Q&A with Banks and Wag - composers behind The ZingZillas - ANSWERS BACK

[RachelMumsnet]

We're joined this week by Banks & Wag, the award winning composers behind the CBeebies show 'The ZingZillas'.

Since playing together in bands in the Nineties, Chris Banks and Wag Marshall-Page have forged a varied career which has involved table tennis with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, karaoke with Busted, and jams with both Kevin Costner and Nelson Mandela. They've written music for shows including The X Factor, Walk On The Wild Side and ZingZillas, where they are familiar to all parents for introducing children to a variety of musical genres - from Bhangra to Bluegrass.

With the ZingZillas band set to make their festival debut at Glastonbury next weekend, followed by a number of other gigs throughout the summer, they are happy to answer questions on their life as 'the men behind the monkeys' as well as the importance of music in the development of pre-schoolers and how you can get your children interested and involved in music.

Send in a question to Banks and Wag before the end of the day on Tuesday 21st June and we'll be linking to their answers from this thread later the following week.

Dear Banks & Wag, Tim Bricheno would LOVE to be on ZingZillas, could you fix it for him?

Can I just say that I think Zingzillas is inspired and we think we've seen them all!

ooh! I've always wanted to suggest the Zingzillas be our next eurovision entry - mega catchy tunes, good costumes, and to channel the Apprentice for a minute, a definite USP...

Please do it! Will you do it?

Hi. DD(4) and I like the Zingzillas a lot, and have seen most of them.
Great show, but please please please can we have a bit more of the guest star actually playing music?
You get some incredible people, and then only have about a minute of footage of them playing. A couple fewer minutes of the monkeys would be neither here nor there...

Bobbiesox

that is the best idea ever!!!!!!!

lets start a lobby group

LucasNorth - B&W compose the music and possibly the sound effects, they don't chose who does what for how long. I don't think.

They don't get v long per series either IIRC

my kids and me love the zingzillas. our question is what age is appropriate to start playing a instrument seriously. my daughter wants to learn but at 6 i feel she's too young as she's only just started reading. also please give kisses to zac, pansie, drum and tang xx

I hate the show (monkey dialogue makes me want to vomit) but quite like the music. Definitely agree there should be more of that and less of the monkeys. In fact no monkeys whatsoever.

I understand it may not be possible for you to implement this request.

My three year old daughter is extremely excited to be seeing The ZingZillas at Glastonbury next week! Excellent programme. Sorry, this isn't a question!

Hello!
My 4 year old really enjoys Zingzillas! And he loves Panzee! He loves all the music.
Thats amazing they are playing at Glastonbury. Are there any plans for a nationwide tour? It would make a great stage show.
Also my DS wrote Panzee a letter but she never replied! Can you check she received it!!!
Also did you compose the Xfactor theme tune? Great tune!

I have questions.

Why?

Why do you hate parents so much?

Why would you do this to us?

Yours,

tethersend x

PS- is the person in the Panzee costume a man or a woman? This issue has caused near-physical fights in my house.

I love Zingzillas. My 4-yr-old son really loves it too. He really loves his CD with all of the songs from the first series (and I like it too so he is allowed to listen and sing along). It soon became a favourite of his, and your "Moving House" song really helped us to paint our relocation to a completely different area in a positive light (we were singing it on the drive over and in the weeks before the move and I am sure it helped him to deal with it better than he would have).
However, I have found a lot of the merchandise to be overpriced and not that great. He has a jigsaw that he likes and he quite likes his guitar but I was annoyed that the big Zing playset only came with one or sometimes 2 of the 4 characters, but cost £40 and the additional characters weren't cheap too.

I could ask a question about that, but not wanting to waste my chance for a question I just wondered if the Zingzillas were touring and if so whether they were planning on coming up here to the north of England? .

I don't have a question but wanted to show off my username :o

• (and I like it too so he is allowed to listen and sing along lots).

Just in case you thought I was a particularly strict and inflexible parent, I do let him listen to what he likes even if I don't like it too!

second tethers question. I loathe Zingzillas almost as much as The Tweenies and DS's don't like it much either

Loved the episode with a theremin, are there any other obscure instruments you're trying to get on?

I don't have a question but just wanted to say we both love the show. DS is 3 and was trying to do bhangra dancing but was frightened by the opera singing! I'm 38 and I love it enough to stop what I'm doing to watch it with him.

I love the music, the monkey people scare me.Brilliant tunes though.

When is there a new series coming??? We've seen all the episodes sooo many times & every afternoon my daughter asks when the Zingzillas are coming back.
Also any chance of seeing the band live at a reasonable price... as opposed to the gigs at Regents Park/Legoland which would set us back £60/£90 (2 adults, 1 child) to go (!!!!!) - ok, I know there are other 'acts' on too but we don't want to see them, just Zingzillas, so obviously not coming at that cost.
It angers me so much the inflated prices for these pre-schooler shows - the In The Night Garden tour charges full price for babes-in-arms so it would cost an extra £20 to take my 3 month old baby in with us - outrageous!!!! (obviously not going to see that either).

My child recently got tested for autism and is a huge fan of Zingzillas. He has always just got you, if you know what I mean? He understands a beat so well and whenever anyone says his good points his sense of a beat, with dancing or singing is always first. Thank you so much for providing a rich learning tv programme that my son has loved since he was 3. He is now 5 and has everything of yours and thinks you are the bees knees! Keep doing the good work from one very grateful parent!