Live Event Transcript: Fiction Plane
Friday June 20, 2003
Fiction Plane: (Dan) Hi everyone, how are you doing? Good to have you on board!
~iloveandylots2001 asks: so far, where has been your favorite place to perform?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) We had a great night recently in Santa Cruz. Gorgeous sunshine, just a great crowd. We had a lot of fun that night, met a lot of really cool people. But we've played in some great venues all over the states. There are good times to be had everywhere. For us it is very much about the crowd.
~PurestHope asks: If you could tour with any band (past or present) who would it be?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) In the past, Nirvana, we went to see one of their shows ... in 1992. That was probably one of the best live shows that I've seen in my life. It would have been great to play with them but unfortunately that won't happen now.
~Kirry asks: How many hit singles have you had in England?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) haha! None! When we were in England, we were just experimenting. We had a little theme going on of friends and friends of friends, a few people coming to see our shows, but we never really released a record in England. We had demo albums that we used to sell on the Internet.
~fictionfan asks: which song is your favorite to perform?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) It changes every night, usually... according to the dynamics of the crowd and how well we're playing, what mood we're in. Because the songs on the album have such different moods. Sometimes one of the songs just really catches the moment for us you know? It can be any of the songs. Recently, I think the song "Hate" is one of the songs that seems to connect best with the crowd, so that is really good fun to play. And we are on tour with Lifehouse at the moment and their drummer Rick joins us on stage so we have two drummers -- our dummer Pete and Rick comes up for that song and we have two drummers going completely apesh*t on the drums. It is a total stadium experience, you have to see it to believe it.
~girlfriday72 asks: Hey guys: How is the tour with Lifehouse going?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) It is going fantastic. They are friends of ours and it is nice to be on the road with people that you know and that you like. The crowds have been fantastic as well. And we're in California. It is sunny, there is great food and cool people. It is as good as it gets really!
~gunth126 asks: I saw you guys at the HOB with Switchfoot, are you guys friends?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) We are now, we didn't know them before we started touring with them. We did, I think four shows with them. They are super nice guys. So yeah we had a good time on the road with them. We hope to see them again soon!
~adameron asks: how did you name the band?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) The same "Fiction Plane" is the name of an old song. Really we wanted something that was quite ambiguous, that didn't pigeonhole us into a particular style of music. It seemed to fit quite well. It basically means that it is a ficticious place that we can go to and just create what we want to create.
~BorianaB asks: How do crowds in the UK compare to crowds here?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) Well, they're much bigger for us here because they know more abou the band here. There seems to be more people who are actively going out to check out music so they can be a bit more appreciative I guess, then what we are used to at least.
~theguybehindtheguy asks: what's up dan, i was just wondering what your stage setup is like
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) I use a Fender Precision Bass, my piece de resistance is a distortion pedal called a rat pedal. Also, I play keyboards so I have an overly extravagant Yamaha keyboard, a Motif 8. It has just got beautiful tones and sounds. And then of course my trusty microphone! We're driving and on the phone and we're on sunset blvd and we just drove by some guy with a biggest mohawk I've ever seen. Everyone is trying to get into the movies here, attention seeking.. Haha.
~theguybehindtheguy asks: what are some of your influences?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) I think that Nirvana was probably the band that really inspired us to start playing rock music. I know that Joe and I were in high school together and we got into Nirvana at the same time. Thats when we started playing rock music. We *tried* to sound exactly like them...... but not that we really achieved that. Then over the years, we were influenced by a wide range of music... Pete is really into Jazz and we're into the british music like Radiohead. Just great rock music and great rock musicians really. We like to listen to a wide range of music. I think that is reflected in ou record as well. We like to plan an eclectic mix of tunes.
~goldenratio asks: dan, i love your hair!!!! its so coooool
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) Yeah, when I was at school everyone would tease me and call me carrot head and things like that but I've grown to like my red hair.
~MoonSnacks asks: How did all you guys meet?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) I met Joe in high school and Seton and I met through a friend at university and we played in a band in London for awhile. And then Joe, Seton and myself started playing together about three years ago and then we made our record last year. We were looking for a drummer to come on the road with us and we met Pete, our drummer through an old music teacher. He came to New York and auditioned for us. It was instant chemistry, he's been with us since October of last year.
~Freeloader asks: How did you find Pete? Is he single?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) Haha, we're sitting in the car and Pete is sitting next to his wife, I'm sorry to say! But he doesn't mind if he goes with men, that doesn't count!! just kidding.
~iloveandylots2001 asks: do you have any siblings? are you close?
~Fiction Plane: (Dan) I have lots of siblings. I have two sisters and three brothers. I think we've all got lots of brothers and sisters actually. We all come from quite big families. I think it is because all of our parents are divorced and they've had more children with the second wives and husbands.
~fictionfan asks: do you guys get to order special foods when you perform at venues?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Seton orders cigarettes which in the last few days they've given him... but we don't get to order much yet because we're still the underdogs!
~musiqueen79 asks: how did you guys come up with the title to your new album
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) We just used the title of our new song, but I have no idea how that came about. The song title just summed up everything that the album was about. It makes people think a little bit.
~freakdaddygirl asks: i saw you on tour and thought the live show was rockin--what did you have to do to get ready for the tour?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) We practiced for about a week and then we just toured. The way that we got better was just by playing every night, putting every bit of energy that we have into each night. And I haven't been drinking hardly ever as well, that is another thing.
~goldenratio asks: whats your opinion on radio? i personally dont listen to it that much, i prefer albums instead of just 1 song
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) I think that radio plays the same song too many times. They don't really switch it up, you don't hear anything except the lead single and that is all you get... You get homogonized across the whole country... BUt there are a few good stations in LA where they play whatever they want, so that is awesome. But the internet stuff, downloading is so successful because the radio sucks so bad.
~MicroNest asks: How long did it take you to actuality get a record deal? and how were you discovered?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) We made some demos, we sent them around and after about a year they got picked up by somebody. We sent them around everywhere and someone at Interscope picked them up. Then they showcased us, they said they liked it but they told us to go home and we didn't have a record deal. But then it took another year for MCA to pick us up..... So it took two years!
~theguybehindtheguy asks: where did you play your first show?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Dan and I played together at school actually. When we were 16 we played in the theatre at our school and we sold tickets for 50P.
~sirius1023 asks: what is the name of your hidden track after "Wise"?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Its called Bongo and its only called Bongo because I played the bongo on it!
~theguybehindtheguy asks: what's your next single going to be ?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Its going to be our first single, it is going to be "Hate" and it is going to come out whenever. Our record label just got eaten by Geffen but while they're working that out, we're going to release a single.
~fictionfan asks: what do you think about downloading music?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) I think it is cool because you can hear different stuff, almost anything in the world. It is good if you like something and then you can go and buy it... or somehow pay for it in some way because otherwise you aren't supporting the music that you like. But I do like it because then you don't get all these albums with one good song and a load of sh*t songs and you spent $15 on it and it is a total rip-off.
~PurestHope asks: What do you do on the road to keep yourselves from getting bored?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) In the car we have X-Box. And then when we get out of the car, we play football or soccer in the gas station or whatever, every time we stop. We have a sense of humor so we make fart jokes and stuff.
~goldenratio asks: when you write songs, do you already have the ideas made up, or do you guys just jam?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) It depends. If I write a song, I will sort of jam by myself for a bit and then I write it and show everyone. There is no really set process for writing, we just do whatever we feel like doing. Sometimes that means jamming, sometimes I'll just write it in bed and sit there and write it myself.
~girlfriday72 asks: if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you stay? England or someplace else?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Hmm, I'd like to live in the states somewhere. I don't know if I'd like to settle here. I wouldn't like to have a family here for some reason...... but like, Boston, I lived there for two years and I really liked that.
~fictionfan asks: what is the crazyest thing a fan has done so far?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) There's actually not really that many crazy people. They try to take us out to dinner sometimes. Some of the cooler stuff is that people come to our show with our lyrics written all over their clothes and stuff, that is pretty cool.
~goldfinger219 asks: how do you feel about being compared to other bands?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) It is flattering because just to be mentioned in the same league as proper bands is really a privilege. We stand on our own but if someone compares us to someone, even if we don't really like what they do, that's fine. Plus, we get compared to lots of different bands, they say we're just like "The Cure" or just like this band or that band.. but how can we be exactly like all of them? haha but thats cool.
~fictionfan asks: Are there any songs that you guys made that didnt get put on the new album?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Oh yeah, many! We wrote 60 songs before we did the album and then we cut it down to 16 songs. But we have loads of songs that haven't even been used. For the next album, we'll write 60 or so because you get more ideas and more choice and hopefully that makes it a better album.
~theguybehindtheguy asks: do you have any tips for aspiring musicians?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Write songs, work hard and don't expect anything. Have fun. That is the most important, have fun. We used to take it too seriously and get stressed and nothing good happens. But when we started having fun, everything was better and it sounded better. And make sure that you have some other way of making money!
~fictionfan asks: do you guys get to see your families a lot?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Not much.... we took a week off this year and we've been on since January. That is the main sacrifice that we've made on this tour, we don't see our friends or families very much at all.
~iloveandylots2001 asks: what's the craziest thing that's happened to you on tour?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) About two years ago, some girl asked the guys back to the hotel and paid for the guys' drinks all night. She bought them really expensive stuff and they got so drunk they couldn't leave, so she got them a hotel room. And then she was like "you guys have to sign my body" so they were signing her all over the place. In the morning, they got this call going "YOU GUYS DO NOT HIT ON PEOPLE'S FIANCE's! The guy knew what hotel room they were in and everything, so they had to boot it out of there fast! We'll need a bodyguard next time we go back there.
~Tracy348 asks: Where do you buy your clothes? And are you into fashion?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Sort of like thrift store type places. And we get free stuff from radio stations and venues and other bands, thats where we really get our stuff.
~PurestHope asks: Do you get nervous before shows?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) Yeah definitely.. It is really good to get nervous before the show rather than once it starts or else you get nervous when it starts. Panic and everything... but once you get on stage, it is all fine because nothing can really go wrong.
~fictionfan asks: Is there any one goal that fiction plane is trying to reach?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) We want to make interesting music and we want to put on a good live show and we want to be able to make a bunch of albums and not get boring.
~iloveandylots2001 asks: do you like performing or recording music more?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) At the moment, I like performing a lot more. But once we've written some new songs, we'll get back into recording mode. With recording, you have more control but it is kindof lonely and you don't know if anybody likes it.
~theguybehindtheguy asks: do you guys have any pets?
~Fiction Plane: (Joe) No, I used to have a dog but he died, he was 18 years old. I really want a dog but we've got nowhere to put it. We're just always in the car.
~MoonSnacks asks: do you ever bring family on the road with you?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) If you consider girlfriends as family, then I did once in the last six months and that lasted for about a week. My little brother is a musician, he is 18 and just left school. He really really wants to come out on the road. As soon as we get a van, he is going to come out with us. As far as mothers and fathers, they haven't made it out to America for about 20 years. No plans until we headline somewhere cool and we say "You've got to come to this show!"
~PurestHope asks: Whats the most embarrassing thing that happened to you on tour?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) Oh god, thats a bad one. Let me think... I've had a couple of bad drunk moments. In Florida they caught me on video camera asking the receptionist of the hotel if they had any Grey Poupon for me in the kitchen. They put me through to the kitchen... It was all on camera. The next morning I was embarassed when I saw it. There aren't really others that I can think of.
~sirius1023 asks: will you be touring around ohio any time soon?
bwadds asks: do you guys plan on playing in toronto again soon?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) Yes and yes ! But we'll be avoiding Toledo, OH after that incident that Joe told you about. (Seton) Cleveland is good and Toronto is good!
~fictionfan asks: Do you guys do any endorsements for other companies?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) No we've never done a commercial, we don't intend to at this moment. We're not endorsed by any company but there are a few music companies that sell us their drums or equipment at cost and they give you support. Say you need to buy some gear for a show, they will lend you the gear... We all kind of got our own hookups with companies but we've bought a lot of our own gear. We are with Tama Drums, Sabian symbols, and Joe and I play Rivera amps. Dan plays Ampeg, Dan and Joe play Fender guitars and I play Gibsons. And everyone have been very nicely looking after us and lending us stuff when we need it and generally being helpful.
~fictionfan asks: what time do you go to bed?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) It varies, usually not until 2:30 or 3:00. Sometimes we drive after shows. We never really leave a venue until midnight. Even if we're supporting another band, once the other band is done we like to try to meet the audience, hand them stickers, ask them to bring friends back to our next shows. So we're there until the last person is gone every night. Midnight we leave, if we're staying locally we get in at 1am, or sometimes we'll drive for a few hours to the next city. Get in at about 3am and get up at 9 or 10am to leave.
~fictionfan asks: What's in your CD player right now?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) Crank Yankers, people phone up places and are stupid... Before that, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age, Johnny Cash...
~fictionfan asks: what's your favorite snack food?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) Hmm, In And Out Burger. Other snack foods, I like Cheetos. I love M&Ms. Mars Bars, Twix's, Dan and Joe eat these balance bar things which are sort of like vitamins, I tried one and it made me sick. Jelly Belly Jelly Beans.. And Salt and Vinegar Lays. Those are top of the list for on the road. Salt and Vinegar is quite popular in london but it is hard to find in America.
~fictionfan asks: Do you consider yourself a big star now?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) Haha, no, definitely not. I don't think we are, no one recognizes us yet. I haven't got a little dog that I carry around with me...Heh. Not yet.
~fictionfan asks: where do you see yourself in 10 years?
~Fiction Plane: (Seton) Hopefully not dead. :) Doing the same thing as we're doing, but being out on the road having massive audiences. All the cliché's, that'd be great. Maybe I'd like to have some kids. Thanks all for asking the questions. Come to our shows and keep in touch we're at
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