Interpol's Paul Banks Has 'Plenti' of Personalities

Interpol fans needn't worry that frontman Paul Banks' "other project," Julian Plenti, means a delay in the post post-punk band's fourth album. "We're doing it, we're working. I'm a very busy boy. I didn't put anything on hold to do this," Banks assures Spinner. Right now, however, with his Plenti debut, 'Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper,' released in August and a fall US and European tour imminent, Banks' focus is on Plenti, a solo effort that we presume is named for some great mysterious alter ego. "That's exactly it," Banks confirms. "I've always had a thing for alter egos. It's a name I've worked under for a long time.

"When I was in college I started enacting a few alter egos," the New York-based singer and guitarist explains. "This is the kind of neo-folk-rock alter ego." So does Banks have any more alter egos still lurking? "There are, yes, but I would not disclose them. They would just be alongside a title of a record some day."

So, can fans expect a heavy metal alter ego perhaps? "No, no. There's kind of an instrumental alter ego. In fact, when I shopped Julian Plenti, I shopped that too," he says. "It's a different genre, without vocals. I think vocal stuff is more accessible to people," he adds of why the Plenti project was greenlit over the instrumental one.

Banks feels that this split alter-personality recording, a sort of multiple-David Bowie syndrome, so to speak, is necessary because blending his lo-fi folk and techy electronic sides would confuse most listeners. For the time being, Banks went with simple. "For this round, I decided to keep it separate," he says. "The other stuff is on the shelf for the moment."