LHMWebzine.com Interview with AJ aka CC Banana

AJ aka C.C. Banana

The Man, The Myth, The Banana...

Quite some time ago I received a promotional e-mail from someone called C.C. Banana and I read it thinking what the #*@!, so I clicked on the link and began to surf the site. What I found was beyond ludicrous, the tears were flowing down my face I was laughing so hard. So I went with my instincts and contacted C.C. aka AJ and was immediately struck by the man beneath the yellow peel. I found out that AJ is an extremely gifted entertainer and one of the most down-to-earth people I have had the pleasure to interview. So folks, read on and enjoy the adventures of AJ and C.C. Banana, the one and only rock & roll fruit...

AJ, you have stated that you are an entertainer. Is that because you have so many talents that it's just easier to summarize, or do you feel that it's simply the best description of what you do?

I tend to refer to myself as an entertainer because I'm a jack-of-all-trades yet master of few. Actor, writer, pop culture wunderkind -- they're all mixed in there somewhere. And let's not forget my delightful ability to touch my tongue to my nose. All are dubious distinctions that don't fit neatly into any one category, hence the generalization. To paraphrase Donny and Marie, I'm a little bit comedy and a little bit rock & roll!

If the government told you tomorrow that there was going to be a limit placed on multi-talented entertainers and that you could only utilize one talent, which one would you select and why?

I would choose my delightful ability to touch my tongue to my nose, since that's the only way I'd be able retain some semblance of individuality in such a crazy totalitarian society. Plus, chicks dig it.

One of your claims to fame is being the rock & roll fruit C.C. Banana, a tribute to C.C. DeVille of Poison. How did the fruit idea come into play?

Truth be told, the whole cockamamie idea came about simply because I happened to have a banana costume with me the day I attended a Poison concert. One of the ways in which I make my living is by delivering singing telegrams, and as such you can usually find at least one outlandish costume in the back seat of my car. From cartoon characters to superheroes to barnyard animals, all have been crammed back there at one time or another.

On the day in question a friend and I were driving to the concert and discussing all things Poison, when somewhere along the way I happened upon the following improbable notion:

"Hey, wouldn't it be funny if I wore the banana suit to the Poison concert?"

One of the topics du jour had been an unusual story appearing on the Metal Sludge website about C.C. DeVille wearing a sandwich board and charging fans money for his autograph! It was at this point that I came up with my next idea of questionable merit:

"Hey, wouldn't it be even funnier if the banana had a sign, charging for his autograph and pictures and stuff?"

And that's when it all clicked. The voice and the character just fell into place after that. Originally we'd hoped to simply walk around the venue and annoy people with our banana shenanigans. We had no idea that our behavior would eventually attract the attention of Poison's crack security force, let alone be our ticket to meeting C.C. and the band! Looking back, it was probably one of
the dopiest things I've ever done.

And you can bet that I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Can you please share with us your favorite C.C. Banana rock & roll story?

It's so hard to pick a favorite when they've all been so ridiculous!

The aforementioned original adventure will always hold a special place in my heart, simply because I can't believe we had the balls to pull it off! But I also really enjoyed ambushing Kiss in the guise of "Ace Peeley, the Psycho Citrus!"

Click here to read more about C.C. and Kiss...

And I had a grand old time performing banana stand-up with comedian Craig Gass of The Howard Stern Show!

Click here to read more about C.C. and Craig...

I honestly have so much fun each and every time I put on that damn banana suit that it's nearly impossible for me to pick a favorite. I can only recommend that everyone dress as their favorite fruit at least once in their lives, to better appreciate how much fun it truly is.

C.C. Banana is a staple over at the Metal Sludge website. How did your association begin?

Metal Sludge was the first website to ever give C.C. Banana press. Moreover, it's where I first learned about C.C. DeVille's infamous sandwich board antics. As such, it seemed only natural to submit the account of my original C.C. Banana adventure to them. Fortunately, they were sufficiently amused by what they saw to run it as a full-blown feature!

Click here to read more about the original C.C. adventure...

Then, several months later I stumbled into yet another banana brouhaha when I had the misfortune of getting smacked around by Sebastian Bach at a Gene Simmons book signing for wearing a Metal Sludge T-shirt! Naturally, my account of this ordeal soon found its way onto the Metal Sludge main page.

Click here to read more about C.C. and Sebastian...

And from there, things just snowballed! In March of 2003, a C.C. Banana comedy video I'd produced on spec earned me the illustrious designation of Sludgeaholic of the Month!

Click here to get the full scoop...

And later that summer I was invited to host several dates of the Metal Sludge Extravaganza Tour, featuring Faster Pussycat, Enuff Z'Nuff and Pretty Boy Floyd, for which I composed my very own tour diary!

Click here to read C.C.'s MSX Tour Diary...

Since then I have worked hard to maintain my Sludge association by providing them regular doses on my yellow lunacy. Indeed, Metal Sludge has been bedy, bedy good to me.

In 2004 C.C. Banana was selected as the Sludgeaholic of the Year. What happens when you receive this honor?

Not as much as you might think.

I was hoping it would involve cutting the ribbons at supermarket openings and accepting the keys to various cities, but mostly it entailed staving off death threats from the other 11 Sludgeaholics of the Month who didn't win.

Surely, the best part about being voted Sludgeaholic of the Year is knowing that the nomination was decided upon by a consensus of Metal Sludge readers. As such, I am sincerely humbled by the honor.

How about the word association question? Your first thought when you hear the name:

Stevie Rachelle - Metal Sludge mastermind.
C.C. DeVille - De Man, De Myth, De Legend! I thank him for the inspiration.
Nana Banana - My dear ol' mum. I am the fruit of her loins.
Sebastian Bach - Youth Gone Wild.
Donna Anderson - I don't know her very well, but she seems to have a lovely bosom.
J.J. Wilder - Again, the bosom.
Kip Winger - One of my absolute favorite musicians, bar none. A man who once took a bite of my banana.
Bret Michaels - Top-notch entertainer and rock & roll warhorse.
Janna Banana - Banana in name yet pear in shape, Janna is delicious inside and out.

You recently appeared in a film called "Silent But Deadly 3." Would you please tell us about it?

"Silent But Deadly 3" is the third and final installment of the award-winning short film series, an homage to both the classic Star Wars trilogy and the great silent comedies of yesteryear. I'm actually fortunate enough to have acted in parts 2 and 3! The brainchild of filmmakers Lou Tambone and Jeff Cioletti, the "Silent But Deadly" series chronicles the exploits of two Stormtroopers kept on retainer by George Lucas to maintain order within Star Wars fandom. Lots of slapstick humor and sight gags abound in these great little films. I recommend them to Star Wars fans or anyone who enjoys a good belly laugh.

Click here for more movie info...

Maul Stanley is another of your characters. Can you tell us about him and will we see more of him?

Maul Stanley is a character that allows me to combine my two favorite things in the whole wide world -- Star Wars and Kiss!

He's not Darth Maul.

He's not Paul Stanley.

But he is The Phantom Menace of the Park and he embodies the worst of both worlds. Recently the so-called Sithchild received a bit of exposure on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and in the Triumph the Insult Comic Dog DVD. He also appeared in the VH1 special "When STAR WARS Ruled the World" and will soon be seen as host of the upcoming documentary "EPISODE TOO: Star Wars 25th Anniversary Celebration." Maul Stanley will soon descend upon the realms of both sci-fi and rock & roll in a big way, heralded by the ominous whisper...

"You've got Maul."

What else can your fans expect from you in the future?

As ever, I have high hopes for the coming year. There are already several new C.C. Banana projects in the works, including an innovative new video feature for Metal Sludge and my all-new home video, "C.C. Banana: SPLIT HAPPENS!" There are also plans for Maul Stanley to make a special appearance at the official Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis. Though endeavors such as mine are rarely set in stone, I can guarantee that I will be working harder than ever to inflict my particular brand of insanity upon an unsuspecting population.

My sincerest thanks to Ellie Timms for the honor of this interview, and to the loyal readers of LongHairedMen.com for taking a moment to discover what makes me tick!

AJ!

C.C. Banana
www.CCBanana.com

Maul Stanley
www.MaulStanley.com

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