Our Talented Community: Musician Brian Banawa

Brian was first diagnosed with a mental illness in 2002, the same year he began making music. Since then creating music has been an incredibly successful form of adjunct therapy, in addition to medication and counseling.

The piece "You Can't Stop Me Now" came from a rush of inspiration on an evening at midnight and was fully completed at 2 am, two hours later. Of all his work, it is his favorite; he believes it accurately conveys the emotions felt when confronting his illness.

Brian is not just a musician who happens to have an illness. He has received an AA in Education and is receiving his BA in English Literature after completing 9 more college credits at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.

You can hear more of his music on www.butterbless.bandcamp.com and www.soundcloud.com/butterbless.