Paul Banks

During the mid-'90s, Paul Banks adopted the alias Julian Plenti to perform as an acoustic solo artist. Around that time, he joined Interpol. As the group worked its way from 8-track demos to signing with Matador Records, Banks continued to write and perform his solo material, but took a sabbatical from it as Interpol's fame and time commitments grew. Banks later revisited the Julian Plenti material and recorded Julian Plenti Is Skyscraper, which arrived in summer 2009. In 2012, Banks returned to his solo career, issuing the Julian Plenti Lives EP -- which featured covers of songs by J Dilla and Frank Sinatra -- under his own name that June and following it with the simply named Banks album that October. ~ Heather Phares