Typing Musicians - Paul Banks (Interpol)
Looking to type the frontman of Interpol, the iconic leaders of the Post-Punk Revival scene. I've got plenty of interview footage. We'll keep it simple and start with just him. I'm pretty confident I know the type of at least one of the other founding members (Carlos), and Daniel and Sam have less interview footage than Paul, so we'll stick with one for now and see how the thread goes.
For starters, Paul seems like an obvious Introvert in any interview I've ever seen. His hobbies outside of music include: Boxing, Surfing, Painting, Theater (he was involved in theater productions from a young age, and took part in a musical, apparently), he has a degree in literature and has worked for magazines prior to forming the band, and has worked as a DJ. When asked why he did not pursue something like literature or painting as an occupation he responded: "Hmm - how do I put this without sounding really cynical? I love to paint and I love to write, but although I was raised in a family full of music appreciation, we are not professional artists, and the idea for me of being an adult means making a living." He has no interest in pursuing fields that don't pay well, and although music is largely pirated now, Interpol is a highly successful bands that charts very high in most developed countries, and tours the world constantly, so they're pretty comfortable financially. Also, he dates a supermodel lol
With regards to band names, art, lyrics, marketing, and other aesthetic mediums and promotion, his stance is that the most important thing is that things need to be "cool". More on this: "I mean, I'm attracted to the idea of painting as people don't steal paintings but they do steal music. So there's almost an argument to be made that it will be a great idea for me to stop music altogether and try to get some more painting, but then I know it would just be a fluke if I made a lot of money, because that would simply be a matter of getting trendy at some point, not because I'm a better painter than somebody else if my work is suddenly considered cool… and then someone would pay me a bunch of money for a couple of months till I stop being cool. But I do think about that as a possibility. I don't think I'm there as a painter to be able to do that yet, but maybe in some years. So I guess to answer your question, if I did that I would do it in a serious fashion in order to make money, as that's still an art form people pay for." His hobbies and interests are very aesthetic (painting, music videos, his approach to marketing) and physical (boxing and surfing, among any others I've not yet found), and making money and producing "cool" products is his focus. Across many interviews he accentuates that the band is comprised of "individuals" each bringing their own individual influences into the sound, and that the band cannot be reduced to one person or one style. The band is also conveyed as being democratic in the nature of its writing process.
My working theory after years of being crazy for the band and following their work is Paul is probably an ESI. I'll list some interviews below and can add more if the thread requires it.
In early years:
More early stuff (Paul is the soft spoken blonde):
On Paul's experience growing up and moving around (there are multiple parts to this if You want more context, just follow through):
More on Paul's musical background and his attitude approaching instruments:
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