The Phantom Invasion

In a galaxy somewhere in the Universe, a small planet was discovered. Little is known about its nature, but evidence of life has been detected. The star was named Phantom Planet. It is said to be inhabited by five young warriors with ages ranging from 19-21, and are known to battle space invaders with their youthful melody set to a soundtrack of contemporary guitars and atmospheric samplers. With the help of some astronomers, we were able to identify these heroic knights, and they are:

Phantom Warrior #1: Alex Greenwald—can be spotted wearing ‘80s metal band shirts and does battle with his screaming soft voice and amplified guitar.

Phantom Warrior #2: Darren Robinson—carries a Garbage Pail Kids Collection in his backpack and shoots the enemy with his rockin’ guitar.

Phantom Warrior #3: Jacques Brautbar—known for his love for classical music and kicks ass with his guitar and vocals on the side.

Phantom Warrior #4: Jason Schwartzman—was cast in some movie; fights the evil forces with his butt-crunching drum rolls.

Phantom Warrior #5: Sam Farrar—sighted in some fashion runway strutting some modeling stunts; engages the enemy with his bombastic bass strings and vocals.

According to sources, the quintet originated from a tangled web of meetings, but in a Pizza Hut located in Westwood, somewhere along the Milky Way, they officially became a force. On the latest sighting these powerful warriors traveled in space and landed on the Earth’s orbit. Fortunately, the earthlings welcomed them in peace. Soon, they were delivered to the hands of Dan Field, who after hearing their gutsy, sincere, guitar-driven music, went crazy and gave them a record deal. An act soon hit the airwaves and from what we’ve heard, they somehow ended up missing and record stores soon posted posters of their album that screamed, Phantom Planet is Missing.

In the years since their first record, the Phantom beings kept an array of exciting adventures and soon came across Sabrina the Teenage Witch who ended up playing a single in the album soundtrack. Soon after, some of them tried to conquer Hollywood, with two of them getting lucky and ending up in the movies. Alex (lead vocals and guitar) worked on a slew of commercials and co-starred in the movie Donnie Darko, Jason (drums) on the other hand appeared in flicks such as Rushmoore, Slackers and the soon-to-be-released bizarre comedy, Spun. Jacques Brautbar (guitar and side vocals) has been pursuing music at the University of Southern California and Darren (guitar) has been mastering the art of ProTools and helping with the maintenance of the Phantom Planet website. Sam Farrar (bass guitar and side vocals) on the other hand just finished producing another neophyte force from Los Angeles, scheduled for release this year, and still manages to model during his free time.

A lot has happened since they hypnotized the earth. In early 2001, the warriors began recording The Guest, another attempt to infect the Universe and battle the dark forces. "It’s a big step since our last record," says Greenwald. " We were kids who had just gotten our driver’s license revoked, and we’re ready to make some real rock and roll." With the alliance of veteran producers such as Mitchell Froom (Cibo Matto, Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello) and Tchad Blake (Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow) reinforced by the Phantom Planet’s energy and youth, the latest album is believed strong enough to withstand an invasion.

These warriors are still very young in every sense, and despite the squeaky-clean production and clever song craft, their youth still shows. But with the fist- pounding music of The Guest, these warriors will definitely seize you and leave you raving about the Phantom Planet.