Phantom Planet
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Phantom Planet | ||
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Background information | ||
Origin | Southern California, USA | |
Genre(s) | Alternative rock Pop |
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Years active | 1994-present | |
Label(s) | MCA Music, Inc Geffen Records Sony BMG Music Entertainment Epic Records Daylight Records |
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Website | Official website | |
Members | ||
Alex Greenwald Sam Farrar Darren Robinson Jeff Conrad |
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Former members | ||
Jason Schwartzman Jacques Brautbar |
Phantom Planet is an alternative rock band based out of Southern California. The band is most widely known in popular culture for its track "California", which became the theme song for the popular Fox TV series, The O.C..
Contents |
[edit] History
Phantom Planet played their first show in 1995 at The Dragonfly in Hollywood. Most of their friends could not attend because they were still in high school, while the Dragonfly only serves customers that are 21 and over. Two of the songs they played are featured on the bonus material of the Chicago, Chicagogoing, Chicagogone DVD. Among the songs performed were "My Friend Liz's Dad" (misprinted as "My Friend Liz Is Dead" on the DVD) and a cover of the Beastie Boys 1994 song "Sabotage".
The band is named after the theme song of a 1961 B-movie called The Phantom Planet. They decided on the name in 1994 in a Pizza Hut.[citation needed]
Phantom Planet released their debut album, Phantom Planet is Missing in 1997. It is largely a collection of surf-rock inspired tunes reminiscent of The Beach Boys. It was after the band's second album, The Guest (album) in 2002 that the band found mainstream success. It produced the highly popular song, "California". The Guest continued to forge the pop-rock sound the band introduced in their debut.
The band's eponymous third album in 2004 marked a significant change in both the band's sound and lineup. Ditching their radio-friendly pop-rock, the band moved towards a more garage rock sound that was popular at the time. Lead singer Alex Greenwald has been very clear that he wants the band to change their sound on almost every record. "I love rock 'n' roll music," Greenwald said. "I especially loved bands, like The Beatles, that changed with every single record they made. That's been our plan from the get-go. We want our records to be like experiments. We want to have fun with the music. People can hear when you're not having fun. They discover you're bored and you're boring."[1] However, in the middle of recording the album, founding member and drummer Jason Schwartzman abruptly left the band to pursue an acting career. He was replaced by Jeff Conrad, who helped record the remainder of the album. Phantom Planet was released to mixed reviews from critics. Shortly after the album's release, guitarist Jacques Brautbar left the band to a pursue a career in photography.
[edit] Upcoming album
The band is currently working on their fourth studio album, which according to an official blog post from October 24, 2006, was due to be released around March 2007 (However, a new teaser trailer has been released by the band on their official website and myspace that states that will album will be coming out in the summer of 2007). In the post, guitarist Darren Robinson confirmed the titles of 18 new songs that will potentially make the album and claimed that "a good portion" of the tracks he mentioned will indeed make the final cut.[1]
Listed in the below entry are the songs Phantom Planet have recorded for their new record, according to their November 12, 2006 blog post.
- "Can I Come Over"
- "Torture Me"
- "Never Apart"
- "Judas Cradle"
- "Confess"
- "Quarantine"
- "Leave Yourself For Somebody Else"
- "Too Much Too Often"
- "Leader"
- "The Orange Couch Song"
- "Dropped"
- "They're All Paper"
- "Pendant Heart"
- "It Takes So Long"
- "Geronimo!"
- "From This Day On"
- "Raise the Dead"
- "Ivory Daggers"
- "What Are We Waiting For"
- "Demon Daughters"
- "ROTK (Return of the King)"
- "Gorilla"
- "Panic"
- "Halloween"
Phantom Planet have completed the recording process. They have so far released two teaser trailers made by Travis Schneider, with the first one ending with "Spring 2007" and the second one with "Summer 2007".
[edit] Other appearances
The band has opened for many well-known artists, including Guns N' Roses, Sting, Elvis Costello, Incubus, Guided by Voices, The Zombies, The Hives, American Hi-Fi, Maroon 5, and Ludacris.
Phantom Planet has appeared on the television programs Sabrina the Teenage Witch, performing "So I Fall Again", and "American Dreams", playing British rock band The Zombies. They have appeared in the 2005 remake Bad News Bears, playing a band called The Bloodfarts. In 2005, they covered the CSNY track "Our House" for the movie The Chumscrubber. Phantom Planet also performed a cover of Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" for Not Another Teen Movie. "Big Brat" was also introduced in the soundtrack to the video game Driv3r. They appear on the official soundtrack for the X-Box video game Stubbs the Zombie in: Rebel Without a Pulse. They play a song named The Living Dead.
[edit] Lineup
- Alex Greenwald - Lead Vocals, Guitar.
- Sam Farrar - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Darren Robinson - Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Jeff Conrad - Drums
Former band members:
- Jacques Brautbar - Guitar, vocals. Left the group in May 2004 to pursue photography. Was not replaced. Brautbar went on to join electronica band Something for Rockets.
- Jason Schwartzman - Drums. Left the group to pursue an acting career. Starred in Rushmore opposite Bill Murray. Was replaced by Jeff Conrad, formerly of Big City Rock.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Official releases
- Phantom Planet is Missing (1998) (Geffen Records)
- The Guest (2002) (Epic Records)
- The Guest (Reissue) (2003) (Epic Records)
- Phantom Planet (2004) (Epic Records)
[edit] Bootlegs
- Polaroid (1999) (Phantom Planet Family)
- Connect Sets (2004) (SonyConnect Exclusive)
- Phantom Planet: Negatives (2004) (Phantom Planet Family)
- Live! 2004 (2004) ([Phantomplanetbootlegs.com])
- Negatives 2 (2004) ([Phantomplanetbootlegs.com])
[edit] Compilations
- Orange County: The Soundtrack (2002)
- Music from the OC: Mix 1 (2003) (Warner Bros./Wea)
- Music from the OC: Mix 5 (2005) (Warner Bros./Wea)
- Stubbs the Zombie: The Soundtrack (2005) (Shout Factory)
- The Bad News Bears: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2005) (Rykodisc)
[edit] DVD Releases
- Phantom Planet: Chicago, Chicagogoing, Chicagogone - (2004) (Epic Records)
- Phantom Planet: Live At The Troubadour - (2003) (Epic Records)
[edit] Trivia
- Alex Greenwald became a popular model and the familiar face of many commercials for clothing retailer The Gap. Greenwald also played Seth Devlin in the 2001 film Donnie Darko. Bassist Sam Farrar is the son of John Farrar, the singer/songwriter known best for notable songs from the movie Grease and other hits sung by Olivia Newton-John.
- Ex-drummer Jason Schwartzman is the son of actress Talia Shire and nephew of famed director Francis Ford Coppola. Schwartzman is now an acclaimed actor. He starred in Rushmore, Shopgirl, Spun, Roman Coppola's CQ, Bewitched, and his cousin Sofia Coppola's film Marie-Antoinette.
[edit] References
- ^ Robinson, Darren (2006). "Phantom Planet Almost Done With 4th Studio Record?" Phantom Planet Blog