The Planet Smashers
Encyclopedia
The Planet Smashers are a ska punk
band from Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. Since their formation in 1994, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they quickly rose to national, and eventual international fame, with tours in the United States
, Europe
, and Japan
. Founding member Matt Collyer helped establish Stomp Records in 1994, which featured many ska and ska punk bands, including Montreal's The Kingpins
, The Flatliners
, The Know How
, and Bedouin Soundclash
. Their music has been used in the Japanese flash series Catman, Canadian show Radio Free Roscoe
, and MTV
's Undergrads
(shown on Teletoon in Canada
). Lyrics by The Planet Smashers often deal with topics such as love, partying and good times, and sometimes use tongue-in-cheek innuendo
s.
The band played small Montreal venues like "Purple Haze" and "Jailhouse" and at ska festivals. All the band members contributed original material and sets would include a few ska/punk cover tunes. A first demo of 3 songs was recorded in Cooper's apartment but not released. Later the band recorded their first cassette in a weekend session, using studio time won by one of Collyer's defunct former bands "The Thrill Killers". The quality of this recording was not very high, but it helped get the band more gigs and visibility, including shows outside of Montreal. Popular destinations for the band included the Toucan in Kingston, The Pit in Ottawa and Sneaky Dees in Toronto. The band was an important part of the vibrant local ska scene that existed in Montreal in the mid-90s.
The self-titled CD was recorded in spring 1995. Because of a tight budget it was produced and recorded by the band in Dave's apartment on a 12 track tape recorder. This album includes favorites like "Pee in the Elevator" and "Janice". The band had its first cross country tour promoting its release in the summer of 1995.
In 1996 the band's summer tour extended into the United States. The band suffered mishaps like a broken saxophone, multiple van breakdowns and an issue at the border that prevented Travis from completing the tour. After a few more shows in Montreal the original lineup broke up, with Ceco, Andrew and Travis leaving the band.
The band has hinted on June 30, 2010, while playing at the Jonquière en musique music festival, that the band was working a new album, aimed for a February 2011 release.
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
band from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Since their formation in 1994, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they quickly rose to national, and eventual international fame, with tours in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Founding member Matt Collyer helped establish Stomp Records in 1994, which featured many ska and ska punk bands, including Montreal's The Kingpins
The Kingpins
The Kingpins featuring Lorraine Muller - The Queen of Ska was a ska band from Montréal, Canada, signed to the Stomp Records label. The last Kingpins tour took place in 2004, after which the members of the band reformed under the name Lo and the Magnetics founded by Muller in order to reflect the...
, The Flatliners
The Flatliners
The Flatliners are a punk rock/ska punk band from Richmond Hill and Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Since their formation in 2002, The Flatliners have been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska scene as well as other areas of the Greater Toronto Area. They are currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords...
, The Know How
The Know How
The Know How is a third wave ska band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1998. Their musical style blends ska and pop punk and prominently features a Moog synthesizer alongside more typical ska instrumentation Despite releases on Jump Up! Records and Stomp Records, numerous nationwide tours The...
, and Bedouin Soundclash
Bedouin Soundclash
Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band currently based in Toronto. Their sound can be described as reggae and ska.-History:The band's current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, and bassist Eon Sinclair with Sekou Lumumba on drums. Their debut album, Root Fire, released in 2001...
. Their music has been used in the Japanese flash series Catman, Canadian show Radio Free Roscoe
Radio Free Roscoe
Radio Free Roscoe was a Canadian television series filmed in Toronto, Ontario. The show was produced by Decode Entertainment, and it first aired on 1 August 2003 on Family, in Canada. It has also been dubbed in French in the province of Quebec and aired on VRAK.TV...
, and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Undergrads
Undergrads
Undergrads is an animated television series centered on the lives of four college undergraduate freshmen. Originally broadcast on MTV during 2001, only thirteen episodes were created. It has since been shown on Comedy Central in the United States, Teletoon in Canada, and Trouble in the United Kingdom...
(shown on Teletoon in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
). Lyrics by The Planet Smashers often deal with topics such as love, partying and good times, and sometimes use tongue-in-cheek innuendo
Innuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
s.
Early Years
The name "The Planet Smashers" was first used in 1992 for a band including Matt Collyer, Ceco Munaretto and Dave Jones as well as a series of other members. These groups played punk and Manchester rock and did not complete any recordings. They did perform live shows and the songs "Coolest Guy" and "Vampire" come from this period.First Lineup 1993–1996
The name solidified into the current format in 1993 when Matt and Ceco decided to introduce horns into the band and focus on ska. Travis Wilkinson (Trombone) was attracted to the band by a misleading poster that read "Its' your big break, goofball trombone player needed for ska band that's huge in Belgium with confirmed European tour." The other original members were Dave Cooper (Drums) and Andrew Skowronski (Tenor Saxophone). They practiced in the McGill University music department until kicked out and their first gig was at the now defunct "Station 10" on March 17, 1994.The band played small Montreal venues like "Purple Haze" and "Jailhouse" and at ska festivals. All the band members contributed original material and sets would include a few ska/punk cover tunes. A first demo of 3 songs was recorded in Cooper's apartment but not released. Later the band recorded their first cassette in a weekend session, using studio time won by one of Collyer's defunct former bands "The Thrill Killers". The quality of this recording was not very high, but it helped get the band more gigs and visibility, including shows outside of Montreal. Popular destinations for the band included the Toucan in Kingston, The Pit in Ottawa and Sneaky Dees in Toronto. The band was an important part of the vibrant local ska scene that existed in Montreal in the mid-90s.
The self-titled CD was recorded in spring 1995. Because of a tight budget it was produced and recorded by the band in Dave's apartment on a 12 track tape recorder. This album includes favorites like "Pee in the Elevator" and "Janice". The band had its first cross country tour promoting its release in the summer of 1995.
In 1996 the band's summer tour extended into the United States. The band suffered mishaps like a broken saxophone, multiple van breakdowns and an issue at the border that prevented Travis from completing the tour. After a few more shows in Montreal the original lineup broke up, with Ceco, Andrew and Travis leaving the band.
Recent history 1997–Present
The Planet Smashers have continued, with Collyer and Cooper remaining as core members and a series of new members and sidemen. Cooper switched from drums to bass guitar when Tim Doyle joined the band. The band often plays "all-ages" shows and the playful lyrics and the high energy music has proven popular with teenage listeners. The band is one of the most popular ska bands in Canada and continues to tour and perform.The band has hinted on June 30, 2010, while playing at the Jonquière en musique music festival, that the band was working a new album, aimed for a February 2011 release.
Current members
- Matt Collyer (GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, Lead Vocals) - Dave Cooper (Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Backing Vocals) - J.O Bégin (TromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, Backing Vocals) - Alexandre Fecteau (Tenor SaxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, Backing vocals, KeyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
]) - Scott Russell (DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
)
Discography
- Descent Into the Valley of the Planet Smashers (2011)
- Unstoppable (2005)
- TEN (2004) (DVD)
- MightyMightyMighty is the fifth full-length release from The Planet Smashers. This is the first of two albums featuring drummer Scott Russell, and it is the only Planet Smashers album featuring trombonist J.O. Begin. The second track, "Explosive", features and was co-written by Neville Staple of The Specials...
(2003) - Fabricated (2002) (compilation)
- No Self Control (2001)
- Smash Hits (1999) (compilation)
- Life of the Party (1999)
- Attack of The Planet SmashersAttack of The Planet SmashersAttack of The Planet Smashers is the second full-length release from The Planet Smashers. This is the first of three collaborations between the Planet Smashers and producer Chris Murray ....
(1997) - Inflate to 45 RPMInflate to 45 RPMInflate to 45 RPM is the first vinyl recording by Canadian ska punk band The Planet Smashers. It contains three tracks, two of which were put on their following recording, Attack of The Planet Smashers. The last track, an instrumental, is a cover of a song by The Intimidators. The first 500 copies...
(1995) (vinyl) - The Planet SmashersThe Planet Smashers (album)-Track listing:# "Mission Aborted" - 2:38# "So Happy" - 3:25# "Pierce Me" - 3:31# "Pee in the Elevator" - 4:11# "Janice" - 2:04# "2 Souvlaki Pita, 1 Fry" - 2:37# "Coolest Guy in the Whole World" - 3:09# "Meal of Meat" - 3:51# "Shithead" - 0:40...
(1995) - Meet The Planet Smashers (1994) (demo)
Videography
- Bullets to the Ground (2005)
- Raise Your Glass (2005)
- J'aime Ta Femme (I Like Your Girl) (2003)
- Explosive (2003)
- Blind (2001)
- Wish I Were American (2001)
- Fabricated (2001)
- Hey Hey (2001)
- Surfing In Tofino (1999)
- Super Orgy Porno Party (1999)
- Too Much Attitude (1999)
- Change (1998)
- My Decision (1997)
- Mission Aborted (1995)