The Plantains Press Release

My grandfather (God bless his soul) used to spend most of his retirement winters in a large log cabin that he built himself. I'll never forget the time when I was eleven years old, and my family decided to visit him. His cabin was in the Northern Interior and it took six hours to drive there. He was a lively man for his age, always chopping wood and constandly puttering around. And on the night before we left, as we sat by the glow and warmth of his enormous woodstove and watched him scale the trout we had caught ice-fishing, he looked up at me, and said, "Writing the introductory paragraph of the press release for a crazy rock n' roll band can certainly be tough."

Rock n' roll indeed. The Plantains are trying hard to put the "n'" back into rock n' roll. This incredibly popular Vancouver band began in early 1995 when it was discovered that Ryan Bigge (of Single Guy Zine fame) had the gift of rock n' roll. And since it's better to give than to receive, it was his duty to share it with others. Thus, with Ryan playing guitar and Graeme Scott (of Dish fame) drumming, the band began. Their early sound was raw and unpolished. Too raw and too unpolished as it turned out. A revolving cast of bass players (Bryan and Darren to name just two) failed to work out. It soon became apparent that Graeme's primitive tribal beats would not be enough to carry the band to three sold out nights at GM Place. The "garage" was not yet ready for a garage band.

The next few months saw more changes to the rhythm section than Daytona. A promising drummer turned out to be an idiot, and others were always "busy," so things contined to drift and deteriorate. Ads in the Georgia Straight garnered either complete beginners or Neil Pert wannabes. Finally, when despair was at its height, a drummer was found. His name was Ryan as well, and like the proverbial porridge, he was just right.

The Plantains practised from May of 1996 until the end of July, playing two shows at the Niagara. But then on September 7th, The Plantains found themselves at a difficult juncture, when their drummer Ryan (not to be confused with the guitarist and lead singer Ryan) informed them that due to school commitments, he would be taking a hiatus (leaving the band) until May of 1997. What to do? This summer drummer situation was a bit of a bummer.

After pondering the dilemma for only a few hours, Ryan (lead singer and guitarist) had the answer. Graeme, (the bass player) would once again be put behind the skins. Luckily, Graeme had been practising day and night since early 1995 and his abilities had improved ten fold. His savage jungle rhythms were now perfectly suited to The Plantains. However, the shocker in gloomtown was thus: a replacement bass player would not be sought.

The cries of disbelief began like a chorus of harpies. A two piece band? That's commercial suicide! How patently false. This move was not taken without considering musical precendents. For example, neither The Cramps, nor the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have a bass player. Add to this the fact that bass and drum combos like Duotang and GodHeadSilo are doing quite well for themselves. Lastly, and most inspiring, are the Spinanes who, like us, have only a drummer and a guitarist. To paraphrase Keith Richards, "Once you could amplify guitar, and you added drums, you can rock and roll. You didn't need bass or anything else. That was the shit." The defense rests. We jokingly call ourselves The Plantains Light. All the taste, with 33% fewer calories. A lean, mean, pure rock n' roll machine that will hit you square in the chest and throw you backwards.

But lest you think The Plantains are trapped in a bygone era, due to their clothing and excessive use of the phrase rock n' roll, we'd like to assure everyone that we take only the best ideas from the past and merge them with the best ideas of the present to make a sound like no others. Instantly recognizable and accessible, yet distinct enough to call our own. Besides, there's nothing wrong with the past. After watching the Ed Sullivan show we were impressed with the fact that rock and roll used to whip up thousands of screaming teenage girls into such a frenzy that they'd want to rip off their clothes. There's nothing wrong with that, in our humble opinion.

So, after two months of intense rehearsal, we're ready. Ready to kick ass live. "Our live set is energy, plain energy," said Ryan. "We live off raw energy. We're also ready to wreck hotel rooms, walk offstage half-way through shows, toss furniture around and start brawls with one another. Our rider is eight pages long and counting. We've practiced all the skills necessary to be the best damn rock n' roll band in Vancouver, and perhaps the world. We're not the Gallagher brothers, but we'll learn."

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Read more about the band members:
Ryan Bigge has some stats.
Graeme Scott answers fan mail.

For more information about The Plantains, contact Ryan Bigge.