Banastre.com

Banastre Tarleton


Banastre Tarleton is the second son of a U.S. Navy Petty Officer and World War II Australian war-bride. His early years were spent in Philadelphia, PA. and Mexico, Missouri. When he was ten, the family finally decided to settle in Missouri, in part, to be near the father's parents who helped raise Banastre and his brother.

Banastre planned a career in the military but a motorcycle accident during his high-school senior year landed him in the hospital with a serious knee injury. While recovering, he watched The Dave Clark Five and The Kinks perform on national television and, as they say, the rest is history.

He cut his rock 'n roll teeth with Missouri favorites The Koxmen and Pandora's Box, and then went on to form Triphammer, a hard rock powerhouse complete with makeup, platform boots, and a stage show a la Alice Cooper and KISS. Triphammer won critical acclaim with "Panzer President," a single about Nixon and the Watergate Scandal, but disbanded after six years of extreme decibel levels and Seventies-style mayhem.

Taking the advice of a friend in the business, Banastre started Banastre Tarleton Band as a vehicle for his songwriting. He now has 40 self-produced releases on his own label, Green Horse, and four more on Caprice International, an Indie company founded by former Bill Haley & The Comets keyboardist, Joey Welz. Banastre's music has been included on several original compilation projects: KSHE's "Seeds Vol. 2," KFMZ's "Missouri's Best," NetShows/Media Factory Record's "Unique Compilation Series," Mild2Wild's "Doin' It American Style," and Kid Antrim Music's "2006 CD Rock Compilation." Many of Banastre's songs have received substantial airplay, including "Electric Women" (FM College Radio), "Cruisin" (Cash Box/Indie Focus), "Attack Iraq," (#1 Missouri MP3.com) and "Eye for an Eye" (#1 in Costa Rica). His 80's power pop single "She's My Favorite Girl" was a Top 40 hit in the Midwest. Chuck Eddy of Billboard/Rolling Stone fame listed BTB's "Huzzah Greatest Hits" #19 in his Top 50 Albums of 2008. Banastre's bluegrass ditty "Centerville, Ia. USA" was a finalist in the 2009 International Acoustic Music Awards and in August 2010 "I'll Be Alone," a track from BTB's "Fire & Sword" CD, was charted at #63 by The International Association of Independent Recording Artists. In 2011-12 "She's My Favorite Girl" returned to the spotlight with regional airplay on selected stations. And thanks to PBS DJ John Lofton (KOPN-Columbia, MO) BTs classical instrumental, "The Enchantress," has become an international hit..

A loyal and ever-growing fan-base has been established from years of touring throughout the United States and Canada. He has headlined shows from Las Vegas to Daytona Beach and has been the opening act for Janis Joplin (he was fresh out of high school), Rush, The Canned Heat, Mel and Tim, Missouri, Guess Who, Uriah Heep, The Ventures, Twisted Sister, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Head East, The Rascals, and Molly Hatchet.

Banastre Tarleton is currently performing a vintage keyboard show as a solo artist. On some nights he can be seen "rocking the house" with guitarists Charles Todd Russell and Gary Puff, bassist Nancy Dietz, and a drum machine named Jack Beatoffski in the latest incarnation of BTB. Banastre also sings and plays acoustic guitar with axeman extraordinaire Randy Beeman in a popular duo called Oatmeal for the Foxhounds. His musical therapy project, A Musical History of Rock, Country, and The Blues (aka All You Need Is Love), has entertained patients and staff nationwide, including St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee; Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas; and UMMC Children's Hospital at the Univ. of Missouri in Columbia. Banastre Tarleton is alive and well and still going strong with a musical career that has spanned over three decades.

This website (c) 2005, 2006 by Banastre Tarleton and Timothy Rowland