WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? YOU’VE JUST MET CAPTAIN BANANA.
Meet Stethen Duggan—a 24-year-old massage therapist who hides a secret alter ego. To New York fans of the funk/ reggae/ indie band Banooba, he is better known as Captain Banana— the one and only superhero who can save the night from an ambience flop. Duggan started off as the band’s mascot and finished filling the dance floors all over NYC with his fruit-flavored charisma. Tourists love him, party-goers follow him, NYPD dreads him. In an exclusive interview for CP, the unstoppable Captain Banana reveals his secret identity.
Clubplanet: Tell us about Cpt. Banana’s civilian identity? What does he do, what excites him, what upsets him, what he eats for breakfast?
Captain Banana: What do I do when I’m not Captain Banana? Ouch. It touched a difficult topic. For the past three years it has been a secret identity.
CP: Stethen is like Clark Kent?
Captain Banana: Yeah, sort of. I mean, people know that it’s me. But if people don’t know who Stethen is, I don’t go around and tell them; I don’t introduce myself as Captain Banana, because then if I take off the costume, then nobody notices the difference.
CP: What does Cpt. Banana do?
Captain Banana: He’s a mascot of Banooba. It started as a joke—it had nothing to do with the band. I would go to music shows, put on the costume and dance my ass off. Often I started as the only person dancing. And through the past three years it grew. The costume was developed—I got a cape; big goofy gloves. They had a guy design the superman-style B to put down on my chest. Then I got funky glasses to draw attention. It just developed into something more than I would have expected; and it kept on being more and more fun. So I basically kept doing it to promote Banooba. I wanted people to see me, so I would also go to different concerts and shows, and handing out my business cards. It says “You’ve just met Captain Banana.”
I would walk around New York City dressed like that. I would stand on a corner and change into my costume right in front of a restaurant, and people would be eating and staring at me as I put it on. I walked through Times Square after a show. Even people who don’t listen to the same music see this character and they kind of warm up and want to be a part of it.
CP: Are the band’s concerts the only occasion when you turn into Captain Banana?
Captain Banana: I was wearing the costume for Banooba, and I was traveling with Banooba, and I would just dance. And more than 20 times I was the only person dancing for the first 10 or 15 minutes, and then, stragglers started coming in and, before you know it, we had 30 people dancing on the floor. I just keep moving. I’m showing people that you can dance to this music, that you can have fun.
CP: What interesting events have you been to so far?
Captain Banana: Except for Banooba shows I do a lot of different concerts. Last summer I wore Captain Banana at the Beacon Theatre. I went to Red Rocks, Colorado. And I would walk around and people would be like: “Oh, You’re from New York?” I went to Atlanta. I go to music festivals. I do it everywhere. Just have fun, play what people want to play. People like to take pictures with me. Sometimes if I have to walk 100 yards it takes me half an hour. Everyone wants to stop me and take a picture.
CP: Do you think you might be a case of split personality, or it’s more of an innocent hobby?
Captain Banana: It’s funny, because the other personality is very much like my own personality. It doesn’t stray too far from who I am myself. It’s actually very much me, except for the costume.
CP: What are your superpowers?
Captain Banana: My superpower is to give positive energy; to get people smile and dancing. Have a good time and show other people how to have a good time.
CP: Who’s your enemy?
Captain Banana: I never really had an enemy. There’s no negativity when it comes to Captain Banana. I love everybody; have a good time with everybody—it doesn’t matter who you’re with, where you’re at.
CP: Where did you get the suit?
Captain Banana: The banana itself was purchased; but everything else was made—the gloves, the cape, the B upfront. All of it was put together and made by friends. One of my friends is a really awesome costume designer. The picture that’s on my business card was drawn by another friend, and we designed the costume to look like it.
CP: Can Captain Banana fly?
Captain Banana: Only when nobody’s looking.
CP: If a fight between you, Superman and Daredevil broke out, who would win?
Captain Banana: I would dance them to death.