At first glance, Phantom Planet is on the wrong
coast. The Los Angeles band best known for "California,"
the theme song to the hit Fox drama "The O.C.," makes
a rare New York appearance tonight at Irving Plaza. The band took
the job with the hot teen-filled soap because they liked the show.
"Josh Schwartz [the creator] really
liked our band," front man Alex Greenwald told The News.
"He asked, but we weren't sure and
wanted to see the pilot. It looked sort of like '90210,' and
I grew up loving that show, so we said yeah."
When
the show took off, Phantom Planet joined the ranks of They
Might Be Giants ("Malcolm in the Middle"), Carole
King ("Gilmore Girls") and the Rembrandts ("Friends").
Fans of the theme song may be surprised by a
slightly less accessible brand of pop punk in the band's recent,
self-titled release. "I definitely think people are more aware
of us because of that song, but one song can only do so much for
a band. If it gets people down to our shows, that's great,"
Greenwald explained. "It's like a good invite to an even bigger
party." The video for the album's first single, "Big Brat,"
is an offbeat, four-minute zombie film directed by Spike Jonze of
"Being John Malkovich" fame.
"Spike is super-nice and super-smart, but
when he's working, he's like this weird kid almost," Greenwald
said. "He's curious about everything, constantly wanting to
try new things. We learned a great deal about making videos."
The Hollywood connection doesn't
stop there.
Less than a year ago, Planet's drummer, Jason
Schwartzman, best known for his starring role in the critically
acclaimed "Rushmore," left to concentrate on acting. He
stuck around long enough to play seven tracks on the band's current
eponymous album.
He wanted to leave before the album was finished,
but I demanded that he stay," Greenwald said. "We worked
really hard on those songs and they wouldn't have been the same
without him.
