When I first encountered Pluto the Planet in November 2013, the members were on their way to their first gig at the WOW Hall, a milestone for Eugene bands. But their upcoming show with Cambodian-inspired rock band Dengue Fever at the WOW on Saturday, February 7 is their fourth time playing the vaunted venue. I had a chance to sit with the band members once again to discuss this gig and the trials and tribulations of being on the cusp of bigger fame.
Is playing the W.O.W. Hall even a big thing anymore for y’all?
Dylan Campbell: Yeah, we’re still super excited. I think the thing that makes [the W.O.W. Hall] star-striking is the acts. But the W.O.W. can be really tiny or really huge. Sometimes you get the same draw as a bar. But when you get a big band playing, that’s when it’s like, “oh shit, you’re playing the WOW Hall.”
Cameron Lister: It’s nice not to be the biggest band on the bill.
Are y’all officially too big for the bars at this point?
Elliott Fromm: More than straying away from bars, we’re just trying to do higher-profile shows. We’ve always just wanted to play as much as we could, so we just took any gig we could get. Now we’re trying to limit to one or two big shows a month, so it’s an ordeal to see us instead of just “Pluto the Planet is playing again! At a bar!”
Dengue Fever seems a bit like a strange pairing to me.
EF: I think it’s because we have a bit of world influence.
CL: To be frank, I don’t know who would fit with [Dengue Fever].
EF: Human Ottoman is this experimental jazz fusion thing, and we’re definitely the most pop band. But I think it’s gonna fit alright. Human Ottoman is gonna jam out, and we’re gonna be super high energy and get everyone warmed up for Dengue Fever.
What are your biggest concerns about this show?
DC: I hope people really into the obscurity of other bands will not write us off for being too simple or lighthearted. I hope they can see something more to our band.
Y’all are one of the biggest Eugene bands. What are your biggest concerns about being on the precipice of larger fame?
EF: Doing it prematurely. You only get one chance. You can’t make a Pluto the Planet album that sucks and then put out an awesome album and hope people will forget about that. It’s like having a class where you have three midterms and flunking the first midterm and then acing the other two. You’re still gonna get a C.
CL: I’d also say finding the right place to move.
DC: We’ve talked a lot about L.A., but we’re less concerned about where we go as if it’s the right place at the right time. We’re not sure where we’re gonna go but we’ve decided we are gonna move somewhere.
Anything else y’all would like to add?
CL: Go Daily Emerald. Come to our other shows. Can we plug some shows? February 20 we’re opening for the Helio Sequence in Bend. Then after that February 26 we’re playing at Sam Bond’s. We’re playing Campus Block Party and the Willamette Valley Music Festival again.
EF: We’re playing an acid wedding. This one’s a private event.
CL: We’re just gonna be out in the woods. He just said “this is one of those things where you can just drop acid.” I think it’s just gonna be a bunch of free spirits getting hitched.
DC: It’s gonna be a good year for Pluto the Planet.
Dengue Fever and Pluto the Planet play the W.O.W. on Saturday, February 7. Doors at 8, show at 9. Tickets $12 in advance, $14 at the door. All ages.
Q&A: Pluto the Planet on their upcoming WOW Hall gig with Dengue Fever
Daily Emerald
February 4, 2015
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