Banhart's middle name Obi was modeled after Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Star Wars character. His given name is a synonym for Indra (Hindu), which was suggested by Prem Rawat, an Indian religious leader whom Banhart's parents followed. Devendra Banhart instead prefers to credit Vashti Bunyan, Caetano Veloso, Simon Diaz and Arthur Russell among his main influences.īanhart was born in Houston, Texas, to a Venezuelan mother, María Eugenia Rísquez, and an American father, Robert Gary Banhart.

In a May 2004 interview with Arthur magazine, Banhart stated that he was unaware of the music of Tyrannosaurus Rex until after he began writing and recording songs.

Some reviewers, including AllMusic, The Times, and Mojo, have pointed out similarities between Banhart's songs and production with that of the early 1970s band Tyrannosaurus Rex (an early version of Marc Bolan's T. Leary and continued to create music from then on, working with record labels Young God Records and XL Recordings. In 2002, Banhart released his debut album The Charles C.

As a teenager, he moved to California, and in 1998 began studying at the San Francisco Art Institute, dropping out in 2000 to pursue a musical career. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and raised by his mother in Venezuela. Leary and gave it to Gira.ĭevendra Obi Banhart (born May 30, 1981) is a Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart returned to the United States in the fall of 2000 and played music in San Francisco and Los Angeles, until he was discovered by Michael Gira, owner of Young God Records, after Siobhan Duffy, Gira's wife, bought a copy of Banhart's demo CD The Charles C. He moved to Paris, France over the summer and opened shows for indie rock bands. Banhart dropped out of art school in 2000 and left the city because of its bad economic situation following the bust of the dot-com bubble. He began to busk in San Francisco instead of attending classes and played his first show at a gay wedding in a church. In 1998, Banhart began studying at the San Francisco Art Institute with a scholarship, and lived in The Castro. His mother later remarried and Banhart's stepfather moved the family to Los Angeles, California, when Banhart was 14 years old. Banhart's parents divorced two years after his birth and he moved with his mother to Caracas, Venezuela. Banhart's middle name was modeled after a Star Wars character. His given name is another name for Indra, the Hindu god of rain and thunder, and was a suggestion by Indian religious leader Prem Rawat, whom Banhart's parents followed. Born in Houston, Texas to a Venezuelan mother and an American father. Banhart is a Venezuelan American singer-songwriter.

Devendra banhart bio