American alternative rock band
Phantom Planet
is an American
rock
band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of
Alex Greenwald
(vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar),
Sam Farrar
(bass guitar) and
Jeff Conrad
(drums). The band is best known for its track "
California
", which became the theme song for the
TV series
The O.C.
. The band featured actor
Jason Schwartzman
on drums until 2003.
On November 25, 2008, the band announced in a blog entry on their website that they are going on "hiatus, and will not be playing any more live shows or making any new records, indefinitely."
[1]
They played their last pre-hiatus show on December 12, 2008, in Los Angeles.
The band reunited in 2019, announcing that their hiatus was over.
History
[
edit
]
Early years and
Phantom Planet Is Missing
(1994?1999)
[
edit
]
Phantom Planet was named in 1994 after a 1961
B-movie
called
The Phantom Planet
.
[2]
While still in their teens, the group played frequently in and around the Hollywood area, finally catching the eye of
Geffen Records
executives. Phantom Planet signed with Geffen in 1997 and released their first album,
Phantom Planet Is Missing
in
1998
. The album did not impact any major charts. The album was followed by the release of the single "So I Fall Again" in September 1998, which was also released to promote the soundtrack
Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album
.
[3]
The Guest
and
Phantom Planet
(2002?2004)
[
edit
]
Shortly thereafter Geffen Records folded into
Universal
as part of a major record industry merger, and within a few years Phantom Planet had signed with
Epic Records
.
[
citation needed
]
Charlotte Froom, the daughter of producer
Mitchell Froom
, caught the band's show at a time when the group was looking for a producer to record their second effort. Froom approached her father to produce the group, and after meeting with Phantom Planet, he agreed.
[
citation needed
]
Froom also brought in engineer
Tchad Blake
to work on the record.
The Guest
was released in 2002. The group toured for almost 18 months both as a headliner and an opening act, and in late 2002 the band got the opportunity to open for one of their collective idols, Elvis Costello.
[
citation needed
]
The Guest
got an extra boost when the record's song "
California
" was chosen as the theme song for the
Fox Network
's hit TV series
The O.C.
.
[
citation needed
]
As a result, the record was reissued in late 2003 with bonus tracks and a new cover.
The band's
eponymous third album
in 2004 marked a change in both the band's sound and lineup. Ditching their radio-friendly pop rock, the band moved towards a
garage rock
sound. Lead singer
Alex Greenwald
said it was an intentional choice: "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."
[4]
In the middle of recording the album, founding member and drummer
Jason Schwartzman
abruptly left the band to focus on his acting career.
[
citation needed
]
He was replaced by
Jeff Conrad
, who helped record the remainder of the album.
[
citation needed
]
Phantom Planet
was released to mixed reviews from critics. Shortly after the album's release, guitarist
Jacques Brautbar
left the band to pursue a career in photography.
[
citation needed
]
The band performed "Big Brat", the album's first single, on the
Late Show with David Letterman
.
[
citation needed
]
Raise the Dead
and hiatus (2007?2008)
[
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]
Early on in the recording process of their fourth studio album, Phantom Planet's contract with Epic Records expired and they signed to
Fueled by Ramen
.
[
citation needed
]
Raise the Dead
was released on April 15, 2008. When describing the new record, Greenwald described it as "a concept record. If
The Beatles
had
Sgt. Pepper's
and
The Rolling Stones
had
Their Satanic Majesties Request
, we have our 'Leader.' We're concocting it, but at the same time we're following it."
[
citation needed
]
The first single from the album was "
Do the Panic
".
[
citation needed
]
On November 25, 2008, Phantom Planet announced in a blog entry on their website that they would be going on hiatus and playing their last show December 12, 2008 at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.
[5]
First reunion (2012?2013)
[
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]
In late January 2012, Phantom Planet announced their first reunion show, June 13, at The Troubadour in Los Angeles.
[
citation needed
]
On January 31, they announced the addition of a second Troubadour show to be played June 14, 2012. Former member of the band, Jacques Brautbar, joined them for songs at the June 13 show.
[
citation needed
]
In August 2013, the band, under Alex Greenwald & Phriends, performed a new song titled Balisong, which ended up being on Greenwald's solo album and later released in 2019 as a single by the full band.
[6]
This performance did not have bassist Sam Farrar because he was touring with Maroon 5. He was replaced by
Jamiroquai
bassist Stuart Zender.
[
citation needed
]
Second reunion and
Devastator
(2019?present)
[
edit
]
A Phantom Planet Instagram account
[7]
was created on January 19, 2019, indicating that the band could be reforming. Additionally, band members posted the logo on their personal social media accounts. It was confirmed that the band played a small secret private show January 19, 2019, at No Name on Fairfax in Los Angeles.
[8]
On March 18, 2019, the band officially announced "Hiatus. Over."
[9]
They announced their first "public" show in over seven years at
Hanson's
"Hop Jam" Music and Beer Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 19, 2019.
[10]
Before that event, they scheduled three shows across Southern California.
On May 7, the band officially released their first song in 11 years, "Balisong". The song was a reworked version of a track previously released on Alex's solo album. In March 2020, Phantom Planet announced the release of their fifth album
Devastator
on May 8, 2020, and their first album in 12 years since
Raise the Dead
(2008).
[11]
However, the album was delayed to June 19, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
. It was later pushed again one day earlier June 18, as a way of showing respect and support to the
Black Lives Matter
movement.
[12]
Side projects and related work
[
edit
]
In September 2009, Alex Greenwald officially announced the tracks for his solo record. He posted the track listing and a CD mockup to his Twitter account.
[13]
The debut solo studio album by Alexander Greenwald,
Yo
, was released on May 5, 2014.
Greenwald has co-produced and appeared on ex ?
Panic! at the Disco
members,
Ryan Ross
and
Jon Walker
's new band,
The Young Veins
debut record,
Take a Vacation!
.
[14]
He has also produced a few tracks on the band
The Like
's new album. More recently, Greenwald recorded with
Mark Ronson & the Business Intl
, playing guitar, keyboards, and singing on the album.
Alex Greenwald was a part of the group
Phases
.
[15]
He is also helping fellow band member Darren Robinson in his side project Twin Terrors.
[16]
Sam Farrar joined a band called Operation Aloha with members of
Gomez
,
Maroon 5
.
[17]
Operation Aloha's
self-titled, fourth full-length album
was released on May 12, 2009.
[18]
It was recorded over a period of 30 days in Maui, Hawaii.
[19]
Since 2012, Farrar is touring with Maroon 5 ? as an additional band member ? on guitars, occasionally on the bass guitar, percussion, backing vocals, turntables and providing samples and other special effects (using the
MPC
). He co-wrote and co-produced a few of the band's songs on almost all of their studio albums and also remixed one of their songs, which is called "Woman", on
Call and Response: The Remix Album
, released in 2008. On August 31, 2012 ? during a show in Argentina on the
Overexposed
World Tour ? Farrar filled-in for
Mickey Madden
on the bass guitar for the very first time. He subsequently filled-in for Madden on the next few shows of the tour. In 2016, he has become an official member.
Darren Robinson went on tour with the band
Miniature Tigers
in January, February and March 2009.
[20]
He toured as member of singer/songwriter John Graney's Southern California surf band
The Californian
, in the summer of 2009. The band then included
John Graney
(vocals), himself (guitar and vocals), Jonathan Price (guitar Keys and vocals), Wendy Wang (bass and vocals), Mike Hopkins (drums).
Darren has three projects, Twin Terrors,
[21]
Dead Honcho,
[22]
which has songs uploaded to SoundCloud, and Fist Fright
[23]
with Andrew Parker. Which currently has 3 songs posted on Bandcamp
Jeff Conrad has a project called Vibe Mountain.
[24]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
The band has opened for many well-known artists, including
Guns N' Roses
,
Sting
,
[25]
Elvis Costello
,
Incubus
,
Guided by Voices
,
Blink-182
,
The Zombies
,
The Hives
,
Sloan
,
American Hi-Fi
,
Maroon 5
,
Ludacris
,
Panic! at the Disco
,
The Rocket Summer
and
Paramore
.
Phantom Planet has appeared on
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
, performing "So I Fall Again". They have also appeared on
American Dreams
, playing British rock band The Zombies and performing "
Tell Her No
" in the episode "A Clear and Present Danger". The song "Lonely Day" appeared in the television series
Smallville
. They have appeared in the 2005 film
Bad News Bears
, playing as a fictional "
skate
" 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
Driver 3
and featured in an episode from the first season of
One Tree Hill
, as well as used in the film
The Amazing Spider-Man
. Alex Greenwald, the band's vocalist, sang a
fusion jazz
cover of
Radiohead
's "
Just
" for the 2006 compilation
Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
.
Sam Farrar also contributed to the
Hanson
album
Underneath
, on the song "Lost Without Each Other".
In 2008, "Raise the Dead" was featured in an episode from the second season of
Gossip Girl
and "Do the Panic" was featured on the
Gossip Girl
soundtrack,
OMFGG ? Original Music Featured on Gossip Girl
.
Their music has been heard frequently on television, most notably "California", as the theme song for the popular TV show
The O.C.
, and the songs "Do the Panic" and "Dropped" in various commercials. Greenwald made an impact on the British music scene in early 2008 by featuring on
Mark Ronson
's cover of the Radiohead song "
Just
".
Band members
[
edit
]
Current members
- Alex Greenwald
? lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, occasional bass (1994?2008, 2012, 2019?present)
- Sam Farrar
? bass, backing vocals, occasional guitar and keyboards (1994?2008, 2012, 2019?present), drums (2003?2004)
- Darren Robinson ? lead guitar, backing vocals (1994?2008, 2012, 2019?present)
- Jeff Conrad
? drums, percussion (2004?2008, 2012, 2019?present)
|
Former members
|
Discography
[
edit
]
Filmography
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Phantom Planet No More?"
.
Moviemiguel.blogspot.com
. 2008-11-25.
- ^
"Phantom Planet | Biography & History"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
2020-03-01
.
- ^
McCormick, Moira (10 October 1998).
"
'Sabrina' Album Hopes To Cast Spell On Show's Teen Demo"
. Billboard. p. 72.
- ^
September 10, 2004.
Phantom Planet basks in glow of 'The O.C.'
Archived
2007-09-28 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Phantom Planet break up
Archived
2009-08-15 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Headquarters Music (8 August 2013).
"Alex Greenwald & Phriends (Members of Phantom Planet) perform Balisong at The Kennedy Administration"
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-22 – via YouTube.
- ^
"Phantom Planet (@phantomplanet) ? Instagram photos and videos"
.
Instagram.com
.
- ^
"Phantom Planet reunite, perform secret LA concert"
.
Consequence.net
. 21 January 2019.
- ^
Planet, Phantom (18 March 2019).
"Hiatus. Over.pic.twitter.com/LGjncDK1yT"
.
Twitter.com
.
- ^
"Phantom Planet Are Back"
. NME. 21 March 2019.
- ^
Bacior, Robin (March 13, 2020).
"Phantom Planet Announce New Album Devastator, Share "Time Moves On"
"
.
Consequence of Sound
. Retrieved
April 9,
2020
.
- ^
Phantom Planet (June 12, 2020).
"The Devastator release date has changed to June 18th"
. Retrieved
June 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Possible Back Of My CD: on Twitpic"
. Twitpic.com. 2009-07-09
. Retrieved
2011-07-08
.
- ^
"News | The Young Veins (ex-Panic! At The Disco) premiere new song"
. Alt Press. 2010-03-25
. Retrieved
2011-07-08
.
- ^
"PHASES Official Website"
.
Phasesmusic.com
.
- ^
"SoundCloud ? Listen to free music and podcasts on SoundCloud"
.
SoundCloud.com
.
- ^
"First Listen: Maroon 5, Phantom Planet, Gomez Members Form Band"
. SPIN.com. 2009-01-29
. Retrieved
2011-07-08
.
- ^
"Niet compatibele browser | Facebook"
. Phantomplanet.com. Archived from
the original
on 2011-03-07
. Retrieved
2011-07-08
.
- ^
"Operation Aloha: An Experiment in Rock 'n' Roll"
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-05-16
. Retrieved
2009-05-28
.
- ^
Leatherman, Benjamin (2009-01-09).
"Miniature Tigers Recruit Phantom Planet Guitarist Darren Robinson ? Phoenix Music ? Up on the Sun"
. Blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com
. Retrieved
2011-07-08
.
- ^
"Twin Terrors"
.
SoundCloud.com
.
- ^
"Dead Honcho"
.
SoundCloud.com
.
- ^
"Music | Fist Fright"
. Fistfright.bandcamp.com. 2022-02-07
. Retrieved
2022-05-04
.
- ^
"Vibe Mountain"
.
Vibemountain.com
.
- ^
"Sting | News"
.
Sting.com
. Archived from
the original
on November 28, 2010.
External links
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Studio albums
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EPs
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Compilations
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Singles
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Related
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International
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National
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Artists
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