Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Published May 9, 2003
Fiction Plane frontman Joe Sumner's face and singing voice are familiar. Both bear a striking resemblance to those of his father, Sting. But when you interview the newcomer, it's best to avoid the Daddy question as long as you can.
So 15 minutes into a 20-minute phone conversation, the question must be asked: What advice did your dad give you about being in the music business?
"Just work hard," he said succinctly.
Thanks for the sagacious insight.
Fiction Plane released its promising debut disc, "Everything Never Will Be OK," in March, and the New York-based British band has been on tour ever since, opening for Paul Weller, Lifehouse, Frank Black and Juliana Theory. On Tuesday at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Fiction Plane opens for the Samples.
Truth be told, singer/guitarist Sumner, 26, was raised mostly by his mom, actress Frances Tomelty, who divorced Sting (né Gordon Sumner) when Joe was 5 (in the same year the Police disbanded).
In the 1980s, the younger Sumner didn't pay much attention to music because he was too busy playing video games. Listening to Nirvana made him serious about music. But he didn't fit in at his London high school, which was geared more toward students with serious goals such as becoming lawyers or accountants, he said. So he transferred to Cambridge School of Weston, an arts-oriented school in Massachusetts.
He returned to London for college. After graduating in 1999, he formed Fiction Plane with childhood friend Dan Brown and guitarist Seton Daunt. (Drummer Pete Wilhoit of Bloomington, Ind., signed on this winter.)
Musically, Fiction Plane recalls 1990s college rock with a more produced sheen and a familiar-sounding voice. David Kahne, who has worked with everyone from Sublime to Paul McCartney, produced the disc.
"Previous to him, we'd made demos and it never sounded as good as when we played live," Sumner said last week from Washington, D.C. "He made us do songs in one or two takes after rehearsing extensively."
However, guest drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., who has played with McCartney, k.d. lang and other stars, had only two days of rehearsal with Fiction Plane.
On "Hate," "I Wish I Would Die" and the title tune, Sumner seems despondent, although his music is often buoyant.
"The songs are kind of fun, entertaining things, and the lyrics are depressing," he said. He added that he's not a depressed person but just someone who "questions everything."
The most intriguing number is "Cigarette," in which he chides a woman, "Touch me cause my daddy's rich/Marry into bigger fish/Tell I'm your dearest honey/Think that I'm just easy money."
"I had a general disdain for people who used sexual love for other means," Sumner said.
And, yes, he made a veiled reference to his famous father.
Is it a blessing or a curse to follow his dad into the music business?
"Right now, I'm getting annoyed with it," he said. "But there's a lot of worse places to be."
One last question: Who did he listen to more -- the Police or Sting?
"Nirvana," he answered. "Not Sting or the Police at all."
