin the hunger in my soul.” So grateful for another incredible year of music. Grateful for my fingers, and my voice, and my brain that puts it all together.

Coming into the finish of the 10k on thanksgiving day. A bit of a tradition to participate in the gratitude run. Grateful 🥹 for so much, but specifically how far my legs can take me. 🙏🙏🤘✌️✌️✌️

New York City, tonight at the rockwood music hall’s stage 1. Seven PM. I’ll be playing tunes along with .smellsworth. It’s a free show and we’d love to see you there.

Last week was a movie. I’m so incredibly gracious to all the fans, friends, and family who reached out to wish me a happy birthday and a special thanks to everyone who made it out to our sold out show at the Blue strawberry. Y’all Sure know how to make a fella feel real special. I’m back at it in NyC this week with two shows to round out the month of November. Playing Wednesday at Rockwood Music hall with my pal and road companion .smellsworth and Sunday night(late night) at the Red Lion. Pleas come say hi. Can’t say it enough, thank you all very much for helping me follow this childhood dream of mine. 🙏🙏🙏🙌🙌🙌🤘🤘🤘✌️✌️✌️

Today’s got me thinking about my twin sister Cynthia. We had lots of really good times and I miss her like crazy. Happy bday sis, you are very missed. 🎂🎂🎂

Finished the Ragnar Arizona trail ultra! 30.2 mile through the desert. 10/10 do recommend. 📸

Hello November. Im turning forty this month and I got three rad shows I’d love to tell ya about. Gigs are a little light on accounta I’ve been hittin it pretty hard the last few weeks. But rest assured the lack in quantity is make up for with quality. November 16th I’m doing an intimate night of songs and stories with at . It’s a birthday party in my hometown and I’d love to see all of you there. Wednesday 11/22 I’m back at my favorite little room in NYC, stage 1 with a number of talented artist including .smellsworth. Sunday 11/26 I’m jammin solo at my favorite late night spot for a 1am set of covers and originals. baby. I’ll see ya out there. Keep Movin’ 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

American Gothic w/Margs circa 2022 🇺🇸🍴❤️

Saint Louis!! Nov 16th, We are doing an intimate night of songs and stories it’s gonna be a great night and kind of a 40th birthday get-together for me. (Webster alumni) and I really hope to see you there, this is a special one and shouldn’t be missed. Ticket link in my story.

Tucson was a hell of a time. Thanks .smellsworth for snapping these photos as I played. =10 outta 10, do recommend!! 🤘🤘🤘

Tonight we rock at kilowatt in SF. Ten bucks at the door. It’s a hardly strictly after party hoot. Tell your friends.

It’s just been so fun and impressive being on the road with and .smellsworth hearing their songs ever night and watching them do their thing. ‘Bout halfway done with this run, we keep movin. Catch us at an upcoming show:

9/28-McKinleyville, CA
9/29- San Francisco, CA
9/30- LA, CA House Show
10/1-Yuma, AZ
10/5-Tucson, AZ Chef’s Lounge
10/6- Phoenix, AZ
10/7-Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ House Show
10/8-El Paso, TX The Nature House ()
10/9 Terlingua, TX
10/10-Marathon, TX
10/14-Tulsa, Ok
10/15Columbia, MO House Show

Charles and Carl’s traveling Highway Hootenanny makes its Portland stop Sept 27th, 8pm at the White Eagle Saloon (). Tix are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Featuring solo sets and collaborations by three distinct songwriters. .smellsworth and sing songs, tell stories, and exhibit all around shenaniganism. Do not miss.

Out here having a blast on the road. Meeting new friends and connecting with old acquaintances. The wheels keep moving, we’ll catch you at the next show. ✌️❤️🤘

Tonight, 9pm. You don’t wanna miss this one.

So excited for tonight’s show in at the dog. 9pm. You don’t wanna miss this one. .smellsworth

Tonight’s stop. Brooklyn. 8pm. Come party with .smellsworth and myself on one of the best rooftops in all of . See you there.

Tour starts tomorrow. Look, being a DIY musician requires a thick skin and a whole lotta elbow grease. Through our hard work we’ve been able to book shows from east coast to west and back again. Singing in clubs, pubs, livings rooms and hot springs, calling on all of our collective networks to put together a month of shows with scarcely a day off. We’ve spent months working on this highway hootenanny tour and it’s so exciting to actually hit the road Wednesday and start to do the fun part…performing…taking the music to the folks. It would mean so much to us if you could make it out to a show or tell a friend or send some well wishes or Venmo🤑🤑We couldn’t do it without you all. So from the bottom of my heart, with all the gratitude I can muster, thank you and we’ll catch you on down the road.

Let’s hop in the van and hit the road.
HWY HOOT:

9/13-Livingston Manor, NY
9/14-Brooklyn,NY
9/16-Cape Girardeau, MO
9/17-Nashville, TN
9/18-Memphis,TN Beale st Tap room (168 Beale street)
9/20-Denver, CO
9/21- Laramie, WY
9/22-Provo, UT
9/23-Salt Lake City, UT House Show
9/24- Bozeman, MT
9/26- Seattle, WA
9/27- Portland, OR
9/28-McKinleyville, CA
9/29- San Francisco, CA
9/30- LA, CA House Show
10/1-Yuma, AZ
10/5-Tucson, AZ Chef’s Lounge
10/6- Phoenix, AZ
10/7-Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ House Show
10/8-El Paso, TX The Nature House ()
10/9 Terlingua, TX
10/10-Marathon, TX
10/14-Tulsa, Ok
10/15Columbia, MO House Show

🚐🦉!!Highway Hootenanny!! 🚐🦉

We are so incredibly excited to announce that we are taking our rooftop hootenanny show on the road. Charles and I have had so much fun organizing our monthly songwriter showcase, that we decided to take it across the country this fall

Presented by B***o Borracho () records the highway hootenanny will feature Nashville songwriter Ben de la Cour () as well as local talent from across the nation.

We wanted to put together a tour that feels more like an experience rather than just sitting in the corner of a bar playing songs each night. We feel like together, we can become more than the sum of our parts and create a memorable evening for everyone involved

More dates will be announced soon and tickets will go on sale next week

*knows absolutely nothing about auto repairs*
📸

The next rooftop hoot jumps off Thursday July 13th. We got a real special lineup of some great musicians. and are our special guests with sets by .smellsworth and myself. 8pm at LOHI in Bushwick. We’d love to see you there.

Killer times last night with thanks to everyone who came out!!!

Standing on a rooftop….

Today we celebrate the life and death of my cousin, Jeff Bell. Growing up, Jeff was pretty much the coolest person I knew. I started biting my fingernails(a habit I still am stuck with) as a young kid because I thought it looked cool when Jeff did it. Twice in my adult life Jeff save me from really a really tight spot. In 2002 he drove out in the middle of the night to rescue me and my friend in Cape Girardeau Missouri after I wrecked my car swerving to miss the biggest possum I had ever seen. After the tow truck driver left and the police officer filled out his report and left, Jeff drove us back to his apartment. He kept asking if we had been drinking or were intoxicated, which we were not. He plum refused to believe me and refuses to take my answer as the truth. This developed into an inside joke for years. He would say, “I guess Carl likes to keep secrets from me” and “oh, we’re keeping secret secrets Carl?” But that was the type of person Jeff was. He would come out, without question, rescue you in the middle of the night and raz you a little bit while he did it.
In 2014 I was working on a song and at a major impasse with the lyrics. I was stuck on the third verse. The song was about Chelsea Hotel, and I showed Jeff the song and told him about my dilemma. After a few hours of hanging out Jeff gave me a line “we all know hotels ain’t forever” not only did the lyric make the final cut for the song, it was the final missing piece and allowed me to finish that song and sing it all over the world. Jeff was really proud of the lyric too. He was ready to hit the road and live the life of a troubadour after hitting a grand slam on his first at bat.
It’s hard to express exactly how much I’m gonna miss Jeff and how important he was to me and everyone around him. Today is going to be a hard day.
His family has a go fund me for all his end-of-life expenses. I will put it in the link in my bio for today. If you would like to help please do not hesitate, if the Chelsea Hotel song has ever moved you, here’s a direct way to help a collaborator. Because I forgot to give him credit when I put the song on my last record. Sorry Jeff. I love you and will miss you.

Can’t wait for next week’s Rooftop Hootenanny. will be our special guest and .smellsworth is fresh off his European tour. Thursday, 8pm at Lohi. Be there. —-oh yeah and from the desk of “no good deed goes unpunished” the wonderful folks over at city hall have issued a ticket to LOHI for our one poster we put up….. five months ago….in bushwick….where there are posters and graffiti everywhere. 🤘🤘🤘🤘 *t