Meet Damon Banks

We recently connected with Damon Banks and have shared our conversation below.

Damon, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

That’s a concept that I’m growing into, and it unfolds everyday. Maturing has its benefits. At my core, I feel that my purpose (and all of our purposes) is to use this dimension or “frequency” to express various aspects of love, passion, humanity, generosity, joy which are all interchangeable with the source energy many folks refer to as “The Creator” or “God”. Because we are all endowed with individual gifts, talents, abilities – that always overlap on some level – we have a golden opportunity to create the perfect circumstances for ourselves with which to evolve. Everyone’s individual journey, and what we’re here to perfect differs from person to person, but the interconnectedness with each other, and all life forms becomes clearer and clearer if you take the time to tune in and listen to your inner voice(s) As a creative who specializes in music and dabbles in other storytelling disciplines, I’m clear that PART of my purpose is to utilize my abilities for the greater good, whether it’s to simply create beautiful sounds that heal or create a combination of beautiful (and not-so-beautiful sounds) plus visual art, and movement, and narrative to tell more complex stories, and convey ideas that are multi-dimensional in nature.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Right now, I’m focused on activities that stimulate my soul and that I am the most passionate about. Because I have several interests, i tend to break it down this way: What do I want to get up everyday working on that gives me the most pleasure and joy ? As you evolve, those things evolve as well. I think the key is to be completely “in the moment” so that your activities are a true reflection of where you regardless of issues surrounding income, sustainability and quality of life. I’m finding that once you fully commit to your passions, those issues tend to resolve themselves by being patient, being smart and having trust in your guidance. My passions (at the moment) revolve around creating the music I am the most passionate about, playing my instrument in situations that are the most stimulating to me and to share, collaborate and teach all of these elements that I love to explore, and learn more about.

My website always has a running list of current events and activities, bu you’ll notice that I spent a good part of my professional life as a freelance bassist, who has been open minded and curious enough to attract a variety of playing situations that cut across many different genres and approaches to music. That’s still a part of me, but I’m interested in focusing on collaborative art where my role goes beyond bass playing, and utilizes my role as a composer, storyteller and conceptualizer. For instance, aside from the ensembles I lead or co-lead I’m playing with 4 groups under the umbrella of the organization “Brooklyn Raga Massive”. In that instance, I have the opportunity to learn and explore North and South Indian, Raga-based music as a participant – therefore making my involvement alone a “Fusion” or “Mash-Up” concept from its inception. I’m very passionate about these projects, thankful for the beautiful friendships with the participants, and grateful for the opportunity to work and learn by “doing”.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I always associate my “qualities” with what I may have brought with me when I got here, and the values that were instilled in me through my parents. My parents were people of high morals and strong principles, as well as being very progressive and forward leaning. I like to think I absorbed their compassion, generosity, sense of justice and strong work ethic. How that relates to the music business and education is interesting because I think that my quality of being open-minded, curious and willing to take risks undoubtedly led me to the professional situations that i’ve encountered through the years. I love a LOT of things, and at different times felt the need to go and experience them, I don’t want to minimize the blessing of having an education. My parents were determined to get me through college, and not only did I learn a lot in school – the experience itself is something that remains impactful throughout my life. I can only advise folks early in their journey to lean into their passions 100%, trust the affiliations and relationships that uplift you, be willing to work hard and trust that all of the preparation and skill building will not have been in vain.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

Surround me with love, support, inspiration and belief. Creating a safe, loving, nurturing and supportive environment for your children is probably the most important task any parent has to accomplish.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.damonbanks.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deeceebanks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/damon.banks.399
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damon-banks-a516991a/

Image Credits

Kevin Allen
Anja Matthes
Scott Friedlander
Adrien Tillman