Kidzworld
By Sindy
Sindy, here! I admit it, I am not a pop princess. I'm into the more moody, thrashy tunes - which is why I really dig this UK band, Fiction Plane. They're real, you know. All music, all moody, all the time. I scored a phone interview with Fiction Plane's guitarist, Seton Daunt (the rest of the band was with him, just chillin', while Seton did the talking.) Check it out!
Sindy:How did you guys all meet and form the band?
Seton:The bass player, Dan Brown, met Joe Sumner around high school age. They both listened to stuff like Nirvana and ended up starting their own band. Dan and I later formed a band. Joe was not living in England at that time. Then, Joe came back and we started something with the three of us, cuz we all knew each other. We went by the name Santa's Boyfriends for about a year. The name Fiction Plane came from a song Joe had written. To us it means a place you can lose yourself and that's how we feel about music.
Sindy:How did you guys hook up with Pete, your drummer, because he is the only one not from the UK?
Seton:It was a stroke of luck. Our record was produced by David Kahne. He's a fantastic guy who helped us come together on the record. He's friends with the drummer for Saturday Night Live, who used to teach Pete and he told them about us. Pete auditioned for Joe, and right away, we knew he'd be great with us.
Sindy:With Sting being Joe's dad, Joe obviously grew up around music, but what about you and Dan? How old were you guys when you started to play instruments and get into music?
Seton:Dan had piano lessons as a kid, so did I. Most kids in England have them starting at around six or seven years old, usually. I actually hated piano. But, at about 14, I picked up a guitar and that was it. I loved it.
Sindy:Do you find the fact that Joe has a famous musical father an asset or a hindrance and how?
Seton: Doesn't really make a difference either way. It's not really impacted us at all. We're perfectly happy with the position we're in.
Sindy: In previous interviews, Nirvana has been listed as an influence. Is there any other group that has influenced your style of music.
Seton:Well, when we were younger and getting into music, we were also big fans of Smashing Pumpkins and not just Nirvana but all that kind of Seattle grunge scene music. For me, when I was quite a bit younger, it was Bob Dylan and Jimmy Hendrix because that was what my mum listened to and I listend to what she was playing.
Sindy:Is there any band or artist out there you'd like to tour with, or work with, in the future?
Seton:As for touring, it'd be great to be touring with Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, The Roots. Really, there are so many we'd love to tour with. We just went on the road with Corporate and Lifehouse. If you had said to me, you'll be touring with Lifehouse and Corporate, I would have been good with it but it wouldn't have been a dream. But It's been a dream. It's such fun. There are probably another million bands that I haven't mentioned that we would also have that good an experience touring with.
As for actually collaborating, I can't imagine anyone we would really collaborate with at this point. However, last night, we did collaborate with the drummer from Lifehouse. He came onstage with us and we had two drummers on stage and it was an amazing time.
Sindy:It seems you guys have been touring a lot in the last few months, what's been the hardest part, and what's the best part.
Seton:The worst things have to be bad food on the road and, with our families in London, not getting to go home. That sucks. Pete, our drummer, is from Indiana so he's a bit luckier. His family is here is the US and he gets to see them more often.
Sindy: If you guys couldn't be making music for a living, what do you think you'd be doing for a living?
Seton:I would be bar owner. Not a manager, but an owner. I'd have the equivalent of the (LA club) Viper Room where new music acts could get up and put on shows. Not quite as flashy as the Viper Room, but that sort of club. Dan said he'd be a chef. Joe said he'd be a teacher. Pete said he'd be a baseball player.
Sindy:What do you guys do to unwind when you've got downtime?
Seton:We've had no free time lately! When we do get it, sleeping in or being with our girlfriends are things we'll do. We watch movies, too, and all the normal stuff most people do all the time.
Sindy:I'm a big reader and love to know what my fave celebs read. What's your fave book?
Seton:Personally, I'm a big fan of Harry Potter right now. I've read all of them and I can't wait for the next one. When I was younger, I read science fiction-type stuff like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. To be honest, I hated reading until I was 18. When you're a kid, you tend to read very slowly and it can get a bit frustrating.
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