He plays the sax, and he’s damned good at it, too.
He doesn’t believe so, though, because Jon Banco sees himself only as an accent to others. Ya know, the unexpected twist like bacon in a Blood Mary and an amenity most bands don’t feature.
People sure do love their bacon, though, right?
But Banco is much more than just a musical complement. He’s a dedicated daddy, a regular personality on The Watchdog (98.1 FM WKKX and 97.7 FM WVLY), and the gigmaster on which a plethora of local musicians depend.
Jon can still play the classics, too, and just maybe fans in the Upper Ohio Valley can convince him to offer his own performance on Facebook Live similar to what the New Age Adenas, Tim Ullom, Gregg Molnar, Jeff “Smokedaddy” Tappe, and MSM have the past few weeks.
It’s another Friday with no gigs for you or any other local musicians. How weird does it feel not to be playing in public for the past month?
My situation differs from that of someone who supplements their income with entertainment. With performing music, booking music, and providing Trivia it is in fact my livelihood. After doing that week in and week out for almost 20 years. In some ways this feels like a break. As with any other job there are certain aspects that become monotonous over time. With that being said, it also leaves me with a profound void of purpose when I step away from it for too long. I absolutely love what I do and would have it no other way. It is rare in life to figure out what you are good at and even more rare to be able to make a living doing that. After all this I will never take it for granted. At the end of the day I am still physically able to play regardless if there’s anybody around to hear me. And that will have to do for a little while at least.
What have been the reactions offered to you by those musicians?
The reactions have been relatively mild. The majority of those who perform in this area have a main source of income that is not related to performing. So financially it is not as pressing of an issue. However I hear the passion in their voices when they speak of getting back to playing. They truly love to entertain the people they grew up with, went to school with, work and live with in this area. It’s a strong connection they feel, and I believe they miss it when it is cut.
What are your thoughts about the musicians doing performances on Facebook Live?
I love it! Though I spend very little time involving myself on a personal level with social media, I completely see the benefits of performing both to the performer and to the audience in a time like this. It keeps that connection alive between viewer and performer. Also it helps keep us sane and reminds us of what we admire about our culture.
Have you seen people social distancing? If not, have you said anything to them? What was their reaction?
At first no, but obviously neither was I if I was able to witness it. I feel as time went on everybody begrudgingly fell into line. I haven’t had anyone describe a situation yet as to where I felt inclined to comment. It’s a first for everyone.
How long after the case confirmations return to zero do you believe it will take before we’ll see live music in a packed bar again?
I AM NOT A SCIENTIST! Just wanted to get that out of the way.
My personal opinion from what I’ve been observing. I could see smaller venues up and running with music by the beginning of May. Larger venues might hold off due to guidelines set regarding crowd sizes. Maybe June. Even larger outdoor events would to me be the big question. I could see the possibility of the majority of those being postponed until July, August, or even September depending on if there is a resurgence during the summer. A slow timed transition would probably be the best way to go about it. In the end it would probably also be the quickest route.
It’s hard to see that when your climbing up your walls.
