2/14/03
The Student Newspaper of Case Western Reserve University
Fiction Plane braves Cleveland crowds and chow
Taking my journalistic virginity, London-bred Fiction Plane invaded Cleveland with a pleasant blend of pop, British rock, and unnervingly deep lyrics last Saturday. After a run around at the box office, back stage passes that magically morphed into photo-only passes, a candid conversation with the backstage bouncer, a cigarette, and a sound check, I finally caught up with members of the band.
Pleasantly welcomed by the aromas of Chinese food, we found the band enjoying Hunan beef, General Tso’s chicken and hot and sour soup. (All dinners crucial to the contents of the interview.)
After introductions all around and politely declining dinner, we settled into business. The band, consisting of Joe Sumner on vocals and guitar, Dan Brown on bass and backing vocals, Seton Daunt on guitar, and Pete Wilhoit, (the only member hailing from the U.S.) Fiction Plane surprised me with their pleasant demeanor, positive attitude and cordial disposition.
OBSERVER: So obvious question first, how do you like the states so far?
DAN: We like most of them, we’ve been here before though. This is our third tour of the states.
OBSERVER: What’s your favorite thing about Cleveland?
DAN: The venue. We also played here about two years ago at the Blind Lemon. It was horrid – there were only four people in the audience, I think.
SETON: There are so many people here! The place is packed, this is unbelievable!
OBSERVER: What’s your least favorite thing about Cleveland?
JOE: The Chinese food – it’s awful.
DAN: Yes, definitely the food.
SETON: This might be the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot of Chinese food.
OBSERVER: Your sound is pretty British, which is a good thing because it’s unlike anything being played in the states right now. How well have you been received by audiences here?
JOE: Really good. Shockingly good, really. I’m really happy with the way people have been responding.
DAN: Fantastic audiences. They are open to new music and that’s just really great to see, just great.
OBSERVER: Joe and Dan, you cite your major modern influence as Nirvana. What other bands?
SETON: The whole grunge thing really grabbed all of us. Nirvana was really mind opening.
DAN: Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Coldplay. We really enjoy those bands. They make great music, and beautiful too.
OBSERVER: What was the best live show you’ve ever seen?
DAN: Nirvana in 1992, and Radiohead’s homecoming gig Oxford. It was f***ing great.
SETON: The first gig I ever saw was Elton John ... I was seven ... all I remember was pink ...
OBSERVER: What was it like to work with David Kahne? (Producer of Sublime, Sugar Ray and Earshot.) Did he keep the sound of your band intact while he was producing, or is this album different from the material you guys were touring with?
JOE: A little bit, it’s a bit different but not too much. For the most part we’re all happy with how it turned out.
SETON: He recorded us on an 8-track analog, and most of the things we kept were the first and second takes. He wanted to capture our live sound. It was dreadfully scary at the time, but we’re pleased it turned out all well.
OBSERVER: What do you hope to accomplish musically? Your style isn’t exactly radio-friendly. Will you continue with your sound, and radio be damned?
DAN: We want to share our music with as many people as we can. Definitely tour in America as much as we can. We really like the venues here, they are intimate but big at the same time. The other times we were here it was just to get signed, really.
JOE: Well, we want to make sure we don’t copy anyone’s style. It’s impossible to do something totally original because there are a million bands out there. But it’s important to try hate songs that rely totally on pop or a pop hook, you know?
OBSERVER: Your lyrics are deeper than what’s being played on the radio today. Who are your literary influences?
JOE: Well, I’ve read a lot of James Joyce but I’m not sure if he’s really an influence because I can’t understand any of it. Kurt Vonnegut – I like him a lot. I read one book of his and when I finished I rushed out and read every single one he wrote in a week.
With 20 minutes to go before their opening set, we bid our farewells and returned to the growing audience. The band ran out to their instruments and was well received by the crowd, of whom many were surely getting their first dose of Fiction Plane. The band was tight, well-practiced and they could play. The mix was a little generous to the drums, but that was nothing Fiction Plane could fix. The audience as really into the set, at times flashing lighters, or cat-calling to the lead singer, who was dressed as a soccer referee. “I’ve always heard that Cleveland rocks, but this is f***ing unbelievable!” he crowed after a wave of applause after their title track “Everything Will Never Be Okay.” In the middle of “Cigarette,” their anti-smoking anthem that neither preaches nor name-calls, the drummer threw one of his sticks into the air, attempted to catch it, and promptly missed. Probably accustomed to such luck, he was ready with another one at arm’s length and never missed a beat. Fiction Plane was all smiles on stage during their rocking parts and know how to work dynamics well when they toned it down for softer songs such as “Hate” in which Sumner correctly tells us “It’s easier to kill than create.”
http://www.cwru.edu/orgs/observer/
