i colored my hair black about 3 months ago, at first i liked it, now summers coming and my natural color is a light ashe brown, i want it back. i have tried coloring lighter, but the only thing that takes the color are of course the roots, and i have this funky thing happening, which i found out is called "banding". I have added highlights, but i would really like to have my light ashe brown back, what can i do with minimal damage??

You get banding from applying too much product at the roots and the colour must have seeped out of the foils. That is if you used foils?

The only way to get your natural hair colour back is to bleach the colour out or to use an artificial hair colour remover (Most popular on the board is L'oreal colour zap).
You may need to use the artificial hair colour remover several times to completely remove the dye. Your hair may even look a little brassy afterwards so you may have to re colour it using your target shade.

It can be a tricky process. But it's best to get it done from a professional.