Vacant Head Space
Vacluse Plantation, St. Thomas, Barbados
231-6688 • 233-8906
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hey you. It’s been a while, but I’ve got something here that will hopefully make it well worth the wait. Everything you need to know about Vacant Head Space, plus ... everything you don’t! It’s going to be rad. Let’s go.
It’s 2008. We are at guitar lessons. A rather gregarious and effervescent young bloke by the name Rahn Phillips meets the laid-back, talker-of-much-tripe Jonathan Banfield here. Now, at the Barbados Community College, along with Jonathan’s sister, the quite cute and crisp personality that is Paige Banfield, they will meet the shy but discerning spirit of Philip Norville. He would later introduce them to the charming and comical Craig Haniff. And together these five distinct and dynamic characters would form an indie rock band called Tunda Lizards! Make that Talking Tree!! Make that Vacant Head Space!!!
They sound like super heroes, don’t they? If so they are among the flattered few playing their part in rescuing the local rock scene from total annihilation one gig at a time. Armed with their alternative form of music and dangerous amounts of talent to administer it affectively, they are a driven and formidable force against genre homogeneity here on this little rock called Barbados.
But now, back to the story.
We are at Vacluse Plantation. The sound of a female-fronted Franz Ferdinand permeates the walls down below. Over one full year is passing. It is a full year filled with Jonathan’s mixed drinks (and drinking), Paige’s cooking (Puttanesca anyone?), Craig’s Christmas references in mid-July, Philip’s baking (perhaps cheesecake) and Rahn’s impersonations of just about everyone and everything, except maybe Shock from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is a year filled with friendship, family and music, of forging close-knit bonds that would shape their stage presence, performance and musicianship in the many years to come.
Paige sings, her lead vocals pretty, through her Shure microphone. Jonathan strums a rhythm on his Fender electric guitar, the brand of the band. Rahn’s squeals a lead as Craig’s bass drops a line. Philip’s Tama drums pulses and pound as his Zildjian cymbals clash and crash. Kirk Banfield, the father of the Banfield siblings and manager of the band, stands by, a stalwart source of support and the heart of the operation.
“You could do this, you could do this”, he says, and indeed, they can.
And indeed, they do. They reach five-hundred and fifty plus fans across the virtual interwebs on their Facebook page; it is a throng which grows on average by 15 fans a day. They gather a crowd of seventy-five to one hundred and ninety people at their shows, and join forces to gig with other outstanding bands; bands like Psilos, Standing Penance, South 11 and Fighting Traffic. They feature in local newspapers for their Just Kidding and Uwi Cavehill Woodstock gigs and on this very blog for their steady Monday Nights gigs at Ship Inn. They release five plus originals for their upcoming demo, which will be included in their pending press kit. It is for that this biography is written.
It’s 2010. We are here. The rather gregarious and effervescent young bloke by the name Rahn Phillips is still short-circuiting beside the laid-back, head banging, talker-of-much-tripe Jonathan Banfield. Now, on the stage of The Ship Inn, in the rock scene of Barbados, along with other featured artists at their gigs, the quite cute and crisp personality that is Paige Banfield, thrills and twirls as the shy and discerning spirit of Philip Norville tells their story behind the blur of his drumsticks. Craig rocks out with them, charming crowds and cracking them like eggs with his bass and with his wit. But it is the welding and blending of their personalities that create the chemistry of the band, and this is the real crowd-pleaser.
“VHS is far more than just a bunch of random kid musicians getting together and hoping it works”, Craig says. “History and the most successful bands make themselves, and we are enjoying what we do.”
The members of Vacant Head Space are so close that they all call the Banfield house their home and consider themselves family and friends. They are so close they all trash-talk each other every opportunity they can get. They define themselves as a rock band trying to survive in a pop world and not sell out; as a rock band bringing rock back and wanting their original music to get the appreciation they know it’s due.
I cannot look into the future and tell you their success reader, but I do know they have plans for it. I do know they plan to go as far as they can. I do know they plan on taking over the world. Vacant Head Space has featured at the George Washington House, the FirstCaribbean Mobile Banking Launch, Club Extreme, Crystal Waters and TGIF. They are certain to go, and to feature at, many more places to come. Do not tell these guys that Barbados is the limit, when people have been to Lollapalooza and back again.
Because they will get there, saving your rock scenes, one gig at a time.
Knicky Laurel,
Metal Faerie
#60, 11th Avenue, Wanstead Drive, Cave Hill, St Michael, Barbados.
424-4203 • 830-5075
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