Dean
A. Banks of platinimbus.com
has been involved in the music/video industry
for over 30 years. Dean began his music career
on the East Coast by recording his first album
in 1976 entitled "Money In The Bank". In 1977
he moved to Los Angeles, CA. and joined the band
Tony
Newton & Gravity as their keyboardist. During
his tenure in L.A., Dean performed, toured, or
recorded with such notables as Iron
Butterfly, Wild
Cherry, The
Coasters, The
Platters, The
Drifters, The Lorna
Wright Band (Gary
"Dream Weaver" Wright's sister), Pat
"Paraquat" Kelley (of legendary
L.A. radio station KMET), Frankie
Gaye (Marvin
Gaye's brother), and Slim & Trim, in which
he appeared in the MGM Motion Pictures release
"The
Penitentiary". After returning to Delaware
in 1989, he functioned as keyboardist, manager,
and producer for the SMI
Music label's recording artist Steve
Miceli, whose CD "A
Step Away" was released in 1992.
Dean's management experience was derived from
his work with Frank
Zappa's one time manager Bennett
Glotzer, where he worked on the radio promotion
staff. He learned a great deal about public relations
from his work with Jo
Ann Geffen's firm. In the past he managed
a former Motown
great Antonio
L. Newton (Tony
Williams Lifetime, Smokey
Robinson, G-Force
(w/Gary Moore), and Thelma
Houston). His past roster has included Miya
Williams, Suzanne
Oliver, Erin
DeVore, Mary
Archer, Steve
Miceli, Dawn
Platt of Tempting Fate, and co-management
with Rick Dougherty of Hannon Tramp.
Dean's production experience was gained as an
engineering intern with Bill Ravencraft (Marvin
Gaye, George Benson, Led Zeppelin) of Motown
Studios and Marvin
Gaye Studios, Hollywood, CA., and independent
producer Ken
Scott (The
Beatles, David
Bowie, Kansas).
Dean has worked as a producer/engineer with Antonio
L. Newton, The Light, Slim & Trim, Frankie
Gaye, Hugh Ferguson (former guitarist/Graham
Nash), Paraquat
Kelly, Kim
Fowley (The
Runaways, Helen
Reddy), Miya
Williams, Suzanne
Oliver, Erin
DeVore, Mary
Archer, Steve
Miceli, and Dawn
Platt of Tempting Fate.
Applying his studio experience, Dean has managed
five studios in the past; Wilshire Fine Arts,
Burbank Studio Center (which he also co-designed),
Sierra-Pacific Studios, Muse Studios, and Ohm
Studio. He has engineered with analog and digital
equipment at the following L.A. studios: Kendun
Recorders, RCA Studios, Cherokee
Studios, Motown Studios, and Devonshire Recorders.
Dean has also taught audio engineering technology
for a period of time at the University of Sound
Arts (USA) in Hollywood, CA. During Dean's tenure
at Muse Studios, he and Morris Wilson collaborated
on the dynamic song "Feel The Wind In Your Sails",
receiving high acclaim when the song was played
in the L.A. radio market.
All in all, Dean has performed at a high caliber
in the music industry. After relocating to Delaware
in 1989, Dean formed a local music magazine called
Music From the Ledge. During his tenure with the
magazine as Editor-in-Chief, Dean interviewed
such notables as Dio,
Extreme,
King's
X, and Kansas.
In the early 90's Dean was writing songs and soundtrack
material for the United Kingdom based company,
SMI
Music. During the late 90's, Dean designed
and built a full service audio/video complex called
the MultiMedia Mall, a consortium of graphics,
web design, and audio/video production. Applying
his understanding of multimedia production, Dean
started a parallel career path as a Webmaster
at the turn of the century. In 2002 he received
his certification as a Master
Certified Internet Webmaster Designer, part
of his career path for present and future music
marketing. Currently, Dean is the producer, engineer,
and webmaster for his company, banksnet.com.