Where Yellow Turns
To Gold!
in the great music city
of Cleveland, Ohio
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Banana Links: |
About Banana Records
Banana Records released its first record in 1982, but
the birth of the label can be traced back to 1973, when the concept of a
record label was first developed as the recording subsidiary of Mab Zab
Ltd. At the direction of
Mab Zab’s all-powerful, all-knowing, but usually benevolent leader, The
Big Banana, Banana Records would be the commercial vehicle used to share
the musical creations of Mab Zab members with the world. The Big Banana bestowed the responsibility of
bringing this vision to reality to Mab Zab co-founder Jim Butterfield.
The fact that procrastination is a hallmark quality of Mab
Zabbers, it took Jim 9 years to finally release that first record, but
it was worth the wait. The Big Banana’s original vision for Banana Records
has remained consistent since 1982.
We specialize in Cleveland, Ohio-based artists, and musical
genres are varied, but lean heavily to garage rock, power pop, and
occasionally dance pop. The
name Banana Records is a tip-of-the-hat to the Beatles’ label, Apple. In
fact, Lennon & McCartney’s description of Apple as a “clearing-house
outlet” for many forms of artistic expression is what the Big Banana had
in mind. Under the steady
guidance of Jim Butterfield, Banana has emulated Apple’s dubious
reputation for corporate disorganization, inconsistency and
lack-of-continuity. That is
probably why Banana took a record release hiatus from 1990 until 2020. Mr. Butterfield has proven to be a true Captain of
Industry with a vision that only The Big Banana can truly appreciate.
A prime example of this vision was Jim’s decision in 1989 to
“pass” on an up-and-coming new Cleveland band called Nine Inch Nails.
His consistency can also be seen in the fact that Banana Records
has relocated its corporate headquarters 7 times since 1982, with
headquarters in:
. . . and finally back to Cleveland Though no records were released from 1990-2020, Banana’s music publishing arm, Mab Zab Music has continued to publish and promote songs by some of Cleveland’s best musicians. At the direction of The Big Banana, Mr. Butterfield
has been ordered to re-establish Banana Records as an active label, and
new releases are planned for 2021.
Stay tuned…..
All Contents © Mab Zab Ltd.,
2023. Content may be reproduced or shared with permission only.
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