PROFILE
Isabelle Banos
By Michael Raine
Growing up in the suburbs of Montreal , Isabelle Banos felt like the “ weird artsy kid ,” but her lifelong artistic passions are paying off . She plays in one of Canada ’ s coolest indie pop bands , Caveboy , has earned a lot of respect as a producer and engineer , and recently opened her own studio , Chez Ballsy , in her home city .
“ I was a pretty active kid , I loved using my imagination and getting creative . I put on a lot of ‘ plays ’ for my parents – poor them ,” she laughs . “ I joined theatre classes at 12 and was on my school ’ s improv team . My childhood dream was to be on SNL ! I always kinda felt like the weird artsy kid growing up , since I didn ’ t really have any family or friends that were into any of that stuff . That ’ s why meeting my Caveboy bandmates , [ Lana Cooney and Michelle Bensimon ,] was such a big deal . I finally found ‘ my people ’ and an artform that we could all connect through .”
Banos remembers picking up her dad ’ s classical guitar as a kid and make-believing being a rockstar , but that goofing around quickly turned into real skills . “ I would try to copy famous songs by ear and then once I felt comfortable enough , started putting my own chord progressions and melodies together . From there I never really stopped . I kept learning and playing along to my favourite songs , tried to write originals , and searched for other kids to jam with . When I got my first retail job , I spent most of my money on gear . I got my first laptop with GarageBand and my first synth , a microKORG , and everything exploded from there . I spent hours teaching myself how to record and produce music . I became obsessed with that world and still am now .”
In her early-20s , Banos was playing local gigs and competing in some battle-of-the-bands-type competitions , but the formation of Caveboy in 2015 was the real turning point . In Cooney and Bensimon , Banos found friends and bandmates who were on the same page as her and ready to take it seriously . While the three of them agreed to go “ all in ” on Caveboy , Banos also made much-needed money by taking on recording , engineering , and production gigs through freelance websites .
“ After a few years of non-stop hard work , both the band and my home studio gigs really started to take off , allowing both of my passions to expand and evolve ,” Banos says . “ As a band we ’ ve toured across the country , played some of our favourite festivals , had our music synced in awesome TV shows and movies , made a record that we ’ re deeply proud of , and connected with amazing fans from all over the world . As a producer , I ’ ve opened my own studio space in Montreal , been named among the top emerging female producers in the country by Music Publishers Canada , worked with LANDR Audio as a featured educator on their YouTube channel , and collaborated with some incredible emerging talent on their debut singles .”
With the new ( and fantastically named ) Chez Ballsy studio , Banos worked like mad in the leadup to its April 2021 opening , doing everything from painting to assembling gear and hanging acoustic treatments , to learning all the ins and outs of running a business . “ But I ’ m loving it ! I ’ m so proud and excited to have this space that I can welcome collaborators into . I really want this studio to be a welcoming , inclusive , and supportive space for women and gender minorities in the music industry . I ’ m looking forward to putting together a series of workshops on the technical aspects of music production to help empower this awesome community .”
And while the pandemic has had a devasting impact on musicians and studios alike , it did have a silver lining for Banos — it provided time to re-evaluate and find better strategies for balancing art , work , and life . “ As an emerging artist and producer , I went through years of financial instability . I was working 40 to 60 hours a week on music while barely making rent month-to-month . I was exhausted and stressed almost all of the time , and felt like I had plateaued creatively ,” she reveals . Thanks to the forced break , she explains , “ I stopped taking on gigs that I dreaded working on , I concentrated on my professional development by learning and practicing new skills , and was eventually able to start charging more competitive rates . It took a lot of risks , effort , and dedication , and I know there will still be the ups and downs of gig life , but I feel a lot happier and healthier now .”
Now , when she makes time away from work , Banos enjoys hanging out with her cat , Hoyt , and playing board games with friends . “ Yes , I ’ m the nerdy friend with the board game collection ,” she jokes . “ My ultimate favourite thing to do is hang out with my two awesome nieces who are still at an age where they think I ’ m really cool , so I ’ m going to desperately latch onto that for as long as I can .”
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Professional Sound .
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