• Small Talk – Daniel Radcliffe (2 of 2)

    In his latest movie, The Woman In Black, Dan traded his Hogwarts uniform for a totally new role as a Dad.

  • #freshpresslive – feb 10/12

    Natalia brings you the latest news on Adele’s interview with Anderson Cooper, Kristen Bell’s interview on Ellen is auto tuned, Ladyhawke’s latest music video and much more!

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 8/12

    Natalia discusses what’s new with Pharrell Williams and her thoughts on Karl Lagerfeld’s mean comments towards Adele’s weight. She also shows a roster of animals behaving like humans and, wait until you see the new size of coffee available at Starbucks!

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 7/12

    Natalia dishes the latest news on the Juno Awards nominees, the upcoming Spiderman 3D film starring Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield and is Katy Perry hooking up with Tim Tebow? Watch today’s episode to find out.

  • Small Talk – The Kooks (2 of 2)

    When The Kooks are in the studio they’re focused and most importantly, sober. Watch Hugh and Luke explain their reasoning below.

  • Small Talk – The Kooks (1 of 2)

    The Kooks released a new album called “Junk of the Heart,” and you would think Hugh and Luke would be very excited about it. Well, they seemed rather indifferent to be honest. We spoke about that and why they don’t care about critics.

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 2/12

    Natalia dishes the latest in entertainment news on Joan Rivers, Lana Del Rey and a brand new trailer for the movie Hunger Games.

  • #freshpresslive – Feb 1/12

    Natalia talks about how Snooki might be pregnant, Nicolas Cage’s Cage Rage, Elisabetta Canalis is dating Steve-O and more for Feb 1, 2012.

  • #freshpresslive – Jan 31/12

    Natalia dishes the news on Miley Cyrus breaking her tailbone, a 100 year old woman who plays the Nintendo DS to stay young and Houston, Texas contemplating a statute of Beyonce.

  • #freshpresslive – Jan 30/12

    David Beckham debuts a new line of underwear, the worst dressed celebrity – Shy’m and Matthew Broderick is back as Ferris Bueller with a brand new commercial airing during the Super Bowl on Feb 5th 2012.

  • Small Talk – Daniel Radcliffe (1 of 2)

    Daniel Radcliffe is back with his new movie The Woman In Black. It’s a bone chilling remake of a film from the ’80s. Ironically, Daniel actually scares very easily but he’s not afraid of ghosts. In this interview he tells us what really gives him the creeps.

  • Small Talk – Graffiti6 (2 of 3)

    Next time you’re struggling to make conversation, try asking this question: “If you could invite anyone (living or dead) to the perfect house party, who would it be?”

  • Small Talk – Graffiti6 (1 of 3)

    Graffiti6 is starting to make their North American invasion, and they are hitting up the Tonight Show. Does this sound familiar? Well the Beatles made the exact same journey over 40 years ago. Naturally, @jordans_life had to make some comparisons.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (3 of 3)

    Nick plays World of Warcraft. Not only that, he’s the head of his guild, demonstrating that it IS possible to juggle being a hardcore gamer with being a top-selling recording artist.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (2 of 3)

    During a LIVE interview on andPOP.com Nick Carter gave out a number and took phone calls from his fans. These were real phone calls from real fans who we gave exclusive access to one of the biggest recording artists of our generation.

  • Small Talk – Nick Carter (1 of 3)

    There were great questions about music, fitness, the backstreet boys but the most popular question, however, was about his underwear. In this clip Nick talks about his his ‘Haynes’ and covering his fans with glow in the dark paint.

  • Small Talk – Hedley (2 of 2)

    When releasing new music today, half the battle is online promotion. However, contests, signed merch and giveaways aren’t always the best solutions. When working on their latest album, Hedley came up with a brilliant idea, they decided to make trailers.

  • Small Talk – Hedley (1 of 2)

    It’s hard to prepare for an interview with Hedley. So in this interview, we threw caution to the wind, got a 24 of beer and broadcast the interview live on our USTREAM (andPOP.tv). Eventually Jacob, Dave and @jordans_life ended up talking about hairy legs, their newest music video and more.

  • Small Talk – Marina and The Diamonds (2 of 2)

    Diamandis from Marina and The Diamonds talks to us about her very serious disease. It’s called synaesthetic. And we lied, it’s not a disease. More like a cool condition. Diamandis explains further.

  • Small Talk – Neverest

    Would you be embarrassed if someone scrolled through your iPod? We sit down with Spee and Brendan to talk about the diverse music on their playlist.

 
 


andPOP Interviews People in Planes

Posted by andPOP Staff on May 11th, 2008


Pete Roberts, guitarist and co-founder of Welsh rock band People in Planes, was finally on the line from New York—and only 45 minutes late.

“Most people are taking it at face value, as like a self-loathing song where they need help,” he began when I asked about their new single, “Mayday (M’aidez),” which means SOS or “help me” in French. “[But] it’s kind of the opposite of what most people think. It’s partly about, ‘I know you better than you know yourself,’ and that is possibly the most ignorant thing you can say to someone. …So, it’s kind of a ‘fuck you’ to those people.”

Nice.

“Mayday (M’aidez),” which can be heard on the People in Planes MySpace page, was released via iTunes on May 6 as the band’s first official single off their upcoming sophomore record, “Beyond The Horizon.” It comes bundled with two other tracks off the 12-track album—”Last Man Standing” and a video of their much-hyped “Pretty Buildings.” The video, which originally debuted on PureVolume as an exclusive, is now streaming on YouTube. Newsweek called it a ballad “rich in melody with strong searching lyrics”—and named it the reason why the band is one to watch.

People in Planes is a five-piece indie rock band from Cardiff, Wales. The quintet was formed by Roberts and lead vocalist Gareth Jones, who first met in elementary school when Roberts accidentally smashed a tennis ball into Jones’ face—(“I guess that’s when I first introduced myself to him,” Roberts chuckled)—leaving Jones with a bloody lip. The band was originally called Robots in the Sky in 2000—and then Tetra Splendour in 2001—before settling for People in Planes in 2005. Now, signed to Wind-Up Records in New York and with a final lineup of Roberts on guitar and backup vocals; Jones on lead vocals, rhythm guitar, and keyboards; Kris Blight on bass; John Maloney on drums; and Ian Russell on keyboards, People in Planes has just kicked off their first-ever headlining tour in promotion of “Beyond The Horizon.”

The upcoming sophomore release boasts collaborations with some well-known producers in the music industry—including Panic At The Disco producer Matt Squire and Canada’s own Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace. In total, the quintet worked with four different producers in seven different studios, making for an eclectic mix of ideas.

“We didn’t really know any of the producers beforehand [so] it was kind of a shot in the dark—we didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Roberts admits. “I just think—as we always did—we tried to explore different musical stuff and tried to be as creative as possible.”

But the creativity didn’t stop in the studio. “I did perform most of the demos in my bedroom on my laptop, and sung most of the songs myself,” says Roberts, who acts as the band’s main songwriter. “I’m singing a couple of lead bits on the new record too, [which] adds another dimension to the band.”

Although fans will be able to buy a digital copy of “Beyond The Horizon” on June 24, they won’t be able to get their hands on a physical copy for another month and a half—the album hits shelves August 12. But why the wait? “I don’t really know the reason,” Roberts admits. “I think it’s just [the label's] little game they have to play. There [are] a whole lot of things I’ll never understand about the music industry.”

One thing Roberts does understand is the importance of making friends. One click to the band’s MySpace and it’s clear they keep in touch with their old tour mates. In 2006, while People in Planes were promoting their debut album, “As Far As The Eye Can See,” they toured with Canadian indie rockers Pilot Speed and Wintersleep. Two years later, both are still on the band’s top 5 friends list. So exactly how important is it to make friends with the bands they tour with?

“It’s very important,” explains Roberts. “When you get back home, nobody really understands what you go through. You are sort of outcast when you try to get in with your friends again, because most of [them] have 9-5 jobs. …When you’re on tour, it’s like everyone you’re around understands. It’s the best place to meet friends.”

So far, People in Planes have only scheduled dates in four Canadian cities— they just played in Vancouver and Victoria and hit Ottawa on Tuesday (May 13) and Toronto Thursday (May 15).

But that’s not to say the rest of their Canadian fans will be out of luck. “We don’t want to say we’re only playing four shows in Canada [because] the whole schedule is literally being worked out as we speak,” says Roberts. “We’re gonna be touring constantly this year. We really want to get on the road as much as possible.”

With 21 tour dates already set for the rest of May and June, it looks like People in Planes will be keeping busy this summer. But while life on the road can eventually get dull, there’s bound to be moments of unadulterated hilarity—especially for five attractive young guys living the life of rock ‘n’ roll. So what’s the craziest thing they’ve ever done on tour?

“Ugh, I hate that question.”

“Oh—uh, I’m sorry.”

Silence.

“I really hate that question.”

Guess I’ll never know.


Tags:
Categories: Rock