andrew veenstra-banning + Musician in Grand Rapids, MI

SEEKING

ABOUT

Classically raised violinist. Fiddle contests and festivals in middle school. Lots of string quartets in high school and college. Picked up acoustic guitar in high school, switched to electric in college. Still love acoustic, just don't own one. Theory and composition classes in high school, major in college. Lots of orchestras my whole life... 1st grade through my 2nd year of college. After that I took my violin to the college jazz band. Just bought a really nice bass I'm learning. Also play lots of cajon lately (I LOVE rhythm) and other percussion. My humble opinion is I have a lot of untapped potential as a recording musician. Really interested in writing/recording original music, open to co-writing too. I have logged a lot more hours as a classical musician than as a jazz musician, but... I am obsessed with jazz right now. And not the super complex, heady, "I like jazz I just don't get it" kind. I mean the kind Michael Leage of Snarky Puppy calls "music for the brain and the booty." I am aligned with jazz bass master Christian McBride who has said the thing about jazz is that people have to LIKE it lol. I like weird and edgy ideas (a lot) but my philosophy is to balance them with the "easy" and the "normal." I have a really good ear. Not perfect pitch, but relative pitch. I can play by ear and pick up a melody on violin no problem, usually on guitar too without much trouble. Anyways. Just rambling now, but I'll close with this. I feel like George Harrison as the Beatles were splitting up. Not because I'm so amazing on electric, but because I feel like I have a veritable reservoir of really strong content to develop, if the dam would only break. This is me trying to break the dam. I havent been in any bands or ensembles since 2016 so its been a sad hiatus for me. The last 7 years have been lonely and longing. But as the wise Mr. Harrison once said, "All Things Must Pass."

Screen name:

andrew veenstra-banning

Member since:

Mar 30 2023

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Committed

Years playing music:

25

Gigs played:

Over 100

Tend to practice:

2-3 times per week

Available to gig:

1 night a week

Most available:

Nights

Influences

Snarky Puppy
The Beatles
Turtle Island String Quartet
Vulfpeck
Paul Simon
Lake Street Dive
D'Angelo
Hiatus Kaiyote
Robert Glasper
Christian Scott atunde adjuah
Common
Questlove
Blake Mills
John Mayer
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Martin Sexton
Kassa Overall
Makaya McCraven
Dave Matthews Band
GoGo Penguin
MonoNeon
Ghost-Note
Lettuce
The Nth Power
Charlie Hunter
Regina Carter
Jean-Luc Ponty
...just a fraction!

Instrument experience:

Violin:

Expert

Fiddle:

Expert

Rhythm Guitar:

Advanced

Other Percussion:

Moderate

Ukulele:

Moderate

EQUIPMENT

Violin, piezo violin pickup, floor pedal preamp w/ chorus, reverb, and looping for acoustic instruments (guitar, violin, my tenor ukulele), Godin Exit-22 electric guitar, Line6 Spider III guitar amp, TC Electronics Ditto looper pedal, Godin A4 fretless bass guitar, Casio CDP-130 electric keyboard, Schlagwerk macassar cajon, Schlagwerk Heckstick1 cajon attachment (wood clap & jingles), Schlagwerk cabasa cajon attachment, Latin Percussion jingles cajon attachment, LP hollow cutaway clave, Meinl percussion cajon shakers, tamborine, timbrel, glockenspiel, bendo nut shaker, wooden frog guiro, LP bongo cajon, LP castanet cajon attachment, LP brushes for cajon

MUSIC