Born and brought up in Mumbai India, Gino started playing the drums when he was only 8 years old and took it up more seriously at the age of 15. He is the son of Louiz Banks, India's legendary jazz pianist and composer. He toured Australia and China with his fathers' indo-jazz fusion band SANGAM playing percussion, when he was just 9 years old.
Gino is a versatile musician, and this trait has lead him to perform and record with artists and bands from all genres. Artists like his father Louiz Banks, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Rashid Khan,the late great U.Srinivas, Fazal Qureshi, Taufiq Qureshi, Bikram Ghosh, Pt. Vikku Vinayakram, Sridar Parthasarathy, Sanjay Divecha and Karl Peters; to Bollywood sessions and gigs with A.R. Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Salim-Sulaiman, Vishal-Shekhar, Amit Trivedi, Pritam, and Hariharan; to fusion groups Crosscurrents, SILK, ARKA, Niladri Kumar, Rakesh Chaurasia's RAF, Ravi Chary Crossing, Mekaal Hasan Band, Ananthaal, Dhruv Ghanekar, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan and Bala Bashkar; to pop/rock/blues bands like Indus Creed, Blackstrat Blues, Soulmate, Gary Lawyer, Baiju Dharmajan, Suneeta Rao, Skinny Alley, Joe Alvares and Shefali Alvares.
He has performed with international musicians like Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Mike Stern, Guthrie Govan, Tony Lakatos, George Brooks, The Maske Trio, Leni Stern, Angela Hagenbach, Carl Clements and more. As well as with Dance Troupes like Pt. Birju Mahara's Kathak Group, Aditi Bhagwat and the Terence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company and many more. He has worked on his own music as a composer as well as collaborated with extremely talented musicians including Sheldon D'Silva, Sangeet Haldipur, Rhythm Shaw, Kush Upadhyay, Mohini Dey, Satyajit Talwalkar, Ojas Adhiya, Stephen Devassy, Ghatam Udupa and many more.
An in-demand Musician, he is also a producer, arranger and runs his own studio production - Double Shift Productions - Specializing in recording drums.
A big advocate of music education - Gino along with his wife Eden runs various music education platforms - Algorhythm Drums, Nova School Of Music and Da.Feat as well as being an Advisor and Adjunct Faculty at the NMIMS School Of Performing Arts.
He has also had the honor and privilege of playing a few tracks on the 'Miles From India' an album produced by Bob Belden, nominated for a 2009 Grammy in the Contemporary Jazz Category with Times Square Records, NYC; a fusion of Great Indian Classical Musicians and Miles Davis Alumni Musicians.
"Honesty towards the music, being very good at your instrument, being a good person and band member that is easy to work with, and being supportive towards your fellow musicians. All of these are very important qualities to possess as a musician."
Hello Gino! So many young drummers look up to you as an inspiration. What words of wisdom would you give them?
Practice! Pay attention to the fundamentals. It’s very important for your overall growth. Even if you want to pursue more advanced concepts, if your fundamentals aren’t correct, the advanced stuff won’t sound good and won’t work in your music. Also, work on your time, groove and feel - three very important elements of playing music.
Also remember that being a musician is not easy, so, work hard, and put in the work early on. Make sure you practice and become really good. Pick a certain skillset in you musicmaking - whether it's composition, arranging, playing an instrument, singing - excel at one of them and then try and see how you can make it a viable career. Then, slowly try and understand how the music business works. Try everything and see what works best for you and then try and narrow it down to stuff that works for you, you enjoy doing and make a living out of.
That’s wonderful! And who do you look up to for inspiration yourself?
There are a lot of musicians who’ve constantly given me inspiration through the years with the level of commitment they have to music and playing their instruments. I really enjoy improvisational music, so, seeing guys who can improvise at a very high level, like my father, is always inspiring.
How do you keep on your game, stay sharp and hone your craft?
These days, it’s a little difficult to find time to practice. However, I’m always playing - whether it’s at a show, rehearsal, recording, making content for social media, or even teaching - I’m constantly playing. And even though I no longer have the time to practice the way I used to, I make sure that I’m still learning new things and developing new concepts every time I play.
Who are you listening to right now?
I’m really enjoying Nicolas Vaccaro, Gergo Borlai, and Chris Coleman’s playing. These three are phenomenal players. The musicality within their technique is incredible. The combination of their choices of what they each play is very musical, and highly technical at the same time, and the technique doesn’t overshadow the music. It’s all about the music. That’s what I really enjoy about their playing.
How do you see yourself as a professional musician?
It’s a lot of work, but if you like the work and are serious about your music and practice, and have a good work ethic, then you end up enjoying all of it. I think it’s very important to remember that with music, it’s not a job, it’s away of life, and if you can understand that, you’ll do well. I utilize my strengths whenever I need and even though I try and not show my weaknesses, I take risks sometimes and focus on improving myself.
Dream musicians to collaborate with?
I would really like to play with Jacob Collier because I think he’s quite eclectic. I like to play a lot of different styles of music and he’s an exceptional musician. I think that to play with him would be very exciting.
I'm fortunate enough to have had several memorable performances, one of which would be when I was on tour with Crosscurrents -with my dad, Shankar Mahadevan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Dave Holland, Chris Potter and Sanjay Divecha. That tour had some fabulous shows where I played alongside those legends at fantastic venues across the United States. The second one would be when I toured with Guthrie Govan and Mohini Dey in India, and some of those shows were epic.
Life as a professional musician involves a range of activities, from recording to performing. Do you relish anything particularly?
All of them have certain aspects that are a little different from one another. The recording situation is intense because you've got to get the right sound, and for that, you need the correct gear. There's a certain amount of preparation that happens before entering the studio. You need to pay attention to every minute detail. In a studio situation, you need to deliver the best take with the right feel and sound. And when it's not your own original music, you need to deliver a take that the producer/composer is happy with. But at a gig, the whole set seems to fly by, and if you're prepared enough, it'll go well. So, I'd say that there's a little more pressure when it comes to a studio session.
On the other hand, when you're on the road, touring, and playing live gigs, you don't have the time to be that detailed. I don't treat it any different because the performance energy is usually the same for me, personally. However, I do prefer playing live because of the audience and the energy, and I enjoy the 'anything can happen' aspect of it.
What advice would you give a musician wanting to follow your footsteps?
The most important skill that you can have is being adept at your instrument and know the music that you're playing, well. Also, being confident on stage, and on your instrument is really important. That comes with knowing your instrument and the music well. With these two skills, it'll be very easy for you to do your job.
Have you ever felt like you are ‘stuck’ and have hit a roadblock and how have you managed to overcome it?
Many times. In such a situation, the smart thing to do is to take a break. It's very important to take a break because it helps you clear your mind and you'll be able to come back to it with a new point of view. So, it's important to step away sometimes and get a bird's eye view of the situation. I've found that it helps you move along faster when you do that.
Which qualities do you think make a great musician?
Honesty towards the music, being very good at your instrument, being a good person and band member that is easy to work with, and being supportive towards your fellow musicians. All of these are very important qualities to possess as a musician. Being prepared, organized and reliable are also very important traits in a musician.
One last question! What do you think about the musikian.com mission to help musicians around the world make music a viable career and connect?
I think it's incredible because it connects musicians to one another, professionals and amateurs alike. It'll be a great place for musicians to set up their own business directly with their customers. All the fans and fellow musicians will have access to each other's content. And it's prime content - music, videos and lessons that you want to sell would be directly available for fans and fellow musicians to get access to, all in one place - Musikian!
