"Art is Art": The (2nd) Phantom Planet Interview

  DR and JB talk about rock.

Every year NYU has a 'welcome back' mystery show where they keep the identity of the performers an enigma wrapped in, well, a mystery. I assume the idea is to create some sort of hype for a student body which gets higher numbers on the Princeton Review's ranking for 'Most Apathetic' than 'Most Urban' and 'Highest Pot Usage' put together. When it was revealed that Phantom Planet was, in fact, our mystery performer, it occurred to me that this was a strange sort of synergy. What better band than one I have loved since High School to usher in my Senior year? Appropriately, California is strongly represented at NYU, so the band was in good hands for the show of Tuesday, Sept 17th. Superdrag and OkGo rocked the house. I was also lucky enough to go to the Warsaw that Thursday and see them play again, where I was able to set up this interview with Darren. Big thanks go out to him for organizing the logistics.

Woman Rebel: What are you names and what instruments do you play?
Darren Robinson: Darren Robinson. The guitar.
Jacques Brautbar: Jacques Brautbar. Guitar/back up vocals.

WR: What is the best memory you have of being on the road?
DR: The memory is currently in the forming process.
JB: Driving from LA to Chicago non-stop in two days. Loosing my mind along the way.

WR: What is your favorite song to play at shows?
DR: Either "All Over Again" or "The Happy Ending."
JB: Badd Business, a new song that might be on the next record.

WR:You've played with some really cool people over the years. Who, in your opinion, was the best/most fun?
DR: Well, all of the bands have been fun in their own particular ways. I loved touring with Incubus, American Hi Fi, Superdrag and OkGo. Those bands are right off the top of my head, so that must mean something.
JB: Well, each live experince we've had with bands has been fun and educational. My favorite so far has been the Incubus tour though. I'd love to tour with those guys again.

WR: A lot has happened in the past year for you guys, the band, etc. However, you've been around for a while, and done the time to get where you are. What would you say to people who call you an 'overnight success story'?
DR: I'd just look a hole right through them and/or eat their soul. Wow, that was weird.
JB: I doubt anyone would ever say that about us.

WR: There's been a long time since your first album, and the new one, The Guest. What would you say to people who either have never had a chance to see you play in the interim, or are buying the old one after listening to and liking the new one?
DR: This is how Jacques describes it: It's like taking a picture of someone when they're 15 and then taking another picture of them when they're 20. It's the same person, but the physical appearances are a bit different. It's not really that the influences are completely different, it's just that they've branched out and become more plentiful.
JB: Like people change between the ages of 16 and 20 so did our music. Each album is just a photograph of where the band was at that time.

WR: You've been together a long time -- same band, same people -- and that's pretty unusual. What's the secret to getting along and working together?
DR: We love what we do and we're passionate about it. No secret really.
JB: Space.

WR: MTV has made much of the 'Return of Rock': do you think rock ever went away? If so, where did it go? If not, why do you think it's suddenly become popular again?
DR: Popularity of music seems to go in cycles. There are waves of styles that come and go. Rock never went away, just the mainstream popularity of it did.
JB: Rock never left.

WR: Some have talked about the proliferation of 'four car garage' bands, i.e. Affluent bands that have used their social and/or family connections to get where they are. What would you say to people who might want to cast you in this light?
DR: They apparently have no idea what our past is and how we got to where we currently are. I'd just tell any of those people to come to our live show.
JB: well we definatly didn't come from the ghetto. If a person or band's background matters so much so that it over shadows the music than its time people changed their focus. Art is Art. Wagner was a terrible person but his music is incredible.

WR: One last question: What's next for Phantom Planet?
DR: Third album, most-likely soon after we tour with Costello. We've got an idea of the all songs that the full album will consist of. We've been working on a bunch of stuff lately.
JB: Hmm...a new record?

A big thank you to Darren and Jacques! You can keep up with Phantom Planet at phantomplanet.com or the official fan site, phantomplanetfamily.com. You can also read the tour diary (with pictures) of their current tour with Elvis Costello.