Eugene weekly., August 06, 2015, Page 30, Image 30

MUSIC
BY WILLIAM KENNEDY
ELLIOTT FROMM,
CAMERON LISTER AND
DYLAN CAMPBELL OF
PLUTO THE PLANET
INDIE PLANET
Eugene’s rising indie-pop darlings
get serious
A
fter establishing a local following at University
of Oregon house shows and small venues,
Eugene indie-pop trio Pluto the Planet decided to
take the summer off to regroup and plan their
next steps.
“We wanted to scale back on shows,” guitarist Cameron
Lister tells EW. “We’ve played so many shows in the past
few months, we didn’t want to saturate the community.”
On Aug. 14, Pluto the Planet returns playing the In the
Valley Below (see “New Rock Series” this issue) after-
show in Hi-Fi Music Hall’s Encore Lounge.
Lister says the bands hopes to play more shows out of
town. “We want to take things to the next level,” Lister
continues, “but do it the right way,” acknowledging that
most indie bands barely break even on tour. But Lister
suggests that doesn’t need to be the case. “There are
smarter ways of doing it.”
Pluto the Planet bassist Dylan Campbell seconds that
notion. “We want to make sure it would be worth our
while,” he says, “be ready to go out there and do it.”
Campbell continues: “For instance, we know now that if
we were to plan a tour to, say, California, we could get the
shows. However, we would be lucky if the payout for the
shows even came close to covering the expense of gas. We
have the idea that if we had some help in terms of the
booking process that it would make the tour a lot more
worthwhile.”
Pluto the Planet is made up of native Eugeneans, UO
students and childhood friends. “I’ve known Elliott
[Fromm, drums, guitar and keyboard] since I was 3,”
Campbell explains. “I’ve known Cameron since I was 11.”
Campbell, Fromm and Lister grew up loving music,
learning instruments in school or from family members.
“My dad played guitar when he was in college,” Lister
explains, adding that his father “always had guitars lying
around the house.”
“I dinked around with him, he showed me some chords,”
Lister says, “and then I started taking lessons.” He admits
with a smile, “I originally wanted to be a drummer.”
Fromm says he realized he wanted to be musician when,
as a boy, he spotted a red Fender Stratocaster hanging in the
window of a music store. “My hands are on the window,”
Fromm recalls. “My face is glued to the window, I’m like,
‘Mom — I want to play that!’”
“My dad was always a drummer in a band,” Campbell
says. “My family’s always been very musical. I think it
was kind of inevitable for me to get into music somehow.”
Campbell says that, once the three band members met as
children, it wasn’t long before they began dreaming of life
as a band.
After cycling through several lineup changes, Pluto the
Planet settled on a being a three piece, with Fromm on
percussion. “It was really interesting at the time,” Campbell
continues. “I thought of Elliott as such a good guitar
player. I didn’t want to waste all that potential on
something he was just figuring out.”
Fromm played drums a bit in school but is mostly a
self-taught percussionist.
Listen to what is likely Pluto the Planet’s most well-
known tune, “Gregg’s Place,” and hear bouncy, infectious
rhythms with mild elements of African highlife music —
particularly in Lister’s bright, chiming and melodic guitar
work.
The band agrees that the timeless South African music
compilation The Indestructible Beat of Soweto has been
massively influential on their “indie-world pop” sound. The
musicians also reference inspirations like surf rock, Paul
Simon, New Order, Talking Heads and Vampire Weekend.
“Ezra Koenig [Vampire Weekend frontman] — great
guitarist, great lyricist,” Campbell says. Fromm says he
also appreciates Vampire Weekend’s focus on compositional
elements and song craft.
“When we started ‘acting like a band,’” Campbell says,
“we were listening to The Shins, Vampire Weekend — a
lot of 2008 to 2013 indie bands. You’ll definitely hear the
indie-rock vibe.”
Campbell says trios constantly strive for a full sound,
calling it a “really awesome challenge.” But it didn’t take
long for the band to find their formula. “We have Cameron
and Elliott switching between guitar and drums on a lot of
songs,” Campbell says, “keyboards as well. I usually play
the bass pretty much for the entire set.
“It’s an interesting multi-instrumental dynamic that we
try to bring to the table to keep it entertaining live,”
Campbell adds. “It’s kind of cool to see all these people
rotating around these instruments.
“In the last year and a half it’s become a lot more
professional,” Campbell concludes. “A lot more well put
together, more thought out.”
“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback that people
are liking that,” Lister adds. ■
Pluto the Planet plays 10 pm Friday, Aug. 14, at Hi-Fi Music Hall’s Encore
Lounge; FREE. All ages.
INDIE
GLOOM
The Bangles called Monday “Manic” and Morrissey called Sunday “silent and grey.” Which day
of the week do San Diego’s power-punk duo Gloomsday find the gloomiest?
“Every day so far is Gloomsday,” Lori Sokolowski, Gloomsday drummer and back-up
vocalist, tells EW. She concedes that her gloomiest day is “Sunday night when the fun’s
over and you have to go back to real life.”
The San Diego duo returns to Eugene, playing its brand of hard-hitting, punk-inspired
indie rock.
“The inspiration for the music we’ve been doing for the past couple years is anything
along the lines of Black Sabbath to B-52s,” says Justin Cota, guitarist and lead vocalist.
“A lot of Sonic Youth, Queens of the Stone Age,” he continues. “It’s a very stripped-down,
high-energy sound — catchy riffs.”
“Justin comes from a metal and heavier music background,” Sokolowski adds. “I kind of
come from an indie, Riot Grrl background — more of a punk a sound.”
Another undeniable influence on Gloomsday is the ’50s via The Cramps. Gloomsday track “We
Don’t Know” features a surf-rock riff and an infectious “woo-woo!” Cota plays with abandon;
Sokolowski plays like a tantrum — together they sound like an FM radio that isn’t tuned in
quite right.
Gloomsday play with Eugene’s The Shifts and WarHall, 8 pm Thursday, Aug. 6, at
Wandering Goat; $5. 21-plus. — William Kennedy
30
A ugust 6, 2015 • eugeneweekly.com