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Raise the Dead is the fourth studio album by rock band Phantom Planet. It was released on April 15, 2008. The CD includes reworked versions of "Leader" and "Geronimo", both of which appeared on the Limited Edition Tour EP, as well as a reworked version of "Do the Panic", which originally appeared on the band's 'bootleg' fanclub CD Phantom Planet: Negatives.

Early on in the recording process Phantom Planet's contract with Epic Records expired, which left them searching for a new record label. Soon after this, they signed to Fueled by Ramen, which produces bands such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic at the Disco, The Hush Sound and The Academy Is....

On January 20, 2008, Phantom Planet posted a bulletin on their Myspace page to announce that the official release date would be April 15, 2008. Fueled By Ramen re-released a teaser trailer and stated that the first single from the album will be a reworking of "Do the Panic".

In an interview with RaggedMag, vocalist Alex Greenwald explained that "all bands are kind of their own cult, you know, but we want to take it to a new level. We really like the show Lost, and even though it’s totally fiction, there’s this air of mystery that’s lacking in a lot entertainment these days. I really like mystery in things, and what a little bit of enigma brings out of people and their imaginations...a band is about community, and within itself it is a brotherhood; it’s companionship. But a band can’t be anything without the people to love it. Our goal will be to recruit and befriend as many people as possible with our message."

Raise the Dead was released on April 15, 2008 as scheduled.

Singles

The first single off the album was "Do the Panic", a reworking of a song from their Phantom Planet: Negatives fan club CD. It was released in early March 2008 and was featured in an episode of Gossip Girl.

It also appears on the popular video game NHL 09.

The music video premiered in early May 2008. It is a horror movie spoof, showing the band members missing several body parts. This video also includes a short audio clip from a remixed version of "Leader" playing before the actual song kicks in.

The second single is "Dropped". The video, directed by Eric Wareheim, was released in December 2008. The song was featured in the season opener of season two of Chuck (TV series)

Category:Phantom Planet albums

Category:2008 albums

Category:Albums produced by Tony Berg

Category:Fueled by Ramen albums

Artist/Band Information

Phantom Planet is an alternative rock band from Southern California. The band consists of vocalist-rhythm guitarist Alex Greenwald, lead guitarist Darren Robinson, bassist Sam Farrar and drummer Jeff Conrad. The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series, The O.C.. While the band is often mentioned as the group that featured actor Jason Schwartzman on Drums, they have continued on in his absence and have released a number of well-received albums.

On November 25, 2008, the band announced in a blog entry on their website that they are going on "hiatus, and will not be playing any more live shows or making any new records, indefinitely."

They played their last show on December 12, 2008, in Los Angeles. Alex mentioned numerous times during their last show that the band was, in fact, going on a hiatus, not breaking up.

History

Early years (1994–1998)

Phantom Planet is named after the theme song of a 1961 B-movie called The Phantom Planet. They decided on the name in 1994 in a Pizza Hut. They played their first show in 1994 at The Troubadour in Hollywood, California. Most of their friends could not attend because they were still in high school.

Phantom Planet released their debut album, Phantom Planet is Missing in 1998. A straightforward pop record, with influences ranging from The Beach Boys to Electric Light Orchestra, the album didn't catch on.

The Guest (2002-2003)

The album produced the band's breakthrough hit, "California," which became the theme song to the Fox TV series, The O.C., in August 2003. Its music video aired on MTV2 in mid 2002.

The track "Lonely Day" also features on the Smallville and Laguna Beach soundtracks.

The Guest continued the pop-rock sound the band introduced in their debut.

Phantom Planet's Self Titled (2004)

The band's eponymous third album in 2004 marked a change in both the band's sound and lineup. Ditching their radio-friendly pop-rock, the band moved towards a garage rock sound. Lead singer Alex Greenwald stated that he wants the band to continue to change its sound. "I love rock 'n' roll music," Greenwald said. "I especially loved bands, like The Beatles, that changed with every single record they made. That's been our plan from the get-go. We want our records to be like experiments. We want to have fun with the music. People can hear when you're not having fun. They discover you're bored and you're boring."September 10, 2004. In the middle of recording the album, founding member and drummer Jason Schwartzman abruptly left the band to focus on his acting career. He was replaced by Jeff Conrad, who helped record the remainder of the album. Phantom Planet was released to mixed reviews from critics. Shortly after the album's release, guitarist Jacques Brautbar left the band to pursue a career in photography

Raise the Dead and the last tour (2007-2008)

Early on in the recording process Phantom Planet's contract with Epic Records expired, which left them searching for a new record label. Soon after this, they signed to Fueled by Ramen, which produces bands such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic at the Disco, The Hush Sound and The Academy Is....

On January 20, 2008, Phantom Planet posted a bulletin on their Myspace page that stated that the album will officially be finished by the January 24, and that the official release date would be April 15, 2008. Fueled By Ramen re-released a teaser trailer and stated that the first single from the album will be a reworking of "Do The Panic".

In an interview with RaggedMag, Alex stated that "all bands are kind of their own cult, you know, but we want to take it to a new level. We really like the show Lost, and even though it’s totally fiction, there’s this air of mystery that’s lacking in a lot entertainment these days. I really like mystery in things, and what a little bit of enigma brings out of people and their imaginations...a band is about community, and within itself it is a brotherhood; it’s companionship. But a band can’t be anything without the people to love it. Our goal will be to recruit and befriend as many people as possible with our message."

When describing the new record, Alex said that "the next record is a concept record. If the Beatles had Sgt. Pepper's and the Rolling Stones had Their Satanic Majesties Request, we have our “Leader.” We’re concocting it, but at the same time we’re following it."

In the same interview, bassist Sam Farrar descibed the new logo. Which is a circular graphic of piano keys that seem to morph into a shirt sleeve with a hand emerging from the cuff. He said, "The idea is that we’re going to sell a lot of these sweatshirts and all the kids will show up in them so the entire audience looks just like us." Alex followed this up by saying that "The "Leader" is the hand. He is the hand that plays the notes we sing to. It’s in the beginning stages still; we’re just chipping away at the stone."

The new song "Leader", is about Alex's fictional or metaphorical experience with a cult. For the definitive recording of the song, Phantom Planet brought in children from Kenter Canyon Elementary School to sing the chorus, the video for which can be seen on their YouTube site.

The album, titled Raise the Dead, was released as scheduled on April 15, 2008.

Phantom Planet has announced that they will be playing their last show ever December 12th at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The group performed this first live all ages show in the same place in 1994.

In their 15 years together the group released four albums: Raise The Dead, The Guest, Phantom Planet is Missing, and Phantom Planet.

Read the full statement from their website after the break:

-alex, darren, jeff and sam.

Indefinite Hiatus (2008)

On November 25, 2008, the band announced in a blog entry on their website that they are going on "hiatus, and will not be playing any more live shows or making any new records, indefinitely."

They played their last show on December 12, 2008, in Los Angeles. Alex mentioned numerous times during their last show that the band was, in fact, going on a hiatus, not breaking up.

Former drummer Jason Schwartzman makes a cheeky reference to this hiatus in his song "Drummer" from the Coconut Records album Davy (released January 2009). The lyrics state "I was a drummer in a band that you've heard of / I was a drummer in a band that just broke up / Isn't that the way it goes?"

Guitarist Darren Robinson posted this message on his personal Myspace page telling fans that they are not broken up:

"We have NOT broken up. We are on an indefinite hiatus. That means we don't know when we'll regroup. But we are NOT broken up. I swear to you it's not just a polite way of saying we have broken up. Got it?"

Post–Phantom Planet project (2009-2010)

Operation Aloha – a musical project featuring members of Phantom Planet, Gomez and Maroon 5.

Darren went tour with the band Miniature Tigers in January, February and March 2009.

He is now a member of Southern California surf band The Californian, whose current lineup was formed in Summer of 2009 by singer/songwriter John Graney. The band includes John Graney - Vocals, Darren Robinson - Guitar & vox, Jonathan Price - Guitar, Keys & vox, Wendy Wang - Bass & vox, Mike Hopkins - drums & vox.

Greenwald has recently co-produced and appeared on ex - Panic! At The Disco members, Ryan Ross and Jon Walker's new band, The Young Veins debut record, Take A Vacation!.

He has also produced a few tracks on the band The Like's new album.

Musical style

The band has opened for many well-known artists, including Guns N' Roses, Sting, Elvis Costello, Incubus, Guided by Voices, blink-182, The Zombies, The Hives, American Hi-Fi, Maroon 5, Ludacris, Panic at the Disco, and Paramore.

Phantom Planet has appeared on the television programs Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, performing "So I Fall Again", and they have also appeared on American Dreams, playing British rock band The Zombies.

They have appeared in the 2005 remake Bad News Bears, playing a band called The Bloodfarts.

In 2005, they covered the CSNY track "Our House" for the movie The Chumscrubber.

Phantom Planet also performed a cover of Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" for Not Another Teen Movie. "Big Brat" was also introduced in the soundtrack to the video game Driv3r and featured as a "Hip Clipz" on the website of Curly Grrlz Skateboards.

Alex Greenwald, the band's vocalist, sang a fusion jazz cover of Radiohead's "Just" for the 2006 compilation Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads.

Sam Farrar also contributed to the Hanson album, Underneath, on the song Lost Without Each Other.

In 2008, Raise the Dead was featured in an episode of the second season of Gossip Girl.

In 2009, Phantom Planet will be featured on Josh Schwartz new show 'Rockville, CA.'

Their music has been heard frequently on television, most notably "California," as the theme song for the popular tv show "The OC," and the songs "Do the Panic" and "Dropped" in various commercials.

* Greenwald made an impact on the British music scene in early 2008 by featuring on Mark Ronson's cover of the Radiohead song "Just". The song is credited to Mark Ronson feat. Phantom Planet.

Band members

;Current members

* Alex Greenwald — lead vocals, guitar (1994-present)

* Sam Farrar — bass guitar, backing vocals (1994-present)

* Darren Robinson — guitar, backing vocals (1994-present)

* Jeff Conrad — drums (2004-present)

;Former members

* Jacques Brautbar — guitar, vocals (1994–2004)

* Jason Schwartzman — drums (1994–2003)

Timeline

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id:rhythm value:yellow legend:Rhythm guitar

id:bass;vocals value:purple legend:Bass guitar, backing vocals

id:drums;percussion value:green legend:Drums, percussion

id:rhythm;vocals value:red legend:Rhythm guitar, lead vocals

id:guitar;vocals value:brightblue legend:Lead guitar, backing vocals

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bar:Greenwald text:"Alex Greenwald"

bar:Farrar text:"Sam Farrar"

bar:Robinson text:"Darren Robinson"

bar:Conrad text:"Jeff Conrad"

bar:Brautbar text:"Jacques Brautbar"

bar:Schwartzman text:"Jason Schwartzman"

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bar:Farrar from:01/01/1994 till:end color:bass;vocals

bar:Robinson from:01/01/1994 till:end color:guitar;vocals

bar:Schwartzman from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2003 color:drums;percussion

bar:Brautbar from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2004 color:rhythm

Discography

Studio albums

* Phantom Planet Is Missing (1998)

* The Guest (2002)

* Phantom Planet (2004)

* Raise the Dead (2008)

Trivia

* Alex Greenwald became a popular model and the familiar face of many commercials for clothing retailer The Gap. Greenwald also played Seth Devlin in the 2001 film Donnie Darko. Bassist Sam Farrar is the son of John Farrar, the singer/songwriter known best for notable songs from the movie Grease and other hits sung by Olivia Newton-John.

* The band's favorite sunglass are the Ray-Ban Wayfarer.

* The band has also performed the title song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera live in concert.

* The band provided voice overs in the movie Being John Malkovich.

* Vocalist Alex Greenwald has a solo project.

* Schwartzman's solo music project is called Coconut Records.

References