Banastre Tarleton is the second son of a US Navy Petty Officer and World War II Australian war bride. His early years were spent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Mexico, Missouri. When he was ten the family finally decided to settle in Missouri, in part, to be near the father’s parents, who helped raise Banastre and his brother.
Banastre planned a career in the military but a motorcycle accident during his high school senior year landed him in the hospital with a serious knee injury. While recovering, he watched The Dave Clark Five and The Kinks perform on national television and, as they say, the rest is history.
He cut his rock n’ roll teeth with Missouri favorites The Koxmen and Pandora’s Box, and then went on to form Triphammer, a hard rock powerhouse complete with make up, platform boots, and a stage show a la Alice Cooper and KISS. Triphammer won critical acclaim with “Panzer President,” a single about Nixon and the Watergate Scandal, but disbanded after six years of extreme decibel levels and Seventies-style mayhem.
Taking the advice of a friend in the business, Banastre started Banastre Tarleton Band as a vehicle for his songwriting. He now has 28 self-produced releases on his own label, Green Horse, and four more on Caprice International, an Indie company founded by former Bill Haley the Comets keyboardist, Joey Welz. BT’s music has been included on several original compilation projects: “KSHE – Seeds Vol. 2,” “KFMZ – Missouri’s Best,” NetShows/Media Factory Record's “Unique Compilation Series,” Mild2Wild’s “Doin’ It American Style,” and Kid Antrim Music’s "2006 CD Rock Compilation.” His 80’s power pop single, “She’s My Favorite Girl”, reached the Billboard Top 40 charts. In addition – “Electric Women” (Midwest College Radio), “Cruisin” (Cash Box/Indie Focus), “Attack Iraq,” (1 Missouri MP3.com) and “Eye for an Eye” (1 in Costa Rica) – have all received substantial airplay.
A loyal and ever-growing fan base has been established from years of touring throughout the United States and Canada. He has headlined shows from Las Vegas to Daytona Beach and been the opening act for Janis Joplin (he was fresh out of high school), Rush, The Canned Heat, Mel and Tim, Missouri, The Guess Who, Uriah Heep, The Ventures, Twisted Sister, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Head East, The Rascals, and Molly Hatchet.
Banastre Tarleton is currently performing a vintage keyboard show as a solo artist. On some nights he can be seen “rocking the house” with bassist Todd Russell and guitar-ace Noah Sunshine Spaeder in the latest version of BTB. Banastre also sings and plays acoustic guitar and foot-powered tambourine with former BTB-guitarist Dave McGowan in a popular duo called Oatmeal for the Foxhounds. His musical therapy project, All You Need Is Love, has entertained patients and staff at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.; Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas; and UMMC Children’s Hospital at the University of Missouri in Columbia. All You Need Is Love participates in many worthwhile events, including the Jerry Lewis Telethons, Kinko’s Kid’s Day, and Burns Recovered Camps. Banastre Tarleton is alive and well and still going strong with a musical career that has spanned over three decades.
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