Blog
Blog
🎶 Sponsored by Bananas: The Final Sunset Concert Series Show! Benefit Concert in Occidental September 21st
The Inn at Occidental is excited to announce the final concert of their wonderfully received Sunset Concert Series for 2025! Join us at the Inn in Occidental in Sonoma County for some amazing live music from 6 to 8 pm on Sunday, September 21st, for an unforgettable musical experience surrounded by breathtaking views. Herry Hannan: Shades of Dylan & John Prine ...Americana with a faint Irish lilt Singer/Songwriter, Jerry Hannan, is the founder and leader of the Mad Hannan’s which he launched with his brother Sean Hannan in 1996 with their first album “Madly in Love With You” which became a local cult tradition. A distinguished songwriter, Jerry Hannan wrote and recorded his song, “Society” with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, which is featured in Sean Penn’s film “Into the Wild”. Described as “shades of Dylan and John Prine …very Americana with a faint Irish lilt”, Hannan’s songs (like those of Springsteen, Steve Earle and Cat Stevens) speak of our everyday lives and the magic that we sometimes miss. He’s a storyteller, known for his thought provoking lyrics and exuberant performances. He has been called a Marin County treasure, often funny, sardonic in a good-natured way, highlighting issues like ecology, friendship, and love. Purchase Tickets here!
🎸🎶Friday, August 1st: Punked Out Pretty + Knights Of Molino Free Concert at Bananas San Rafael!
San Rafael! Punk! Bananas at Large! 🤘🎸🍌 Get ready for Punked Out Pretty + Knights Of Molino to take over Bananas At Large's San Rafael location. Home-grown punk rock only from Marin played right in front of the store at 6p sharp. All ages, family friendly, & FREE!!! Limited seating, so if you want to sit down bring yourself a lawn chair. See you then!
Sponsored by Bananas: Sunset Concert Series! Benefit Concert in Occidental July 27nd 🎶
The Inn at Occidental is pleased to welcome San Geronimo and their West-Marin style of Americana to our 2025 Sunset Concert Series.
Bananas At Large Updates
ONGOING BANANAS AT LARGE UPDATES 2022 5/23/2022 - STREET CONSTRUCTION UPDATE at Bananas San Rafael The City of San Rafael in cooperation with PG&E are replacing the water lines, sewer lines, and electrical conduit on 2nd street in front of and around Bananas at Large. During this time, there will be no available street parking on 2nd Street until the project is completed. Parking is available within the Bananas at Large parking lot as well as in an overflow parking lot in front of Cafe Arrividerci, one block west of Bananas at Large. If you would prefer to avoid the construction zone altogether, we have convenient and fast options to get your musical needs picked up or delivered. More details on these options can be found here. Buy Online Pick Up in Store Fast - Same Day Delivery starting at $35 (local addresses only) Home Delivery within 1-3 days for Free (local addresses only) We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we are here to help and provide the very best service possible. 6/14/2021 We are excited to welcome back our customers in a more "back to normal" capacity in our stores. It is expected that tomorrow, the governor will lift the mask mandate for our state of California. With that expectation, our staff (who are all vaccinated) will not be required to wear a mask unless they desire to do so to protect any unvaccinated loved ones at home. We also will not require customers who are vaccinated to wear a mask. Whomever still feels the need to wear a mask can do so at their own comfort level. Additionally, our lessons are back for scheduling in the store. Please call or text for more information or check out our new Lessons Page. You may also reach out to our Administrator for help at lessons@bananas.com Please remember that if you are showing any signs of illness (cough, fever, feeling unwell) to please stay home. You may call us, email us, or text us and we would be more than happy to take care of your needs in any of those ways with an online order and store pickup at a later time. Call or Text: (415) 457-7600 Email: info@bananas.com We do request that customer sanitize their hands upon entry to the store to keep any germs or illness from spreading and to keep everyone healthy. Thank you for your patience over the last year and a half as we have all navigated the changing requirements and now enter the summer of 2021 with open arms! 12/8/2020 Alan talks about safe holiday shopping & buy online, pick up in-store. Local delivery & contactless curbside pickup 12/4/2020 As we head into the holidays, we want to be sure to remind you that shopping for those perfect gifts or stocking stuffers is safe & easy with Bananas at Large! We have many items to choose from & would love to help you pick out that perfect gift for your favorite musician! You can choose to shop online & have your items safely shipped or delivered same day* OR choose Contactless Curbside Pickup at your chosen location. Have questions? Call us or email us to find out more! *Some restrictions apply for same day delivery. Please see our Shipping & Delivery page for more details 6/23/2020 Alan Rosen President & CEO of Bananas at Large explains the safety protocols in place for customers to shop safely at Northern California's premiere music store, located at 1651 2nd Street San Rafael, Ca 94901 or our Santa Rosa location at 531 College Ave Santa Rosa, Ca 95404. 6/17/2020 We're opening our stores safely, no appointment needed. Together, as we adapt to the “new normal,” Bananas At Large is here to provide you with the gear and great service that will keep you making music. We know how important it can be to try out an instrument or a pedal and get advice from a friendly face who can help you with all your musical needs. That's why we're excited to welcome back customers to safely shop inside our 2 locations (San Rafael & Santa Rosa), no appointment necessary. Since the beginning of the pandemic, nothing has been more important to us than the safety of you and our employees. Before deciding to allow customers back into our stores, we looked at health and safety data in each of our communities, and have worked to implement new safety precautions. Following CDC guidelines, we are: Enforcing mandatory temperature checks, for all employees before each shift. Requiring employees to wear protective gear, including face coverings and gloves, at all times. We require that all customers shopping in our stores wear approved face coverings. Maintaining social distancing, by using floor signage and by limiting the number of customers in the store. Sanitizing areas throughout the store frequently, including demo products and checkout counters. Installing acrylic shields at checkout counters between customers and employees. All customers will be asked to use hand sanitizer before entering the showroom. For those who prefer, we will continue to offer contact-less curbside pickup and in-store consultations. Please check website for store hours. 6/8/2020 Bananas is working hard at getting ready to reopen with all state, county, and city guidelines in place as directed by the CDC. We are still available for curbside/in-store pickup and have shortened hours as follows currently: San Rafael Mon-Saturday 11am-4pm and closed Sundays Santa Rosa Mon-Saturday 11am-3pm and closed Sundays Please call us, message us through the website, or email us at info@bananas.com and we will do our best to help you as quickly as possible! Thank you for all your support and we hope to see you soon! 4/22/2020 Bananas is committed to the health and safety of our staff, families and community. We are directly supporting teachers, students and people who are forced to work at home. We encourage folks to use this time to create and practice music. We have a tremendous selection of in stock Ukuleles, Guitars, Keyboards, Audio Interfaces, USB Microphones, Controllers, Percussion and more! We also carry microphone and headphone sterilization products to help you keep those products clean as well as replacement mic windscreens, so you don’t have to share the same one with others. Our direct download software options are available 24/7. Other online merchants have stopped shipping musical instruments, we are committed to packing and delivering all online orders in 24 hours where possible. For our local customers, we offer online order with in store or curbside pick-up. We also offer local delivery options as well. During this time, we will have limited hours and access. To support work at home, the San Rafael store will be open 11am-4pm Monday thru Saturday and the Santa Rosa store 11am-3pm Monday thru Saturday. The stores are open during the above hours however please note, we are limiting the number of people in the store while maintaining social distancing and cleanliness at all times. 3/18/2020 7:00am Sonoma County has issue a shelter in place requirement for all county residents and businesses for three weeks. As our San Rafael store is already preserving social distancing but continuing to provide ongoing assistance to those who need it, our Santa Rosa store will most likely continue as well. We will have limited in store hours for online pickups. Please call us ahead of time at (415) 457-7600 to confirm availability. We are still accepting online orders for pickup at both locations and we will update this page as soon as any new information comes in. Thank you for your patience and please call us, message us through Live Chat (bottom right hand of our screen) or email us at info@bananas.com. We are here to help! All lessons will be online at this time. 3/17/2020 6:00am Due to the ongoing concerns regarding the community spread of Coronavirus and the recent request for Marin County to shelter in place and preserve social distancing, we want to assure our customers, students, and friends of our commitment to remain available for your needs while being vigilant about preserving the health of our Marin community. As of tomorrow, 3/17/2020, we will have limited availability in person at our San Rafael store, however, we remain committed to answering your questions and completing your orders as needed. Our Santa Rosa store will remain open at the hours listed below until further notice. Looking for the gear you need to provide online lessons or school instruction to your students in the area? Reach out! We have solutions and can help! If you need a product or have a question, we are here! Please call the San Rafael store at (415) 457-7600 with any questions or reach out to us via our LiveChat below (see bottom right corner of your web browser). We have updated our open available contact hours for our San Rafael and Santa Rosa stores to the following: Monday - Friday 11:00am to 6:00pmSaturday 11:00am to 6:00pmSunday 11:00am to 5:00pm Ways to Contact Us: Phone : San Rafael (415) 457-7600 Santa Rosa (707) 542-5588Live Chat here on our web siteEmail : info@bananas.com Lessons: Most lessons at our San Rafael store will be moved to an online platform with the scheduled teacher unless otherwise indicated by the teacher and/or Lesson Coordinator. Existing students will be contacted as soon as possible, if not already. Any questions about lessons should be directed to (415) 457-7600 x104 or lessons@bananas.com. Special Orders: We will be available to fill any online orders as an in-store pickup on limited basis and other online orders will be shipped out as best we can in a timely manner. Again, we are here for you and can answer any questions you have or take care of your needs via online orders, phone orders, and in-store pickup or delivery.
Bananas At Large "Storytime" - May 13, 2021 5pm
A look into the rise of the Bay Area Music scene as seen thru the eyes of retailers and instrument builders! Thursday, May 13th, 2021 at 5:00pm PSTLIVE on Facebook - Click Here! Join owner Alan Rosen as he chats with the founding fathers of BAL and hears the stories about famous musicians who visited, ideas that came about, and explains the history and iconic past of Marin's favorite music store! Get those burning questions answered, such as how we got our name, where the original locations were, how it all came to be, and what famous and notable musicians have graced our showrooms over the years. The unbelievable (but true) stories can go on and on! Don't miss it! Featuring special guests: Billy Stapleton - one of the original co-founders and the inventor of the flying Banana logo we all love! Rick Turner - the founder of Rick Turner guitars and one of the original founders of Alembic Inc. Sean Hopper - the keyboardist for Huey Lewis and the News and former employee of BAL and Prune Music. JD Sharp - a previous owner of BAL and credited with the rise of Bananas as an industry icon with his ideas and secrets to success.
Roland Store Grand Opening - April 8th, 2021
A World Class Virtual Event Featuring Live Interviews and Prizes Hosted by Sarah & Vinnie from Alice 97.3 Join us LIVE at www.bananas.com for the Grand Opening Celebration of the New Roland Store at Bananas At Large, San Rafael! Hosted by Sarah & Vinnie of Alice Radio 97.3 and featuring live interviews with Neal Schon, Joe Satriani, Deen Castronovo, Jonathan Cain and more special guests about all the amazing Roland products that helped get them through the "Play at Home" of 2020. Chat with our Roland specialist, Ian Ulibarri about all the amazing products on display and make an appointment for future private showings of all that Roland has to offer! We gave away prizes including: Roland FP30 KeyboardTD-07 Electronic DrumsetKatana MKII Amplifier Virtual Event at www.bananas.com More details coming SOON! Come to our homepage on April 8th, 2021 to watch the event live! All interviews and product demos will be virtual through the event. Watch the live stream, chat with us, and check out all the amazing products that Roland has to offer! Our Roland product specialist, Ian Ulibarri will be available for questions & to make appointments for future, private demos in store! Check out the amazing artists we are featuring in the event here: Neal Schon Jonathan Cain Joe Satriani Narada Michael Walden Deen Castronovo If you haven't been to our new store location, stop by 1654 2nd Street in San Rafael! Masks and social distancing are required & all sanitation protocols are followed! We hope to see you soon!
Life, Music, and Laughs with Arnel Pineda LIVE - October 1, 2020 7pm PST
Arnel Pineda is taking over our Facebook! On October 1, 2020 at 7pm PST, Arnel will be "taking over" our FB Live for a special interview and chat about life, music and his amazing "journey" with the band we love, Journey! Arnel is joining us all the way from the Philippines & we can't wait for you to join us! You don't want to miss it! Check out Arnel's website to follow all his adventures and see upcoming tour dates as they are posted. About Arnel Pineda Arnel is a singer-songwriter who became international news when he auditioned and landed the role of lead singer for Journey in 2007. His amazing love of music and incredible talent have led to worldwide tours with the band and their Revelation album debuted at No. 5 in the Billboard charts and remained in the Top 20 for six weeks. He divides his time between the U.S. and the Philippines and is currently spending the quarantine with his family there.
FB Live Takeover with Cindy Blackman Santana - 7/10/2020
Cindy Blackman Santana is taking over our Facebook! On July 10, 2020 at 4pm, Cindy will be "taking over" our FB Live for a special interview and chat about her new album release coming Sept. 2020! We are excited to hear all about it and we know you are too! Join us on our Facebook page on July 10th starting at 4pm for the fun! Check out her website for more details on the upcoming album, "Give the Drummer Some"! About Cindy Blackman Santana From the beginning of her career as a busking street performer in New York City in the ’80s through the present day, Cindy Blackman Santana has been touring the globe and making albums with artists including Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Joe Henderson, Buckethead, Don Pullen, Hugh Masakela, Jackie McLean, Don Pullen, Buster Williams, and Angela Bofill. She writes, records, and performs with her own bands, Cindy Blackman Santana Group, and Another Lifetime, which released its critically-acclaimed self-titled debut in 2010. From 1992 to 2007 and again in 2014 and 2015 she was the drummer in Lenny Kravitz’s band, performing through multiple world tours and hit albums. In 2011, she joined forces with Vernon Reid, Jack Bruce, and John Medeski to form the celebrated Spectrum Road, which released an album and tour dedicated to the music of Tony Williams. In 2016, she joined Santana full-time and has been mesmerizing audiences around the globe ever since. In 2017, she and Carlos Santana teamed up with the Isley Brothers to release “Power of Peace” (SONY) and followed it up with the two most recent Santana releases: the EP In Search of Mona Lisa (2019) and full-length Africa Speaks (2019). On September 18, fall 2020, she will deliver a new solo album, Give The Drummer Some.
Ableton Live Clinic with Jacob Stowe
Ableton Live with Jacob Stowe - Using samples and loops creatively. A lesson focused on using sampled audio in creative ways with stock utlities in Ableton Live. Topics may include extracting groove from breakbeats, mangling break beats with warp modes and effects to introduce groove and swing in subtle ways, chopping samples to drum racks for sequential playback, and chopping samples to samplers. Details: - Basics of warping - Short sample pitching with Sampler - Long sample chopping with Drum Rack - Grid slicing drum patterns for groove - Groove templates RSVP on Facebook Bananas at Large San Rafael Time: 6:30PM - 7:30PM Date: Thursday, August 13, 2015 Location: 1504 4th Street, San Rafael, CA
Ableton Live Clinic
Ableton Live with Jacob Stowe - Using samples and loops creatively. A lesson focused on using sampled audio in creative ways with stock utlities in Ableton Live. Topics may include extracting groove from breakbeats, mangling break beats with warp modes and effects to introduce groove and swing in subtle ways, chopping samples to drum racks for sequential playback, and chopping samples to samplers. Details:- Basics of warping- Short sample pitching with Sampler- Long sample chopping with Drum Rack- Grid slicing drum patterns for groove- Groove templates Bananas at Large San Rafael California Location Time: 6:30PM - 7:30PM Date: Thursday, August 13, 2015 Location: 1504 4th Street, San Rafael, CA
