What started as a group of five friends “jamming in their dorms” has turned into a local band set to play its first outside gig at the Tourist Trap Saturday, Feb. 26. 

My Green Bananas is an Emerson band of first-years who performed at Index Magazine’s and Five Cent Sound’s launch parties last semester. Their performances gained traction on YouTube, which led to an offer to perform a live show on Feb. 26 at The Tourist Trap in Allston. 

“Veronica from Rosewater Records reached out to us and asked us to play and sent us some demos, so she could fit us into a lineup that would work for us,” co-singer and co-writer Kayla Hardy said.

Attendees can expect a new song, as well as songs previously performed by the band, totaling up to five original songs. Other performers include Paper Lady, Babehoven, and Divine Sweater.  

My Green Bananas is made up of co-singers and songwriters Belle Fortebuono and Kayla Hardy, guitarist David Staats, bassist Taryn Noonan, and drummer Kaveh Hodjat.

Staats, Fortebuono, and Hardy bonded over music when they met at the start of the fall semester this year. One night, they booked a rehearsal room, wrote songs that “would never see the light of day,” and eventually came up with the idea to start their own band. They began looking for people to play bass and drums and reached out to Noonan and Hodjat. 

The name My Green Bananas was inspired by a funny interaction between Staats and Noonan.

“I had just come back [to my dorm] from the dining hall carrying three bananas. David was like, ‘Why do you have green bananas?’ And then I was just like, ‘they’re mine.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh my God, my green bananas,'” Noonan said.

Fortebuono, Hardy, and Hodjat have already released their own music as solo artists prior to starting My Green Bananas. They each have their own individual sounds and aesthetics, but as a band, they work towards a collective vision.

“Adding in Taryn and David and Kaveh and having other people working on a project really livens the music,” Hardy said. “With everyone together, it makes it completely different.”

Staats echoed Hardy’s feelings.

“You’re bringing little different pieces of the same puzzle together,” Staats said. “It’s great because it’s like a bunch of different sounds mashed together.”

The band has not officially released music yet because instruments and recording equipment are not easily accessible at Emerson, but Fortebuono and Hardy have been consistently writing music together.

“Our goal right now is just to play as many live shows as we can and try and just gain traction that way and then when we find the resources to record something that we are really proud of then we will have music out as soon as we can,” Hardy said. 

Having performed for Index Magazine’s FW 21 Issue Launch Party last November and Five Cent Sound’s Fall 2021 Launch Party, My Green Bananas said the shows allowed the band to gain more recognition and positive feedback. 

The group also said their friends’ positive energy and presence during performances have also given them more attention.

“I think part of the reason that people have been very responsive to the band so far is that our friends are super supportive and almost like an extension of the band in and of itself,” Hardy said. “They just bring the best energy to the crowd, and I think they really get people excited because they’re excited to see us.”