Interview With Tank and the Bangas

The Last Balloon is being framed as the final chapter in your “Balloon” trilogy after Green Balloon and Red Balloon. What made this the right moment to close that chapter creatively?

It's definitely time to close it when you win your Grammy. It's time for the next chapter, we always thought about doing it in threes. Green, red, and the final one. If we kept it going, people would be looking for all types of balloons in my 60’s, I have to end it. It was never going to be a million balloons. This is the perfect time, especially since we are kind of starting over in our own unique way. It's time.

What song came to you the easiest in this project, and conversely, which song took the longest to come together?

“Is It Over” was the easiest. As soon as I walked into the studio, my producer, Austin Brown, was playing it. I had just got off a flight, but this song felt good instantly. I wrote it so fast. “Simon Says,” which we’re gonna put out later on, that was supposed to be on the album. Everyone has different ears and perspectives, so when I think it's done, but someone else doesn't. It had a lot of different parts.

How has your approach to writing evolved over time?

I used to always write alone; every now and then, I'd need a line from the guys to help me complete a rhyme or something. I used to be closed off to it because my writing essentially came from my poetry. I discovered that writing with guys, men get to the point a lot quicker. I will go around the merry-go-bush, and they will get to the point much quicker. As a writer, I appreciate it, and as a woman, I roll my eyes. That's what's changed, I've become more open.

What do you want audiences to take with them after a show?

I always want people to feel the way I felt when I saw the band that made me want to do this. I was at a concert to see Timothy Bloom, Janelle Monae, and the band Fun. I had never heard of the band Fun., when I saw them, they changed my world. There was a boy next to me singing his heart out. Anytime we are performing, we put out the energy like this is the first time someone is seeing us, and they need to feel inspired to chase their dream like I did mine. After I saw them, I was like I need to go do this and make other people feel how I feel right now.

Are there any tracks in particular from this record that you can’t wait to perform in a live setting?

There are too many, right now we perform three, that's fun. I'm excited to see how the crowd reacts to this next release, “No Invite”. I'm getting my curse on, which I don't normally do on tracks. I put a lot into my work, and we always dress cool.

Can you recall a performance that was special to you? What made this so memorable or impactful?

Tiny Desk changed our lives, it really, really did. We were so nervous to do it. They don't even have a microphone, so you can amplify your voice. So you really have to sing in front of a room of people and pray your voice isn't hoarse. Jimmy Fallon made me very nervous, too. Not because the whole world is watching, but because New Orleans is watching. You always want to impress New Orleans. It's like Philly or Chicago, it's a place that has birthed a lot of good talent.

What is the significance of the balloons?

I just think it sounded whimsical, like something in a fairytale land. It just sounded like something that floated. When we first started out, it was supposed to be one album, green balloon and disc two, red. One of my band members said, "Let's wait till the next album to give them red, let's make this a thing." It has been because the fans are always guessing what color it's going to be. I like that each color brought a different mood. When it was green, we were just starting, we were naive to money, we were green, didn't understand things and were whimsical and child-like. Then, it got more intense, we had more collaborations, and it was serious. With the last one, it was truly about just being free and letting go of many things.

If fans could only take one thing away from the project, what would you want that to be?

No skips! Listen straight through from the top to the bottom.