Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Banned

For today's second post, let's tackle this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we continue our monthly spotlighting of defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands, in order to look back on their runs and see what they accomplished & where they went! This month, our rotation brought us to the Sault Michigan area, and this month's randomly selected choice was a very prominent band throughout the 2010s that only recently confirmed their demise, so here's what you should know!
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Banned

Genre: Classic/Hard Rock/Country

Hometown: Kinross, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics)

Alex Traynor (Tarnished), vocals/guitar
Wayne Lawrence (Bad Side), bass
Don Traynor, drums/vocals

Mike Straw, vocals/keyboard
Tara Starr, vocals
Alex Schrovenwever (Steelhead), guitar/bass/vocals
Denny Smith (Thieves In The Night), guitar 
Steve Jacobus, bass
Jim Pentland, bass
 
Audio/Video: Banned never released any studio material, but they did play select original songs in at least their early concerts, as documented by Alex's sister/Don's daughter Ashley's YouTube channel, including such original songs as "Cocaine Riot", "Plaid Girl", and "Yoopers Got Talent" that didn't survive to Alex's later solo project. Ashley's & Banned's own YouTube channels are the best sources for live cover videos from their active run, alongside Banned's Facebook page, though scattered other videos are extant online. However, note that no videos from 2017-2019 were ever publically posted by Banned, and certain 2013-era videos have long since been taken down. Here's Banned covering Nirvana's "Come As You Are" in 2016!

Info/Analysis: Effectively launched by January 2011 when an early lineup played at a talent show, Banned was formed by the father/son duo of Don and Alex Traynor, who were the group's only constant members throughout their 8 year run, with future Steelhead frontman Alex Schrovenwever a common sight in their early years. The band saw frequent lineup upheaval from 2012-2014, including expanding to a quintet for a few spells, as well as a country-centric period in 2013 when Tara Starr was their lead vocalist, before settling on their final trio incarnation. Frequently seen via "jobs" at regional nightclubs, community events, and battles of the bands, the Traynors & company would later make their name with occasional gigs outside of the E.U.P., while also notably playing eight times annually at The Sugar Island Music Festival. Despite Alex's move to Mount Pleasant in late 2017, Banned continued playing regularly through a March 2019 show in Grand Marais, before amicably dissolving that summer.

Over their eight years together, Banned delivered a solid sound that could appeal to a wide audience while also delivering a harder edge, and considering that Alex was just 16 when Banned launched, his musical growth over that time was always welcome to see! I was never on board with their late-era marketing that only focused on Alex, and the 2013 country run was tricky to maneuver on The Sault Metal Scene, but they always had a strong cast of musicians on hand for their often exceedingly frequent gigs, and their videos will have ample proof of that. Don't miss Alex's new band Tarnished and/or his solo project to hear what he's been up to as of late!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band profile! Next month, our rotation will bring us back to Sault Ontario, but as the first band we randomly selected doesn't have enough surviving information to warrant a single profile, we randomly picked on more to fill it out. Ironically, and in a coincidence I did not plan in advance (I use a random number generator!), we'll be looking at two linked black metal projects from the mid-2010s, namely Abhorrent Forest & Dullahan! Look for these on or around September 10th, and for more news next week! Thanks everyone!