The Magic Of Growing Up In New Orleans: Q’s With Tank And The Bangas’ Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball

Tarriona “Tank” Ball, the lead singer and real-world bard of Tank and the Bangas, spent her childhood riding her bike through New Orleans’ 8th Ward, a sliver of land between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. She experienced the underserved neighborhood through the lens of a creative, artistic child. What she saw was “magic.”

Now, aged 35, Ball has two Grammy nominations, a global career and an insightful world view, but her appreciation of New Orleans – the people and culture – hasn’t changed.

Tank and the Bangas found national acclaim in 2017 after they won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest with their fresh and infectious blend of poetry, neo-soul, gospel, funk and folk. The band recently wrapped a four-night residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York and will embark on a headline tour across the U.S. kicking off Jan. 14 in Kansas City, Missouri, and a 12-show run supporting fellow Crescent City original Trombone Shorty on March 6 in Burlington, Vermont. In October, the New Orleans’-based band released a deluxe version of their three-part spoken word project, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, on Verve Forecast.

Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted before the Jan. 1 terrorist attack on Bourbon Street.

VenuesNow: What was it like growing up in the 8th Ward?
Tarriona “Tank” Ball: I remember riding my bike to McDonald’s to get a Happy Meal. They had really good toys, I mean really good, we were very excited about it. I remember living next door to these girls called the Triplets — they were triplets — and playing with them. Double Dutch and music. Sitting on the porch. I remember the streets were so bad, my bike caught a flat, a lot.

Your family moved to New Orleans East to have access to better schools for you and your siblings. What memories do you have of that time?
I remember being around the corner from Jazzland and all you had to do was put a marker on your hand and it would look like you had already been inside the park. So, everybody got inside the park for free. That wasn’t good, but good for us. I was the candy lady for a little while. We sold chips and candy to the kids so we could get season passes so we wouldn’t keep ripping them off. That was a great childhood, too.

Where did you develop your appreciation for music?
We didn’t get the (Mardi Gras Indians) Super Sundays and second lines because we were a very Baptist family and we were in church a lot. That’s where I heard my musical influences, growing up on Kirk Franklin. Of course, I was able to listen to SWV, and the Spice Girls and TLC. The only locals I heard was bounce music, M$. Tee, the Ghetto Twiinz and Gospel.

You are the youngest daughter in a family of singers. What did you learn from your older siblings?
I think the reason I am who I am today is because of all their triumphs and their mistakes. When you can see their mistakes, you know not to go into that pothole. It was a benefit to be the youngest girl, for sure.

You have said that it’s not enough to be an artist in New Orleans, you have to be an entertainer. Why?
There is so much entertainment in the city – (people) don’t want to watch paint dry. They want to see you paint. They want to watch you paint and you better be singing while you are painting. Music is so available, it is everywhere.
With so much competition and music available, it must be challenging for artists.

It’s a benefit as well as a loss, especially for the artists. We want you to come to our shows and we understand the economy of the city but you also want to make a true living off of it – especially when we are the reason that people come to the city. They come for the entertainment, and the food, the community and the culture. If you are part of it, you definitely want a piece of that pie.

You got your start in your early 20s at Pass It On, which has been a staple of the spoken word community in New Orleans for 15 years. What was that first experience like?
There was a line around the corner. Inside it was a small space. It was my poetry home.

What are your favorite spots for live music today?
I went to Sweet Lorraine’s (Jazz Club) last night to see Adam Blackstone and I think that is going to become one of everyone’s favorites, soon. It was so special to see a gigantic tour bus outside of this place, that has been in the community for years. I think it’s going to be our Blue Note. It was small. It was sexy. It was intimate. Everybody was there. I was like, “Oh, this is about to be the next spot.”

In a city with so much music, what is important to have in a venue?
It’s great to have food. We love our food in New Orleans. What’s really important is a great sound system and a great sound people that want to do their job and are part of the team. If the sound is bad, it affects the whole stage, on and off. And a good load-in team. So much of making a good show is happening before the show and behind the scenes.

You were a writer before you were a singer. How did that influence your sound and song craft?
I believe I had to be part of my poetry group first. We all relied on each other to be so free and to come up with songs on the spot. I think the poets influenced me more than anything, honestly, because we made our own music. We didn’t have instruments. We were the instruments. It was us being together in a circle starting a cypher, beat boxing and singing to each other, singing songs on the spot. That was influential.

Why do you refer to yourself as a poet and not a songwriter?
I don’t know. Maybe because I haven’t written for anybody else. I write songs, but I write songs for me.

What would be your dream New Orleans show? Where would it be?
Maybe the Fillmore or it would be dope to extend the stage out at Tipitina’s — myself and PJ Mortin, Trombone Shorty, and Big Freedia and Sweet Crude. Everybody would get 45 minutes and we would close with Soul Rebels. I love all those people and all their shows.

New Orleans is a music town, but it is also a sports town. What is the impact of hosting the 2025 Super Bowl?
They are going to love it! And they are going to love it even more if their precious Saints are in it. Oh, the city would be on fire.

What tips do you give people visiting for the first time?
I give them on a list. I fly so much and they’ll ask, “Where should I go?” and I say take this and they follow it. I tell them to rent bikes, that’s always so cool. I tell them to go to Blue Nile on Frenchman [Street]. Eat at Murrow’s, eat some beignets. Walk along the river. And that’s just off the top of my head.

You’ve traveled the globe – Germany, Japan – performing. Is there a heightened expectation when people find out that you are from New Orleans?
I love saying I live in New Orleans, I came up in New Orleans. When I was just in New York and I went to see Trombone Shorty, I saw the way he promotes New Orleans. We all feel proud about it. We feel like we wear a badge of honor, like a big colorful coat that we take on and off. Because you should know that the music is going to be good. You should know we come from this magical place and we bring it with us. It’s inside of us.