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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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Gared O'Donnell - Vocals, Guitar Matt Bellinger - Guitar, Vocals Jamie Drier - Bass Matt Ricketts - Drums |
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| Interview with Gared March 8th, 2004 |
| E: If you had to attribute the success of your band, Planes Mistaken For Stars, to one character trait instance, or person... what or who would it be? Gared: Stubbornness, which is a close tie with love. E: What goes into the structure of a band aside from having the correct ratio of musicians to instruments? Gared: Love and Stubbornness. E: How much does emotion influence the songs you write? Is it an instrument of songwriting, or a hindrance? Gared: That's what a great song is--an emotion, or an outpouring thereof. "Emotional" just doesn't mean being sad. We run the gamut of emotions, I believe. And sadness is actually our least touched-on subject. E: Does the musician lifestyle ever wear on you? Are there ever "off-days"... and if so, how do you deal with them? Gared: The lifestyle is relative. There are some people who live the musician lifestyle that is completely day and night from how we operate. While on tour, having to be 110% can wear you do down. Sometimes I am standing onstage and I start thinking about going home... but as soon as I play a note I know that's where I am supposed to be. E: Do you think that your career defines your lifestyle? Gared: I think calling it a career is a stretch. If anything, we pretend our lifestyle is a career. E: How has the process of recording an album changed from when you started off. Gared: Not drastically, but it is still as stressful as ever. We have a tiny bit more leeway financially than we had in the past, but it doesn't necessarily make it any easier. If we have five days to record, we end up needing ten. If we have ten, we end up needing twenty. That's just how it goes. E: How do you think your band would be different had it been started twenty-five years ago? Gared: We'd probably have more kids into us than we do now. Twenty-five years ago there wasn't as much sh*t to wade through to get to the good stuff. Whereas now, anybody can put out a record. The sheer volume of bad releases that come out can sometimes make the good ones hard to find. E: Was becoming a musician always a dream for you? Gared: It's always been a dream for all of us... but when we finally become musicians, we'll let you know. E: Are there certain obligations you have as a band member that you wish would go away? Gared: Yeah, but to divulge that would be incriminating. E: In what ways do you try to combat homesickness on tour? Gared: To divulge that information would also be incriminating. E: Judging from the up-and-coming bands on the mainstream scene, what are your feelings regarding the next generation of music and those who play it? Gared: To divulge that information would be incriminating. But I do see some sparks of hope. E: Would you recommend being in a band to someone else? Gared: Not really. Either you are or you aren't born to do this. It's not something you can be guided to do. It has to be running through your veins. If you have to do it, you'll do it. I've found in my situation my gut dictates where I go. E: Are there any lesser-known bands you'd like to plug? Gared: Navajo Code from the UK, who we just played a few shows with on our off-days during the Cursive / Ataris tour in the UK. Love Me Destroyer and Friends Forever from Denver are cool... Minsk. E: That's pretty much it. Anything else you'd like to say? Gared: Thanks, and take care of yourselves. |