silly phantom planet interview
Alex Greenwald: We may play a new song tonight, I think. This tour we've taken the sound checks this tour to work on new stuff. We've just been toying around with a few different things. But our imaginations are big, and we have high hopes for the next record.
Brad: What's it like when you go into the studio? I know with the self-titled album, you recorded it in about six weeks after a solid 18 months of touring. Do you create more once you're in the studio or pretty much go in with a notebook full of songs and start from there?
Alex: Yeah, pretty much. We like being well rehearsed before we go into a studio and start wasting hundreds and thousands of dollars of our money on expensive recording. Usually we'll just work for a bunch of weeks on the songs in advance, though there are certain anomalies like "Big Brat", a song off our last record. It just sort of happened. I wrote the bass line on the plane on the way to recording and I was like 'hey guys, check this out' and we just played it. The first time we played it in front of a producer we were also recording it and that was the take we kept. So sometimes it just works out well like that.
Brad: Are you looking at a certain producer right now?
Alex: We may go with Dave Fridmann again and use some of his other talents since he's such a multi-talented and personable, awesome, genius dude. But we're not close-minded to anything at this point.
At this point in the interview I decided to test the bands aptitude on movie trivia.
Brad: Why does it say paper-jam, when there is no paper-jam.
Sam Farrar: (Faster than a speeding bullet): Office Space.
Brad: I don't know what you just said little kid. But you're special. You touch a brother heart. Give me the map, Scott. Give me the map, Scott!
Alex, Darren, and Sam stare at me like I'm retarded.
Brad: and then say, 'My, what a lovely tea-party.'
Alex: Sam?
Sam: I have no idea.
Darren Robinson: If Jeff was out here, he'd get all these.
Brad: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Alex: I didn't see it.
Sam: I was lacking on that one.
Brad: He's already pulled over, he can't pull over anymore.
Sam: Aw man, these are right in my head.
Brad: Who wants a mustache ride?
Darren, Alex, and Sam laugh.
Sam: What is that from?
Brad: Same movie, Super Troopers.
Alex: I didn't see it either.
Sam: Oh yeah.
Brad: You make me make a phony phone call to Edward Rooney...
Alex, Sam, and Darren: Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Brad: Ezekiel 25:17: The path of...
Sam: Pulp Fiction.
Alex: Sam, just killing it.
Brad: Can any of you do any celebrity impersonations?
Sam: We've been watching Ali G a lot. (to Alex) What's the one you've been quoting all the time.
Alex: (in his best Borat) Jagshemash, in Kazakhstan we have saying: When a horse cry it is like a man cry.
Brad: That's good. My best one is probably my Bill Clinton. (in my best Bill) "I did not have sexual relations with Mrs. Lewinski.. but I did her."
Alex and Sam: That's pretty good.
Darren: That's really good.
Brad: Thanks.
Alex: You're elected.
Brad: You all have gotten to tour with a lot of great people, who have you enjoyed touring with the most?
Alex: They're all great. They're all totally different experiences. You get used to being on the road and the same curriculum and everything, but when it comes time for the show, and the fans you play in front of... Different bands bring different people. We've had fun with everybody, it's just sort of a different spectrum, a different color of the rainbow. Guided by Voices was great. This tour is great with The Like and Sahara Hot Nights.
Sam: Obviously, Elvis Costello was amazing.
Darren: No Doubt was awesome.
Alex: Yeah, No Doubt and Blink 182.
Brad: I saw where you had toured with Pete Yorn and Remy Zero. Have you gotten to hear the new Remy Zero stuff?
Sam: I thought they had broken up.
Brad: Yeah, but Cinjun and Shelby released an album under the name Spartan Fidelity, and are planning on releasing a couple more pretty soon. It's really good stuff. Laid back. You'll have to check it out.
Alex: Spartan Fidelity. Alright, Thanks.
Brad: How long to you see yourselves playing?
Sam: Like tonight? 5 hours.
Brad: Just in general. How long do you think you all will be playing music? So you see yourselves walking up on stage with walkers?
Sam: Who knows? We've been doing this for quite a while, so hopefully we'll keep on.
Brad: I know you all have known each other for quite a while. When Schwartzman left, how did you find Jeff (Conrad, the drummer)?
Alex: We've known Jeff since just after college, about six years ago, almost seven years ago. He's just been a really good friend of ours and our bands used to play together. He was in a band called Siren 6, just an amazing ska band and just sort of Fugazi-esque. Just a great band all-together and we always wanted to work with him cause he was such a talented drummer.
Brad: I know when I first learned about him coming in and wasn't sure, because he some big shoes to fill, especially on something like "Big Brat," but when I saw him on the Troubadour DVD, any doubt I had was blown out the window.
Alex: What's funny, too, is that Sam played drums on "Big Brat", on the album actually. That's when we were between drummers.
Darren: One take, too. Right?
Alex: Yeah it was one take.
Sam Yeah, we got on one take.
Brad: Do you all like Donnie Darko? Are you looking forward to the release of the Director's Cut? (Note - Alex played Seth Devlin in the film)
Alex: It's a pretty good movie. It should be fun to watch. The only time I ever saw it was in the theaters when it first came out.
Darren: I've seen it like ten times. Everyone I know loves it.
Alex: Nice.
Darren: No joke.
Brad: I just want to thank you all again, so much, for putting up with me and letting me hang out with you for a while. I'd like to end the interview with - Tell me a joke.
Alex: I can't tell it here.
Brad: I'll put it on the website, regardless.
Alex: I was actually just quoting David Byrne's, from the Talking Heads, self-interview from "Stop Making Sense." But, I don't know any good jokes. (to Sam) So, know any new jokes? Sam: I'll tell you later.
(A girl walks by)
Alex: Suzie, hey.
Suzie: Hi.
Alex: Here's our friend and merch-girl: Suzie. Do you know any good jokes?
Suzie: Only dirty ones.
Alex, Darren, and Sam: That's fine.
Darren: I don't know any quick jokes.
Sam: I know one really, really bad one... but I can't tell it.
Alex: What do comedian Quakers eat?
(silence)
Alex: I made this up just now.
Sam: What do they eat?
Alex: Funny bunches of oats.
Brad: I think that's a good place to end the interview.
Brad: What's it like when you go into the studio? I know with the self-titled album, you recorded it in about six weeks after a solid 18 months of touring. Do you create more once you're in the studio or pretty much go in with a notebook full of songs and start from there?
Alex: Yeah, pretty much. We like being well rehearsed before we go into a studio and start wasting hundreds and thousands of dollars of our money on expensive recording. Usually we'll just work for a bunch of weeks on the songs in advance, though there are certain anomalies like "Big Brat", a song off our last record. It just sort of happened. I wrote the bass line on the plane on the way to recording and I was like 'hey guys, check this out' and we just played it. The first time we played it in front of a producer we were also recording it and that was the take we kept. So sometimes it just works out well like that.
Brad: Are you looking at a certain producer right now?
Alex: We may go with Dave Fridmann again and use some of his other talents since he's such a multi-talented and personable, awesome, genius dude. But we're not close-minded to anything at this point.
At this point in the interview I decided to test the bands aptitude on movie trivia.
Brad: Why does it say paper-jam, when there is no paper-jam.
Sam Farrar: (Faster than a speeding bullet): Office Space.
Brad: I don't know what you just said little kid. But you're special. You touch a brother heart. Give me the map, Scott. Give me the map, Scott!
Alex, Darren, and Sam stare at me like I'm retarded.
Brad: and then say, 'My, what a lovely tea-party.'
Alex: Sam?
Sam: I have no idea.
Darren Robinson: If Jeff was out here, he'd get all these.
Brad: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Alex: I didn't see it.
Sam: I was lacking on that one.
Brad: He's already pulled over, he can't pull over anymore.
Sam: Aw man, these are right in my head.
Brad: Who wants a mustache ride?
Darren, Alex, and Sam laugh.
Sam: What is that from?
Brad: Same movie, Super Troopers.
Alex: I didn't see it either.
Sam: Oh yeah.
Brad: You make me make a phony phone call to Edward Rooney...
Alex, Sam, and Darren: Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Brad: Ezekiel 25:17: The path of...
Sam: Pulp Fiction.
Alex: Sam, just killing it.
Brad: Can any of you do any celebrity impersonations?
Sam: We've been watching Ali G a lot. (to Alex) What's the one you've been quoting all the time.
Alex: (in his best Borat) Jagshemash, in Kazakhstan we have saying: When a horse cry it is like a man cry.
Brad: That's good. My best one is probably my Bill Clinton. (in my best Bill) "I did not have sexual relations with Mrs. Lewinski.. but I did her."
Alex and Sam: That's pretty good.
Darren: That's really good.
Brad: Thanks.
Alex: You're elected.
Brad: You all have gotten to tour with a lot of great people, who have you enjoyed touring with the most?
Alex: They're all great. They're all totally different experiences. You get used to being on the road and the same curriculum and everything, but when it comes time for the show, and the fans you play in front of... Different bands bring different people. We've had fun with everybody, it's just sort of a different spectrum, a different color of the rainbow. Guided by Voices was great. This tour is great with The Like and Sahara Hot Nights.
Sam: Obviously, Elvis Costello was amazing.
Darren: No Doubt was awesome.
Alex: Yeah, No Doubt and Blink 182.
Brad: I saw where you had toured with Pete Yorn and Remy Zero. Have you gotten to hear the new Remy Zero stuff?
Sam: I thought they had broken up.
Brad: Yeah, but Cinjun and Shelby released an album under the name Spartan Fidelity, and are planning on releasing a couple more pretty soon. It's really good stuff. Laid back. You'll have to check it out.
Alex: Spartan Fidelity. Alright, Thanks.
Brad: How long to you see yourselves playing?
Sam: Like tonight? 5 hours.
Brad: Just in general. How long do you think you all will be playing music? So you see yourselves walking up on stage with walkers?
Sam: Who knows? We've been doing this for quite a while, so hopefully we'll keep on.
Brad: I know you all have known each other for quite a while. When Schwartzman left, how did you find Jeff (Conrad, the drummer)?
Alex: We've known Jeff since just after college, about six years ago, almost seven years ago. He's just been a really good friend of ours and our bands used to play together. He was in a band called Siren 6, just an amazing ska band and just sort of Fugazi-esque. Just a great band all-together and we always wanted to work with him cause he was such a talented drummer.
Brad: I know when I first learned about him coming in and wasn't sure, because he some big shoes to fill, especially on something like "Big Brat," but when I saw him on the Troubadour DVD, any doubt I had was blown out the window.
Alex: What's funny, too, is that Sam played drums on "Big Brat", on the album actually. That's when we were between drummers.
Darren: One take, too. Right?
Alex: Yeah it was one take.
Sam Yeah, we got on one take.
Brad: Do you all like Donnie Darko? Are you looking forward to the release of the Director's Cut? (Note - Alex played Seth Devlin in the film)
Alex: It's a pretty good movie. It should be fun to watch. The only time I ever saw it was in the theaters when it first came out.
Darren: I've seen it like ten times. Everyone I know loves it.
Alex: Nice.
Darren: No joke.
Brad: I just want to thank you all again, so much, for putting up with me and letting me hang out with you for a while. I'd like to end the interview with - Tell me a joke.
Alex: I can't tell it here.
Brad: I'll put it on the website, regardless.
Alex: I was actually just quoting David Byrne's, from the Talking Heads, self-interview from "Stop Making Sense." But, I don't know any good jokes. (to Sam) So, know any new jokes? Sam: I'll tell you later.
(A girl walks by)
Alex: Suzie, hey.
Suzie: Hi.
Alex: Here's our friend and merch-girl: Suzie. Do you know any good jokes?
Suzie: Only dirty ones.
Alex, Darren, and Sam: That's fine.
Darren: I don't know any quick jokes.
Sam: I know one really, really bad one... but I can't tell it.
Alex: What do comedian Quakers eat?
(silence)
Alex: I made this up just now.
Sam: What do they eat?
Alex: Funny bunches of oats.
Brad: I think that's a good place to end the interview.