This weekend is a homecoming for many Ball State alumni. While most will attend the football game and festivities, one alumnus will perform on the stage at Emens.
Steve Bankik will play piano in Brian McComas' band and open for Rascal Flatts in his first trip back to BSU since he graduated.
Bankik studied music engineering and was involved in the jazz program. He also worked at Ball State Central Recording Services.
"My general impression of him was that he was a conscientious student, clean-cut, layed-back and a fairly good composer," Jeffrey Seitz, who attended the university with Bankik, said. "I remember his piano skills. He was well versed in various styles. He played in a fair amount of compositional recitals."
Seitz is now an audio/digital systems engineer at MET studios at Ball State.
"This is Steve's first big gig since moving to Nashville in April 2003," Steve's brother, Benjamin Bankik, said.
Before making the move to Nashville, Steve Bankik worked in Indianapolis for a computer-consulting firm Vertical Integrated Applications. The father of one of his Ball State roommates owns the company. He also played keys for local Indianapolis bands The Spin and Soultree. He also briefly played with Living Proof in Nashville.
Steve Bankik was offered a spot on the tour when some of McComas' representatives attended a show he was doing in a Nashville R&B club.
Bankik's roots are in classical piano. He's been playing since he was a child. He's earned countless awards from various competitions. He was also a member of the John Adams high-school band.
"Steve also liked to play the drums, but mom and dad didn't really care for the drumset in the basement," Ben Bankik said.
During his high-school years, he began to sway from classical music to R&B and jazz, with a short stopover into hip-hop and house music, Ben Bankik said.
"Steve probably never envisioned himself a country music kind of guy, but a year or two ago he realized that Nashville was going to be his best shot at being discovered," Ben Bankik said. "The more he thought about Nashville, the more he began to pay attention to the country scene and did find that there were some country artists he connected with musically. Steve was smart enough to realize that the Los Angeles rock band route that many musicians take would not work for him. I think he headed to Nashville knowing that his music would be better recognized and appreciated if he were discovered there rather than LA."
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