Jillian Banks, better known simply Banks, released III, in July and to help support her latest album, the singer-songwriter visited Rolling Stone to chat about her first experiences: her first time writing a song, her first time seeing her musical impact, and her first time going on tour, among others.
“I think it was in London at Notting Hill Arts Club,” she said of her first time performing live. “I had such bad stage fright when I first started. I couldn’t face the audience. I would turn to the back, and everyone would be like, ‘Turn around!’ And I’d be like, ‘No…’”
Banks also talked about her experiences with writing poetry, and how it led to her interest in crafting songs and sonic peculiarities. “When I write a sentence that has a certain flow to it, it almost sounds like a riddle. Like in [my song] ‘The Fall’: ‘Still tripping to slip in your own dirty fingers to dip in the chicken now.’ I like how it kind of sounds like a tongue twister. I like that type of stuff, and I always have, even when I was younger. I’ve been interested in how, sonically, words come out.”
III marks Banks’ first album since 2016’s The Altar and her third LP in total. Banks is currently on a lengthy North American tour that opens September 3rd in Toronto and concludes October 19th in Miami.