Interview with Mad Planets

reposted from the blog

I had the privilege of interviewing Mad Planets, the 1994-1998 NY band who put out "Music Makes Me Think Of You," one of my fav albums from the 90's!! You can find my review of that album here, which I gave a whopping 9/10.  And luckily for me and for all of u, they are reissuing this very double LP on vinyl rn, which you can find at daydreamrecordsofficial.com or madplanets.bandcamp.com. John (drums) and Tara (bass, vocals) talk about life in the 90's, their musical influences, and what they're digging lately, so go read below 😎

What albums/songs/artists have you been enjoying lately? 

John: Instagram suggested Ghost Boobss to me recently and got me perfect.  It has that A Place to Bury Strangers-esque combo of storm and quiet. I really like the new Emma Anderson from Lush solo album. Ever since Wayne Kramer of the MC5 passed away recently I’ve been revisiting all the MC5 catalog as well as the work he did with Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls as Gang War and the Black to Comm shows he did with Primal Scream. It’s from 2019 but my bandmate Ezra recently turned me onto the band Bedroom Eyes and their album Nerves.  It reminds me of early Swervedriver.

Tara: I really like the Sweeping Promises new album, Good Living is Coming for You. This is their second full-length, and its crisp, edgy, post-punk. Loving Nabihah Iqbal's DREAMER album, such a deft mix of genres supporting well-crafted but also somewhat ephemeral songs. Another new band I like is Cusp, noisy dreampop, shoe-grunge--their album You Can Do It All is in my rotation. Always love some julie in the mix of course, and over the last year I have been listening through Ibibio Sound Machine's records, post-punk, Nigerian new wave dance funk!

Which albums/artists were most influential to your songwriting? 

John: Mad Planets is the only band I ever played exclusively drums for and when it comes to drummers it started with Mark Brzezicki of Big Country and Stewart Copeland of the Police and then Colm Ó Cíosóig of My Bloody Valentine as a master of dynamics. I also can't leave out Mel Taylor of the Ventures. Watch the Ventures live in Japan 1965 and you'll see some of the most frenetic playing, especially for 1965. 

Tara: Even though I love elaborately arranged music, I've often been shaped by bands working within limits: The Police; Sleater-Kinney, I love The Cure's Three Imaginary Boys for this reason, stripped down and sparse. The Go-Betweens showed me that songs can swerve, jerk, and be beautiful at the same time. Johnny Marr/the Smiths for sheer aspirational breadth and impeccable craft. During mad planets, I was totally attuned to the New York City-based indie rock band Versus (another three piece!) and especially the bass playing of Fontaine Toups. 

Top 3 fav albums of all time? 

John: I was the perfect age to have my life changed by the double whammy of Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation and My Bloody Valentine's Loveless within 3 years of each other. There were other good albums with great songs at that time but for beginning to end pieces of art it's been hard to top those 2 for me. Primal Scream - Live in Japan captures what I think is one of the greatest bands ever at their peak. They are genre-neutral putting out albums of twee/indie, dance, southern rock, electroclash and beyond. This album is when they joined forces with Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine and Mani, the bassist of the Stone Roses and is just the most powerful sampling of their best work. I have to also give honorary mention to the Peter Murphy album Deep. It doesn't make a lot of these lists, it may not have the greatest production but every song on there is so great and it has a great arc of emotions. 

Tara: This type of question always paralyzes me- many of my picks feel like the results of a late 90's/90s algorithm: The Sundays Reading Writing and Arithmetic; Cocteau Twins Heaven or Las Vegas; The Breeders Pod; my sense of the "best" record on any day by the Smiths, the Cure, or New Order varies, but I tend to love their singles/b-sides compilations the most! As for more personal/eclectic picks, I think Elliott Smith xo (1998) is a masterpiece. The range of songwriting, arrangements, lush harmonies, just gem after gem. I also love the reverb dreamy wash of The Aislers Set's Terrible Things Happen (1998) from beginning to end--it is a brilliantly conceived and sustained mood cut through with hooks and tambourine hits. Arbitrarily staying in the 90's, I think Limbo by Throwing Muses is one of the great rock albums. Absolutely killer guitar and vocals by Kristin Hersh, this version of the band is a three-piece with Bernard Georges on bass and David Narcizo on drums and is totally locked in. In the midst of a mostly up-tempo heavy record are some gorgeous soft spots: "Serene" and "Night Driving." 

What is your music making process like? 

John: I've never had the thing that makes you a songwriter but I've been fortunate to work with great songwriters and writing parts for a great song is easy because the song is already moving you and you just let it move your body to express how the song makes you feel. 

Tara: Song writing is often me fiddling on the guitar, finding a progression or just a chord I like, humming a melody with nonsense lyrics, recording it to voice memo. Sometimes melodies get stuck in my head and I build the harmonic structure underneath. I often do this really bare bones, like its counterpoint: bass and melody, marking an entire sonic space. Lyrics are most often last and can be built around a phrase that works rhythmically that I then expand on. If I am writing melody/lyrics for someone else's music, I am always playing around in the harmonic space, trying to find a through-line that's interesting, unusual, unexpected. Same goes for bass parts. 

What made you want to start making music? 

John: Again in a drum context I can always remember being a little kid and hearing Naked Eyes' cover of 'Always Something There to Remind Me' and thinking the drum parts were so cool that I wanted to do that. The same for Simple Minds - Alive and Licking and Public Image Ltd - Disappointed. It wasn't enough to just listen to it or even dance but I wanted to make it. 

Tara: I listened to so much pop music as a kid, then discovered new wave and alternative in high school. The idea of being on the other side of a song was thrilling: it seemed like the  most important thing one could do! The drive to be in a band is a combination of so many impulses: seeking attention, seeking a social unit, seeking to express and create. I was really inspired by my group of friends in high school and college and also the riot grrrl and indie pop scenes. And like John, Naked Eyes' 'Always Something There to Remind Me' (a Burt Bacharach cover!) was a favorite song as a kid that made me want to live in the world of a pop song.