About Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the TV series The O.C.. The band featured actor Jason Schwartzman on drums until 2003.
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 pre-hiatus show on December 12, 2008, in Los Angeles.
The band reunited in 2019, announcing that their hiatus was over.
Phantom Planet was named in 1994 after a 1961 B-movie called The Phantom Planet. While still in their teens, the group played frequently in and around the Hollywood area, finally catching the eye of Geffen Records executives. Phantom Planet signed with Geffen in 1997 and released their first album, Phantom Planet Is Missing in 1998. The album did not impact any major charts. The album was followed by the release of the single "So I Fall Again" in September 1998, which was also released to promote the soundtrack Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Album.
Shortly thereafter Geffen Records folded into Universal as part of a major record industry merger, and within a few years Phantom Planet had signed with Epic Records. Charlotte Froom, the daughter of producer Mitchell Froom, caught the band's show at a time when the group was looking for a producer to record their second effort. Froom approached her father to produce the group, and after meeting with Phantom Planet, he agreed. Froom also brought in engineer Tchad Blake to work on the record.
The Guest was released in 2002. The group toured for almost 18 months both as a headliner and an opening act, and in late 2002 the band got the opportunity to open for one of their collective idols, Elvis Costello. The Guest got an extra boost when the record's song "California" was chosen as the theme song for the Fox Network's hit TV series The O.C.. As a result, the record was reissued in late 2003 with bonus tracks and a new cover.
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 said it was an intentional choice: "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." 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. The band performed "Big Brat", the album's first single, on the Late Show with David Letterman.
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