SEPTEMBER 6, 2003
By Andy Argyrakis
If you're the son of a significant rock star, the general public is most likely to assume that you're cashing in on your star-studded lineage or that you genetically inherited your gifts from the family genius. The fact that Fiction Plane singer Joe Sumner doesn't broadcast his position as Sting's offspring rules him out of the first category (he quickly deflects questions relating to that association) though his vocal wails, punk influenced rock 'n' roll guitar grinds and songwriting depth certainly conjure up images of Dad during The Police days.
"It's always been pretty separate," the tall and lanky Brit rocker insists in this conversation's only direct reference to his father. "Me and [guitarist] Dan [Brown] both got into Nirvana when we were 14 or 15 and decided music is what we were going to do. We didn't take any sort of influence from anyone but the artists we liked, which for me also included The Specials." After formally uniting three years ago with fellow guitarist Seton Daunt in London, the trio christened themselves Fiction Plane (named after the song title of an early Sumner demo) and the guys hit the road just like any other young and hungry band.
"We've been gigging for years now and have found playing live really helps a band refine themselves," Brown says. "Our focus has always been putting on a great live show and that's allowed us to build up a great touring infrastructure both in the U.K. and in the States. It just so happened that an American label has picked us up, so that's where we've been as of late."
Indeed, teaming up with MCA and releasing the brand new Everything Will Never Be OK has given the group a much needed springboard in the States, warranting a solo club start-up tour, travel dates with Something Corporate, The Juliana Theory and Lifehouse, plus spot shows with The Samples and Frank Black & The Catholics. Some treks have gone better than others - like performing with that legendary Pixies' member as opposed to playing tiny, sparsely attended bars - though, as alluded to in the disc's title, band members are prepared to handle all steps along the growth spectrum.
"We're able to look at this band and life on the whole, realizing that nothing can ever be perfect," Brown says. "Once you stop striving for perfection and that glossy ideal people seem to seek, you become a lot happier. That philosophy is a lot more positive than it sounds because once you accept the reality, you're free to enjoy whatever it is you're trying to accomplish." The pursuit of truth and relevance, as opposed to sappy rock clichés, is clearly Sumner's focus (who serves as Fiction Plane's primary writer). From his relationship-derived cynicism on the snarling "Hate" to a sardonic analysis of empathy on the bellowing "Listen" to mortality magnification on the sobering "I Wish I Would Die," the cuts are a far cry from radio-ready shallowness. "We've never been taught the pop scene and have spent a lot of time hating most things on the radio," Sumner says. "We don't really even have a reference point to what's popular now other than the fact that we don't sound a thing like the latest New Found Glory record. Our whole motivation to be in this industry is not to be an image-based band, just a group of musicians talking about real issues while sorting out our own."
www.hearsay.cc/features/articles/ 06-10-06-03/FictionPlane.html
Photo by Andy Argyrakis
