Planes Mistaken For Stars are a four piece band of rawkus power and cutting insight. They punch you square in the face and laugh at you as you watch it begin to make sense. Coming out of the rust belt in Peoria, Illinois and heading to hardcore heaven Denver?
Planes Mistaken For Stars have made a decent little name for themselves in their 6 years as a band, and they seem to be poised for even bigger things. They are touring with HIGH ON FIRE right now, before going to Europe to tour with CONVERGE for a month. I spoke with leade singer Gared before the band hit the stage in New Orleans, and this is what he had to say about his band, seeing the world and shoveling pigs feet into street cars.
Mike Hammer: How would you describe your band to someone who never heard it?
Gared: I dont know.. Its just a bunch of kids who grew up listening to Black Flag, Black Sabbath, The Replacements and and Thin Lizzy and they threw it in a blender.
MH: How many releases have you had now?
G: We just put out our second full-length, Up in them Guts (No Idea Records) about 6 months ago.
MH: But you guys have had other releases, right?
G: We have 2 full-lengths, 2 EPs, a 7-inch and some compilation appearances.
MH: Fuck with Fire was your first full-length, how does Up in them Guts compare.
G: Were all pretty proud of Up in them Guts. We think its our best, everybody is saying that. Its our most focused effort. We got to put about 10 times the amount of effort into it that we have anything else in the past.
MH: Is Up in them Guts doing pretty good, sales wise?
G: Its doing alright, its doing good. Weve had a lot more press than weve ever had before and save one or two reviews, theyve all been pretty excellent.
MH: How much time did you spend recording?
G: We spent a little over 2 weeks recording.
MH: Where do you do it?
G: Presto Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yeah, with Fuck with Fire we only spent 5 days recording and mixing. This way we spent 2 weeks on everything.
MH: Whats your process?
G: We just usually bounce ideas off of each other. I usually have stacks of lyrics on pieces of paper lying around the house, and we build songs around the lyrics. Or, we just bounce riffs off each other and see what goes.
MH: In the studio, do you have a pretty good idea of the final product? I guess with 5 days you are forced to. However, with the new album, did you get to mess a little more with the songs in the studio?
G: Yeah, theres some of the stuff on this new album that we actually kinda wrote in the studio... finished songs up, but weve always done that too. The way it works is like, 5 days, we wanted 10 days. With 2 weeks, we wanted 3 weeks and with 4 weeks ya know. Its never enough.
MH: You guys just finished touring in Europe right?
G: Yeah, we were there for a couple weeks.
MH: What do you do on tour when youre not playing? Are ya sightseeing or what?
G: Well, we really didnt get to see much. Except for like, the 6 blocks around the club. We just make sure we laugh a lot.
MH: What kinda music do you listen to in the van?
G: Not a whole lot of loud stuff, cause your ears get fried. I listen to a lot of Marvin Gaye. Theres a lot of Neil Young in the van, lotta old soul, old kinda plastic rock stuff thats pulled back a bit, but a lotta soul.
MH: Are there a couple of staple CDs?
G: Oh yeah, we always have, like, Sabbath records and all the classics for when we feel like getting a bit rowdy I guess. Definitely always have Back in Black
MH: So, you guys finished the UK tour, now your touring the US for a couple weeks with High On Fire, then you tour Europe again for 4 weeks with Converge. Thats a lot of touring. Do you guys like the live show? Is that where youre at your best, on stage?
G: Well, we all love it. I think that its the truest representation of our form. But its rough being gone. We all have families or people at home, and we all get a little bit burnt. I mean, when youre at home, you wish you were on the road, when youre on the road you wish you were at home, so...its a double-edged sword, it never changes.
MH: Do you write stuff when youre on tour?
G: Not so much. We dont really have time to. Where can ya go with an acoustic guitar to get some quiet and just sit down and write? It doesnt really happen.
MH: Do you guys make enough money yet, to live as just a band, or do you all have day jobs?
G: We all have day jobs.
MH: Got any horror day job stories?
G: Ive had a lot of crappy day jobs. Everything from driving cabs to loading train cars full of pigs feet. But lately I dont have a day job, cause I stay home at take care of my son.
MH: OK. How are you going to keep pushing it and bring the band to the next level?
G: We dont really think in terms like that. We just usually think of what works and what doesnt and whats fun and whats not, we as a rule dont really go out of the way to do things that were uncomfortable with in the name of success. I feel like its a success that weve been in a band for going on 7 years and that were all still best friends. We can all sit in a van with each other for 5 weeks at a time, ya know. We just gotta keep on keeping on. Just playing and getting people out on tour and making friends and seeing the world.
MH: Whats the most interesting part of the world youve seen yet?
G: It changes from day to day. Ive seen some fucking crazy shit. I been to some crazy places and Ive been to some places that are supposed to be crazy that have really let ya down. I guess the inside of the van is pretty interesting. If those walls could talk.
MH: As the tours keep going, how do you think that new listeners will categorize you? You guys are touring with hardcore bands now, then Converge. Do you think that people are gonna lump you with hardcore or screamo? Are you worried about that at all?
G: Not at all. This year weve toured with The Ataris, Against Me, High On Fire, Hot Water Music, Dillinger Escape Plan. Every one of those bands is totally night and day. And I think, if we have one thing going for us, it's that you cant really categorize us in one genre. I think were somewhere in the middle of all those bands. We just like to write rock music.
MH: Is there anything that sets you guys apart?
G: I just dont think we care about what people fucking think at all. Maybe thats what does it. We dont fucking dress up or masquerade for anybody. And we certainly dont use marketing schemes to sell records to dumb kids.
Maybe thats why we dont sell a lot of records
Planes Mistaken For Stars have made a decent little name for themselves in their 6 years as a band, and they seem to be poised for even bigger things. They are touring with HIGH ON FIRE right now, before going to Europe to tour with CONVERGE for a month. I spoke with leade singer Gared before the band hit the stage in New Orleans, and this is what he had to say about his band, seeing the world and shoveling pigs feet into street cars.
Mike Hammer: How would you describe your band to someone who never heard it?
Gared: I dont know.. Its just a bunch of kids who grew up listening to Black Flag, Black Sabbath, The Replacements and and Thin Lizzy and they threw it in a blender.
MH: How many releases have you had now?
G: We just put out our second full-length, Up in them Guts (No Idea Records) about 6 months ago.
MH: But you guys have had other releases, right?
G: We have 2 full-lengths, 2 EPs, a 7-inch and some compilation appearances.
MH: Fuck with Fire was your first full-length, how does Up in them Guts compare.
G: Were all pretty proud of Up in them Guts. We think its our best, everybody is saying that. Its our most focused effort. We got to put about 10 times the amount of effort into it that we have anything else in the past.
MH: Is Up in them Guts doing pretty good, sales wise?
G: Its doing alright, its doing good. Weve had a lot more press than weve ever had before and save one or two reviews, theyve all been pretty excellent.
MH: How much time did you spend recording?
G: We spent a little over 2 weeks recording.
MH: Where do you do it?
G: Presto Studios in Lincoln, Nebraska. Yeah, with Fuck with Fire we only spent 5 days recording and mixing. This way we spent 2 weeks on everything.
MH: Whats your process?
G: We just usually bounce ideas off of each other. I usually have stacks of lyrics on pieces of paper lying around the house, and we build songs around the lyrics. Or, we just bounce riffs off each other and see what goes.
MH: In the studio, do you have a pretty good idea of the final product? I guess with 5 days you are forced to. However, with the new album, did you get to mess a little more with the songs in the studio?
G: Yeah, theres some of the stuff on this new album that we actually kinda wrote in the studio... finished songs up, but weve always done that too. The way it works is like, 5 days, we wanted 10 days. With 2 weeks, we wanted 3 weeks and with 4 weeks ya know. Its never enough.
MH: You guys just finished touring in Europe right?
G: Yeah, we were there for a couple weeks.
MH: What do you do on tour when youre not playing? Are ya sightseeing or what?
G: Well, we really didnt get to see much. Except for like, the 6 blocks around the club. We just make sure we laugh a lot.
MH: What kinda music do you listen to in the van?
G: Not a whole lot of loud stuff, cause your ears get fried. I listen to a lot of Marvin Gaye. Theres a lot of Neil Young in the van, lotta old soul, old kinda plastic rock stuff thats pulled back a bit, but a lotta soul.
MH: Are there a couple of staple CDs?
G: Oh yeah, we always have, like, Sabbath records and all the classics for when we feel like getting a bit rowdy I guess. Definitely always have Back in Black
MH: So, you guys finished the UK tour, now your touring the US for a couple weeks with High On Fire, then you tour Europe again for 4 weeks with Converge. Thats a lot of touring. Do you guys like the live show? Is that where youre at your best, on stage?
G: Well, we all love it. I think that its the truest representation of our form. But its rough being gone. We all have families or people at home, and we all get a little bit burnt. I mean, when youre at home, you wish you were on the road, when youre on the road you wish you were at home, so...its a double-edged sword, it never changes.
MH: Do you write stuff when youre on tour?
G: Not so much. We dont really have time to. Where can ya go with an acoustic guitar to get some quiet and just sit down and write? It doesnt really happen.
MH: Do you guys make enough money yet, to live as just a band, or do you all have day jobs?
G: We all have day jobs.
MH: Got any horror day job stories?
G: Ive had a lot of crappy day jobs. Everything from driving cabs to loading train cars full of pigs feet. But lately I dont have a day job, cause I stay home at take care of my son.
MH: OK. How are you going to keep pushing it and bring the band to the next level?
G: We dont really think in terms like that. We just usually think of what works and what doesnt and whats fun and whats not, we as a rule dont really go out of the way to do things that were uncomfortable with in the name of success. I feel like its a success that weve been in a band for going on 7 years and that were all still best friends. We can all sit in a van with each other for 5 weeks at a time, ya know. We just gotta keep on keeping on. Just playing and getting people out on tour and making friends and seeing the world.
MH: Whats the most interesting part of the world youve seen yet?
G: It changes from day to day. Ive seen some fucking crazy shit. I been to some crazy places and Ive been to some places that are supposed to be crazy that have really let ya down. I guess the inside of the van is pretty interesting. If those walls could talk.
MH: As the tours keep going, how do you think that new listeners will categorize you? You guys are touring with hardcore bands now, then Converge. Do you think that people are gonna lump you with hardcore or screamo? Are you worried about that at all?
G: Not at all. This year weve toured with The Ataris, Against Me, High On Fire, Hot Water Music, Dillinger Escape Plan. Every one of those bands is totally night and day. And I think, if we have one thing going for us, it's that you cant really categorize us in one genre. I think were somewhere in the middle of all those bands. We just like to write rock music.
MH: Is there anything that sets you guys apart?
G: I just dont think we care about what people fucking think at all. Maybe thats what does it. We dont fucking dress up or masquerade for anybody. And we certainly dont use marketing schemes to sell records to dumb kids.
Maybe thats why we dont sell a lot of records
VIEW 14 of 14 COMMENTS
abigailr:
one of my favorite bands. they put on a great show.
oskar:
I think one of the first songs i like of them was "Copper and Stars"... the energy in it is awesome