(andPOP) -
The drummer is usually the quiet one, the shy one, the one you never hear about, the one you might not care about. When you think of U2, you think of Bono and the Edge. Think of the Rolling Stones and you think of Mick and Keith. Sorry, Ringo, but you were the fourth Beatle.
However, read a review on a Phantom Planet album and there is constant mention of Jason Schwartzman, who is sometimes the sole focus. When Schwartzman wasn't drumming in the Southern California-based band, he was acting, with roles in Rushmore and Slackers.
"I would read reviews all the time where the first three paragraphs would be about Jason being in movies. The last paragraph would be about how much they liked the album and then they'd give us a bad grade," says Sam Farrar, the bass player of Phantom Planet, on the line from Los Angeles. "I didn't understand that at all."
For a while, Farrar was pissed off when reviewers would write about Schwartzman but ignore Phantom Planet's music. Now he finds it funny, but he once almost snapped.
"Someone wrote something all about Jason and didn't pay attention to the record at all. Then I saw her at a party one night and was so close to yelling at her."
But he didn't, which is why they are widely considered the nicest guys in rock. "I don't see a point to being an asshole."
When the band started working on their third album, Schwartzman decided to leave them to focus on acting. Having this founding member depart almost ended the band.
"It's one of those things that you know is going to happen and you just don't want it to happen," Farrar says. "It was very scary there for a minute. We all contemplated whether we should keep going because he was a big staple in the band. We listened to the record again and we're like, 'this record is great'."
Their new drummer, Jeff Conrad, has brought new life to the band.
"Jeff hasn't been exposed to any major tours or major press or television. It's really exciting to see him act like a kid and be really excited about things that we've always done and maybe taken for granted at this point."
The band had been writing material on the road prior to hitting the studio with Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Longwave). Their self-titled album, which was released in January, took just six weeks to record.
"The semi-melodic pop has changed into straight up rock and roll," Farrar says of the new album. "It's the next phase of our life. We've grown up a little more, gotten taller. We have longer hair. People have told us over and over that our last album didn't have enough energy to it. Our goal for this one was to pull you into the room and make you feel like you're standing there watching us play."
Fans will have the chance to see the band play live as they headline dates until early May, and then open for Blink 182 and No Doubt in June.
But don't expect them to be on tour for too long. Prior to the release of this album, Phantom Planet had been on tour for 18 months.
"17 months into it we were dying. We went around the world in three weeks. It really takes a toll on you. We were getting really good offers for tours and we just knew if we took any more tours at that point, we would fall apart."
They also hope to release another album by the end of the year.
Even with Schwartzman out of the band, they now have another diversion from their albums, but at least this time it is actually for their music. A song from their second album, "California," is the theme song for the hit show, "The O.C."
Remember when the Rembrandts thought they would get a career boost by having "I'll Be There for You" used as the Friend's theme song, but it ultimately killed their career? Farrar does.
"That was exactly our worry and that is exactly why we didn?t put any mention of us on the show. You have to kind of hunt it down a little bit. When we play live, we say, 'do you want to hear 'Lonely Day' or 'California?' And 9 times out of 10 times they say 'Lonely Day'."
Check out the music video for "Big Brat," directed by Spike Jonze:
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And check out a live version of the song from their "Live At the Troubadour" DVD:
Quicktime
Real Video
Windows Media
