Bio of Brian Banks the producer of My Tour - written by himself

I'm a rock journalist, and now documentary maker, from the UK. Here's my story, the background of how I came to create 'My Tour'.

I come from the Badenoch & Strathspey region of the highlands of Scotland. I was born in Grantown-on-Spey, Morayshire, then spent my teenage years in the tiny village of Ballindalloch.

As a teenager I discovered my affection for rock music - it all started when at the age of fifteen I bought a copy of Nimrod by Green Day. Green Day sparked off something in me. My next purchase was Dookie, and then soon I found myself spending what little money I had on albums by anyone from Led Zeppelin to the Beatles to the Pixies to the Beach Boys to Rammstein. I was hooked.

After finishing high school, I went south to study journalism in northeast England. I began writing album review's for the college paper, as well as a music zine I created called Music Vice. I bought my first guitar and blew the rest of my student loan on going to gigs and buying albums - I lived on a diet of canned tuna or tomatoes mixed with pasta. I managed to somehow hook-up with a band from Durham who let me jam with them a few times.

By 2004 I graduated in Journalism and had dreams of starting a career as a rock journalist. I wanted to be on the road meeting bands and seeing shows. I contacted a few magazines and newspapers but all I ever seemed to hear back was:"Come back when you have more experience". But how can I get experience if they won't give me a chance? The age-old Catch 22 situation that many job-seekers have...

To combat the problem I decided to 'do it myself' and build my own experience. I returned home to north Scotland and launched the website MusicVice.com, taking my music zine online. Through Music Vice I began publishing album reviews and I was soon posting live gig reviews of local bands. The bands I met appreciated what I was doing as they hadn't been given much attention before by the local press, and I became part of the DIY scene with bands playing shows in any place they could. There wasn't much happening in such a rural area but I went to every gig that I could afford to go, the income I had as a forestry worker and as petrol station employee was spent on traveling to see bands. I focused strongly on unsigned bands in my area and beyond, and recieved a few dozen demo CD's from bands across Scotland who mailed me them for a review.

By 2006 I had ammassed four years worth of experience by writing for Music Vice. I had grown bored of my surroundings and had a burning desire to move to somewhere with a real vibrant music scene and major bands. I set my sights on North America, and in July 2006 left on a plane from London to Toronto I arrived with a suitcase, a guitar, a one year work visa, and a lot of hope.

The nightlife in Toronto was buzzing, with bands playing in bars and venues accross the city every night. I immersed myself in the sights and sounds of the city and began job hunting. At first I had there seemed to be lots of big opportunities within my grasp. I had job interviews for radio stations and big corporations. I was dissapointed to miss out on a few dream breaks, with the deciding factor being my temporary status in Canada. In the end I found work in retail and became a store manager at a mobile phone store in a major Toronto mall - not my dream day job by any means but I was glad to be able to go out to see concerts at night.

By May 2007, my work visa in Canada was coming near to an end. It was at this point I decided to create a documentary. I had thought for a while about the idea of making a documentary about bands in this decade, a view of the live music scene. I quickly set about using every minute of my spare time to begin planning the documentary. I had a small amount of savings that would help cover travel expenses.

At the end of May I flew off to Hollywood, California to meet the Dirty Americans for the start of 'My Tour'. The rest of the story is told in the documentary.

Brian Banks - Producer 'My Tour'