S&S Presents
Postponed: Phantom Planet
Wednesday, May 6 2020
7:00 PM MDT
615 West 100 South
Salt Lake City
UT,
84101
The Phantom Planet event has been postponed. Reschedule information will be available shortly.
Dinner & A Show--- Bring in your ticket to RYE Diner & Drinks on the night of the show and receive 20% off your meal! RYE is open for dinner Wednesday-Saturday night, 6pm-10pm. Full menu and details at ryeslc.com.
The hiatus is over. And while celebrating its 25th
year of existence, Phantom Planet’s Alex Greenwald,
Sam Farrar, Darren Robinson and Jeff Conrad are in
the midst of making new music with Raise The Dead
producer Tony Berg at the fabled Sound City Studio.
“We feel like we’re returning home,” says Greenwald,
singer, rhythm guitarist and chief songwriter. “The
boys in Phantom Planet are my brothers, and we
figured it was time for a full fledged family reunion”
For the record, the Los Angeles band responsible
for four albums of energetic and diversified alt rock;
and are known for writing anthemic hits like
“California,” – the infectious theme of the popular
four-season TV series The O.C; the vibrant fan
favorite, “Do The Panic” and the gritty, punkpropelled “Big Brat”.
A band known for their wildly exciting shows
with deep fan engagement – many found Greenwald
literally hanging from the rafters of the venue to
entertain the masses on more than one occasion.
Having toured with No Doubt, Incubus and many
others, Phantom Planet quickly earned the fans’
staunch loyalty through a combination of stellar
musicianship and their compelling material.
Forming in 1994, they released the prophetically
titled Phantom Planet Is Missing. Four years later,
followed 2002’s The Guest – which featured the
evergreen “California,” their biggest hit. The selftitled Phantom Planet and 2008’s Raise The Dead
followed before the first breather ensued. But they
never officially broke up.
At this point, each Phantom Planet member
pursued satellite interests before they briefly
reunited in 2012: Bassist Sam Farrar, who had been
collaborating with Maroon 5 since 2001, became
more immersed in the band, touring and recording
with them before being asked to be a full-fledged
member in 2016. He also signed a solo publishing
deal with Warner Chappell Music, moving on to write
& produce with artists as diverse as Sara Bareilles,
Fitz & The Tantrums and Santigold.
Alex Greenwald began working on his solo album
Yo!, (eventually released in 2014) and put on his
production cap for projects by The Like and The
Young Veins, followed by a high profile turn as
musical director for Mark Ronson and The Business
Intl. He also formed another band, JJAMZ , in 2009,
released an album called Suicide Pact and later
rechristened them as Phases, which released a selftitled album on Warner Music in 2016.
Guitarist Darren Robinson divided his time
between a number of projects – touring with
Miniature Tigers, The Californian and creating Twin
Terrors and Dead Honcho.
And drummer Jeff Conrad, who replaced
founding member Jason Schwartzman (who left the
band to pursue acting in 2004), built a stellar
reputation as a go-to video editor and documentary
music composer, working with such clients as Google
and ESPN. He also anchored popular Ska band Siren
Six, who held a recent 20th anniversary gig of their
own to commemorate the occasion.
Phantom Planet briefly reunited for a few gigs in
2012 and flirted with the idea of a more permanent
reconsolidation, but the timing wasn’t right.
“If I saw Sam at a party, we’d ask if each other
was free, but we both had other obligations,”
Greenwald recalls. “We had been talking about it for
two years. Since Sam also plays in Maroon 5 and
they tour a lot, it’s been an interesting scheduling
dilemma. Suddenly a lot of things just clicked into
place last year.”
Now, it’s time to pick up the reins and see how
all of these collective experiences are going to forge
a new Phantom Planet sound. The band has already
tested its live chops during a secret show at No
Name (in Los Angeles) on January 19, and the
musical chemistry was potent as ever.
“We’ve all gone on these various treks and I
guess we’ve decided the time is right,” notes
Greenwald. “It certainly feels right. We’ve always
been friends – it’s not like we got tired of each other
or that anyone was mad at each other. And now that
we’ve come together, it’s as if no time has elapsed.
It’s been a lot of fun!”
As Phantom Planet experiments with new songs
and sonics, Greenwald insists Tony Berg was the only
outsider considered to produce the sessions as their
sounding board.
“I’ve known him since I was 18 and he was A&R
of Geffen Records in the ‘90s,” Greenwald explains.
“He’s always been a big proponent of my songwriting and he’s probably one of the only people
whose opinion I trust.”
As Phantom Planet prepares to unleash its latest
adventurous refrains in the very near future,
Greenwald suggests that “it’s not off the table that
we will go on tour at least within the next year.”
Now that Phantom Planet is fully reinstated and
ready to go, Alex Greenwald says he can’t wait to
reconnect with the fans and showcase the band’s
new music this summer.
He promises it’s worth the wait.
.
“We’ve become better musicians and better
listeners. Every Phantom Planet record has been an
experiment. I’m sure this one will be no different.”