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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 Sam John Farrar (born June 29, 1978) is an American musician. He is best known as a member of the pop band Maroon 5, in which he plays several instruments, primarily bass guitar. A frequent collaborator with the band since the 1990s, he joined ...
(bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is best known for its track "
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
", which became the theme song for the
TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
'' 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 were going on "hiatus" and would "not be playing any more live shows or making any new records, indefinitely." 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


Early years and ''Phantom Planet Is Missing'' (1994–1999)

Phantom Planet was named in 1994 after a 1961
B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
called '' The Phantom Planet''. While still in their teens, the group played frequently in and around the Hollywood area, finally catching the eye of
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
executives. Phantom Planet signed with Geffen in 1997 and released their first album, '' Phantom Planet Is Missing'' in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
. 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''.


''The Guest'' and ''Phantom Planet'' (2002–2004)

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 Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
. Charlotte Froom, the daughter of producer
Mitchell Froom Mitchell Froom (born June 29, 1953) is an American musician and record producer. He was a member of the bands Gamma and Latin Playboys, and is the keyboardist for Crowded House. He has produced albums for several artists, including David LaFl ...
, 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. 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. ''The Guest'' got an extra boost when the record's song "
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
" was chosen as the theme song for the Fox Network's hit TV series '' The O.C.''. 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 Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
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." In the middle of recording the album, founding member and drummer Jason Schwartzman abruptly left the band to focus on his 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 pursue a career in photography. The band performed "Big Brat", the album's first single, on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
''.


''Raise the Dead'' and hiatus (2007–2008)

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. ''
Raise the Dead ''Raise the Dead'' is the fourth studio album by rock band Phantom Planet. It was released on April 15, 2008. The CD includes reworked versions of "Leader" and "Geronimo", both of which appeared on the ''Limited Edition Tour EP'', as well as a ...
'' was released on April 15, 2008. When describing the new record, Greenwald described it as "a concept record. If
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
had '' Sgt. Pepper's'' and
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
had '' Their Satanic Majesties Request'', we have our 'Leader.' We're concocting it, but at the same time we're following it." The first single from the album was " Do the Panic". 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.


First reunion (2012–2013)

In late January 2012, Phantom Planet announced their first reunion show, June 13, at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. 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. 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. This performance did not have bassist Sam Farrar because he was touring with Maroon 5. He was replaced by Jamiroquai bassist Stuart Zender.


Second reunion and ''Devastator'' (2019–present)

A Phantom Planet Instagram account 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. On March 18, 2019, the band officially announced "Hiatus. Over." 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. 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). However, the album was delayed to June 19, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. It was later pushed again one day earlier June 18, as a way of showing respect and support to the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
movement.


Side projects and related work

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. 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!''. 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. He is also helping fellow band member Darren Robinson in his side project Twin Terrors. Sam Farrar joined a band called Operation Aloha with members of Gomez,
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
. Operation Aloha's self-titled, fourth full-length album was released on May 12, 2009. It was recorded over a period of 30 days in Maui, Hawaii. 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 Michael Allen Madden (born May 13, 1979) is an American musician and former bassist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. Life and music career Madden was born in Austin, Texas. He began playing in junior high school at the Brentwood School in Los ...
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. 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, Dead Honcho, which has songs uploaded to SoundCloud, and Fist Fright with Andrew Parker, which currently has three songs posted on Bandcamp. Jeff Conrad has a project called Vibe Mountain.


In popular culture

The band has opened for many well-known artists, including
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
, Sting,
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
,
Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...
,
Guided by Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
,
Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...
, The Zombies, The Hives, Sloan, American Hi-Fi,
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
,
Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
, Panic! at the Disco,
The Rocket Summer The Rocket Summer is the solo project of Bryce Avary, a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and record producer based in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas. He has released eight studio albums and several EPs. His fifth release, 2012's '' Lif ...
, Hanson and Paramore. Phantom Planet has appeared on ''
Sabrina the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...
'', 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 ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...
''. 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 Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
'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 ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
''. Alex Greenwald, the band's vocalist, sang a fusion jazz cover of
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
'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 ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'' 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

Current members * Alex Greenwald – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, occasional bass (1994–2008, 2012, 2019–present) *
Sam Farrar Sam John Farrar (born June 29, 1978) is an American musician. He is best known as a member of the pop band Maroon 5, in which he plays several instruments, primarily bass guitar. A frequent collaborator with the band since the 1990s, he joined ...
 – 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 * Jacques Brautbar – rhythm and lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, occasional bass (1994–2004, 2012) * Jason Schwartzman – drums, percussion (1994–2003)


Discography

* '' Phantom Planet Is Missing'' (1998) * '' The Guest'' (2002) * ''
Phantom Planet Phantom Planet is an American Rock music, 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 bes ...
'' (2004) * ''
Raise the Dead ''Raise the Dead'' is the fourth studio album by rock band Phantom Planet. It was released on April 15, 2008. The CD includes reworked versions of "Leader" and "Geronimo", both of which appeared on the ''Limited Edition Tour EP'', as well as a ...
'' (2008) * '' Devastator'' (2020)


Filmography


References


External links

*
Phantom Planet's official fan site

Official Youtube channel

Phantom Planet DRIV3R interview

Phantom Planet
at Last.fm {{Authority control Musical groups from Los Angeles Fueled by Ramen artists Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1994 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Epic Records artists MCA Records artists Geffen Records artists Interscope Records artists