Sleeping Contest Official Video

The Planes released our first ever music video on Friday, and celebrated with a show at Don Pedro in Brooklyn.  We're really happy with the way it turned out, and owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ricky Camilleri of CamLin Productions.  Ricky is an old college buddy of mine, and it worked out that he was free to make the trek up to Northampton, MA to shot some footage of us performing at The Elevens.  Unfortunately, Gavin and Daniel couldn't make the voyage with us, so we enlisted Kate Niemczyk (of Northampton's The True Jacqueline) to play bass, and we performed as a trio.

On the way into town, an old abandoned (and for the most part totally gutted) factory complex caught our eye.  I don't know what they used to make there, but it was a sprawling complex with a canal running underneath that at one point spun the turbines that powered the place.  Here's the google maps streetview, but it doesn't really do it justice.  If anyone knows what they used to make here, let me know, cause I'm super interested in old factories/industry.

We found a big open area, played the song on Ricky's iphone (which is hidden in my front jacket pocket), and did our thing.  I can't remember if we did two or three takes, but it must have been one of the quickest and most painless video shoots in history.  Soon after, we met up with Kate, ran through the songs in her apartment and went over to the club.  Ricky shot us playing, mixed it with the factory footage and some found VHS footage, and the Official Sleeping Contest Video was born!

This video was shot on an old VHS camera from 1987, which explains the overall late 80's-90's feel.  But we dig it that way, it's where we came from, and it's kinda how we sound.  I bet we shot hardcore shows at the teen center back in high school with this model camera at some point.  I don't know if Ricky just bought that camera, or if it's been sitting in his parents basement for 25 years, but either way, it worked perfectly for this project!

You should check out more of Ricky's work at CamLin Productions.

Check out Kate's band, The True Jacqueline.

And remember you can stream (free) and download (free or donate if you like) all of our first three releases at theplanesnyc.bandcamp.com!

The 10 Best Sandwiches EVER

Here's a question that is sure to start a lively conversation (argument) between any group of people, at anytime of day, in any possible setting:  "What is the best sandwich?"  Regardless of your diet, attitude towards food, income group or ethnicity, you will have an opinion.  I can't argue with Liz Lemon's worldview, but it does seem that after eating a sandwich in peace, 90% of us are willing to argue about which ones are the best.  In order to put this debate to rest, I've compiled a list of the 10 best sandwiches, in no particular order of course.

Let us start with a few ground rules.  Number one, no burgers, tacos, gyro's or hotdogs.  All of those are awesome, but I had to narrow down the list somehow.  Let's face it, all of those things are technically sandwiches, but if I told you i was bringing you a sandwich, and showed up with either of the above mentioned four items, you would be surprised.  Number two, I know you like your "hummus, turkey bacon, sprouts, avocado and tomato, with relish and mayo, on 12-grain bread", but we're talking like, classic sandwiches.  More power to you for coming up with that combination, it sure sounds lovely, but these have to be something you can order without listing the ingredients.

So without further ado, here's the list!

The Basics:

10.  The BLT

  Simple, elegant, perfect if the ingredients are fresh.  Growing up, we always had these with fresh lettuce, and thick slabs of vine-rippened tomatoes, tomatoes like you have to get from a farmer's market, or a farm (never refrigerated).  We ate them on big, fluffy slices of white bread from the Portuguese bakery in P-town (and covered them in mayo).  Personally, I don't think the bacon really matters.  I know bacon is all the rage in foodie circles, but to me, almost any bacon (as long as it's cooked right), is delicious, whereas, the perfect tomato is much harder to come by.

9.  The Grilled Cheese

  I like the standard:  white bread, American cheese,  a ton of butter, and a little salt (or garlic salt).  They are best dipped in tomato soup.  There are a million different ways to make them, and some are better than others, but a grilled cheese rarely fails to satisfy.  Once a year, some of my friends throw a grilled cheese party, where guests are encouraged to bring bread or cheese (or booze).  Sadly, this year I missed it.  I don't plan on missing it again.

8.  The Breakfast Sandwich

  Another highly customizable sandwich, the only real ingredient that you need is egg.  I bet the Egg McMuffin is the highest selling breakfast sandwich worldwide, and honestly, I think they are pretty damned good.  I like the Canadian bacon, but I sometimes switch it up and go for a sausage McMuffin.  People like bacon or ham too, and different kinds of bread: croissant, bagel, roll...  It's all good by me.  If you're ever in Provincetown, get a linguicia, egg, and cheese from the Portuguese bakery on Commercial Street.  It's my personal favorite, but truth be told, the bodega on Grand and Lorimer makes a solid sausage, egg, and cheese, on a roll, for like $2.50.

7.  The Club

  In my experience, it's almost always turkey, and it should be.  Like the late, great, Mitch Hedberg, I order club sandwiches all the time, and I get away with it, even though I'm not a member.  The should be double deckers, on toasted bread (whatever you like, I like rye), with turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and ton of mayo.  If there's anything else you wanna slap on there, good for you, but I like to keep it simple and classy.  I'm sure that there's some joint in NYC that makes absolutely killer clubs, but one of the best things about this sandwich is that practically any cheap diner can make you a good one, and usually serve it with fries and maybe even soup and a soda, for under $8.

The Ethnic All-Stars:

6.  The Banh Mi

  This is the newest sandwich (to Americans for sure, but I think in general too) on the list and it comes out of a perfect culture clash.  Basically, the banh mi is a result of the French occupation of Indo-China, specifically Vietnam.  We all know how poorly said occupation worked out for all parties involved, but at least we have the banh mi.  Basically, the banh mi is Vietnamese style meat, usually pork, stuffed in a baguette with French mayonaise, a few veggies (usually cucumbers, daikon radishes, and carrots), and often a generous helping of cilantro.  It's a glorious cultural mash-up that shows just what humanity can achieve if we work together.  Most places I've been to offer hot peppers too, and if you're me, you get them.  There's a great cheap place in Chinatown that I've been told to hit up, but I've never made over there, partly because the ones from the joint on South 2nd and Havemeyer, and Broken Rice, on Grand Street (across from my apartment) are more than capable of give me my banh mi fix. 

5.  The Italian

  I don't know if people in Italy actually eat these, or if they are an invention of the Italian-American community, but I don't really care.  An Italian sub consists of some combination of the following meats: ham, pepperoni, salami, capocollo, prosciutto, and bologna, usually with provolone and perhaps mozzarella (fresh mozzarella if you're lucky).  A standard Italian will have lettuce and tomatoes.  I think adding some raw onions is a good idea, and that goes for almost anything, not just Italian subs.  Mayo and/or oil and vinegar (I prefer the later) should be added to wet the sandwich up a little bit, and the whole mess should be crammed in a baguette or white Italian bread.  The absolute best Italian is the "Godfather" from Graham Avenue Meats and Deli, on Graham, a block or two south of the BQE (if you don't mind supporting a somewhat sketchy business).  It goes for $7 and you can get it sweet or spicy (choose spicy, it's not that hot).  Another favorite spot is Mama Rosario's Deli on that weird block where Driggs, Meeker, and Morgan all run into each other.  I used to live across the street and they would pack the sub with so much meat and cheese that I could never finish it in one sitting (perfect for an out of work musician!).  

4.  The Cuban

  I wanted to put a ham and cheese on this list because its such a simple and perfect sandwich.  Good quality deli ham, provolone or swiss, and a strong mustard, on a decent roll.  As much as I love these (the Black Sheep in Amherst makes a killer one, called the Berlin Wall), they seem kinda weak.  Why?  Because the Cuban is a ham and cheese the way the Sandwich Gods would order it.  Ham, roast pork, pickle, swiss and mustard.  Possibly the most "tangy" sandwich of all time, on par with only the...

3.  The Reuben/Rachel

  A similar sandwich to the Cuban (which is odd because their origins are worlds apart).  Traditionally, the Reuben is corned beef, sauerkraut,  melted swiss cheese, and Russian dressing, served on toasted or grilled slices of  good rye bread.  A Rachel substitutes pastrami for corned beef, and usually cole slaw for sauerkraut.  Honestly, I think I like the Rachel a little bit more, but it depends on the quality of the cole slaw (you're never gonna know if you've made the right choice until you take the first bite).  Katz's is the place to go for these.  C'mon, just look at it!

The Ultimate Team Player:

2.  The Chicken Cutlet

  Ok, I'm bending the rules with this one a little, but I have to include it because two of my most favorite sandwiches of all time are based on this design.  Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwich is incredible and not just in a fast-food-kraft-mac-and-cheese sort of fatty artificial way, but the flavor is actually fairly deep.  The last time I was at Wendy's, I got the asiago ranch spicy chicken with bacon, and although I'll one day have a triple bypass because of it, the sandwich was worth it!  Another of my favorites is the Chicken Balladino, from Balladino's, in Madison, CT.  It's breaded chicken cutlet, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, and mayo.  This shows the versatility of the chicken cutlet, it can't be pigeon-holed, it can play any position, and it will let the subtleties of the other ingredients show through.  Hell, slap some marinara sauce on that Balladino and call it a chicken parm, it's all good.

My Personal Favorite:

1.  The Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

  If you're like me, you live far away from your hometown and most of your family, and probably only see them around the holidays.  Let's be honest here, Christmas is a real shitshow, Easter isn't celebrated with the same enthusiasm, and most of the other holidays are better spent drinking with your friends.  That leaves us Thanksgiving.  Truly American, like basketball and the blues, we all know that this simple holiday basically celebrates the fact that, "HEY WE GOT A TURKEY!"  It's usually a short stay, as you'll be headed back to your hometown in about a month for Xmas, so you grab as many of the leftovers as you can, and you split.  Moist turkey (white and dark meat mixed together, preferably), good stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayo, on sliced bread.  Personally I like a hearty wheat bread.  It will hold everything together and kinda fits well with the earthy harvest festival vibe that is also a part of Thanksgiving.  I think what really makes this sandwich special is that you're not really going to go through the hassle of roasting a whole turkey, and making stuffing, just for the sandwich, you have to wait for it to come to you.  

  How did i do?  I'm sure I left something out, but I feel like it's a pretty solid list overall.  Leaving the eggplant parm sub off was hard for me, same goes for the meatball sub (and it's sloppy cousin "Joe")  I had an incredible meatball sub at The Meatball Shop for my birthday, thanks to my roommate.  I suggest you all make it down there and just order whatever the special is (the two of us got stuffed and the bill only came to $25 including craft soda, so there's really no excuse).  I apologize to Bill Simmons for ripping off his list style, but I mean, it's really more of a tribute.  Also, pulled pork sandwich?  In my mind, it's more about the barbeque, you just happen to slap in on a bun.  Oh, and if you're ever on the Cape, check out The Box Lunch.  The Perry's special is incredible and named after my family.  I remember liking the Roundup and Porky's Nightmare too.

  If you came to Hearts Bleed Radio looking for the Little Yellow Letters EP by The Planes, it can now be found on our bandcamp page. 

Little Yellow Letters EP pre-release UPDATED!

UPDATE!!! 

 We have an even newer EP out, DRINKS ON AMPS!!!

 It's great!  You guys should check it out, here  --------------->  Drinks on Amps
 
We have a new album in the works, "Echo Forever/Forever Echo" due out in the Summer of 2013.

Old post below:

Here is the link to the new planes EP, Little Yellow Letters.  It's a fairly small zip file that will decompress into seven tracks.  Recording this was a blast (mostly), and we're pumped to be sharing it with you.

Click Here ------------>    Little Yellow Letters

We will be playing a release show at Matchless in Greenpoint on March 10th, and we'd absolutely love to see you there.  More info can be found at the Facebook event page.

Our older material can be found at our Bandcamp page.

Soon we will be releasing a music video for "Sleeping Contest", produced by the incredibly talented Ricky Camilleri of CamLin Productions.  We'll keep you posted as to the release date of the video, until then enjoy the EP.  Don't fret if you don't feel like downloading, it will be available for streaming from Bandcamp sometime before the 10th.

Much love,

-The Planes

Chloe

Chloe stood behind Evan as he lifted his brush to continue painting, and placed her right hand on his shoulder. “Do you mind if I watch you paint for a second?” she asked. “No problem,” said Evan, feeling her hand next to his neck. Chloe was a misfit in Brooklyn, or maybe she was just a sign of the changing times. She was a bubbly blond, with tan skin and a curvy body that existed in a world of tall paper thin brunettes with constant frowns and peppered with tattoos. It seemed as if some wicked wizard had magically transported her from a beach in Florida to a cramped L train, commanded her off at the Lorimer stop, and left her to survive by her own devices, which of course she did, with little trouble. Chloe was smart, but didn't mind masking it with her appearance, in fact she used it to her advantage. If anyone assumed that she was dumb because of her tan and blond hair and playful persona, they would soon come to regret it. She didn't just look at things, she cataloged them. They were stored in a permanent record; some metaphysical database, to which only Chloe had access. This is undoubtably what she was doing as she watched Evan paint. He felt his art (and more importantly, the process that became his art) becoming part of that record, and felt incredibly privileged.

Evan loved Chloe. She was the closest thing to a sister that he ever had, and he always wanted to say something about it, but never wanted to risk sounding like a sap. It probably didn't matter, he figured she already knew. He had barely know David without her, and felt as if there was no real way that either of them existed without the other. Chloe removed her hand from Evan's shoulder and stepped back, to observe from a different angle. “I-”, Evan barely got his mouth open before Chloe cut him off. “No, keep going,” she said. Evan nodded his head slightly, and got back to work. The cold sun was burning, the row houses gaining form, the street straight and the perspective perfect. Evan looked at his sketch again and considered the blades of grass. He motioned to Chloe. “Do you like these blades of grass sticking up through the cracked concrete?” he asked her. She answered with a question of her own, “Will they be little dots of bright green?” “Yes, haha, the brightest things in the whole painting.” “That's exactly what I was thinking,” said Chloe, “You owe me a nice dinner when you sell this thing.” At that moment, David returned with the take-out Chinese food.

Evan meets Alex at the party...

“Evan Achilles!” Alex caught his eye's and broke the mental loop he was stuck in with her wispy, high pitched voice. “Alexandra, hey, what's up?” “Nothing y'know... at a party, that's about it.” The two dudes who were talking to her grinned a little, but clearly were annoyed at another male entering the group. Evan shot them an I-don't-know-who-the-fuck-you-are-but-we-comment-on-each-other's-Facebook-status's look, which did little to alter anyone's perception of the situation. “Well, I'm at a party too”, Evan stated the obvious, “So...” Alex interrupted him, “Do you want me to get the door?” Evan realized he was holding an open beer and two six packs, one half full and the other fully full. He had failed his primary mission of placing beers in the fridge. Not a good sign, as life didn't get any simpler than that. “Yeah, that would be great.” Alexandra opened the door and smiled at him, “Mind if I grab one of those?” she asked. “Of course... I mean, of course I don't mind” Evan stuttered. Things seemed to be going terribly, but in handing her a beer, they briefly made eye contact, and Evan felt a million times better.

“Greg”, said one of the dudes, breaking up the split second of silence/eye contact/soul reading in that I'm-acting-like-a-nice-guy-but-I-want-you-the-fuck-out-of-here sort of way that fooled no one. “Evan”, said the other dude. “My name's Evan too”, said our Evan. “Evan-tu is a funny name, sounds Inuit.” joked the new Evan. “Super”, original Evan thought sarcastically, but somehow let slip out loud. “Evan Achilles”, added Alexandra, trying to salvage the situation. “How are your heels feeling?” joked Greg. “I'm sure he's never heard that one before” sarcased Alex. Damn, thought Evan, she's saving the goddamn day. Realizing the risk of getting stuck in the social hell pit of trying to talk to the girl you like whilst surrounded by two d-bags, Evan took bold action, “I'm gonna run some beers over to David and Chloe, do you remember them?” “Oh yeah, of course I do”, Alexandra said, “I'll come with you and say “hi”.” “Nice to meet you guys” faked Evan, giving a salty salute. The pair headed into the living room.

“Chloe, Dave! You remember Alex?” This wasn't the ideal situation, he didn't have her alone, but at least he was in friendly territory. “Hey, how have you been?” asked David. “Good, you know, living life, all that, kicking ass, taking names, forgetting them.” replied Alexandra. Everyone threw back a sip of beer. “I can't believe Tommy's thirty”, remarked Chloe, “I guess we're all getting up there. How old are you Alexandra?” Dammit, thought Evan, I was better off with Greg and other-Evan. Alexandra smiled, “Twenty-four years young, but I consider myself wise beyond my years.” “What do you do for a living?” asked David. Evan wondered if this interrogation was really necessary. “I work in a coffee shop, but I'm a musician also, looking for a band.” answered Alex, “What do you do?” David smiled, eager for a chance to talk about his boring as hell job, “I work in advertising. Actually I work with Tommy. We have fun, but it's hard work too. For example, we're working on the new Jameson campaign, and I like whiskey, but they are trying to appeal to a demographic who-” “He likes to ramble on about his job” interjected Chloe. Thank God for Chloe, thought Evan. Chloe continued, “Anyway, it's so nice to see Evan with a girl.” GODDAMMIT CHLOE, the thought almost broke through Evan's cranium. Alex awkwardly threw back a swig of beer. “Oh, this lady killer? I'm sure he's got ladies left and right”, remarked Alexandra, saving the day once again.

the death of jobs... literally

  i'm not at all surprised by the different reactions to the passing of steve jobs. i don't think anyone questions that he was an intelligent man, in the right time and place to make a lot of money. i don't want to get into a debate about his legacy, i'll leave that for, well, every other writer on the planet. instead i want to take a moment to address modern technology and actual jobs.
  i shiver a little when i hear our leaders, specifically president obama, talk about how american innovation will save our economy if it is nurtured correctly.  i think the president misunderstands what technology actually is.  at it's core, technology implies a reduced need for human labor.  eventually, innovation will sink an occupation based economy.  the post office isn't going bankrupt because it's mismanaged, or because pensions and pay are too generous, it's going to fold because of email and the internet.  the idea that "innovation" will make up for the 574,000 good jobs that will be lost when the u.s. post office does collapse is ridiculous.
  don't get me wrong, i understand that technological advances create hiring booms.  the industrial revolution created a boom that lasted for well over a hundred years in america.  think about it beginning in earnest in 1830 with the opening of the baltimore and ohio railroad network (yeah, you could go farther back than that, but i'm using rail transport on a national level as a signifier that industry has really transformed a country), and ending in the 1960's and 70's when manufacturing leaves for asia.  the "information revolution", which the late mr. jobs was intimately involved with, basically is a boom that last from the 1980's through the dot-com crash of the early 00's, a little less than 20 years.  since technological advances by nature lead to newer and more functional technology which thus can be used to create even more advances, something that was considered "innovative" will become obsolete quicker and quicker with each passing generation.  booms created by new technology will no longer last long enough to keep a nation hiring workers for any substantial amount of years.
  i don't know if there has ever been a bigger job killer than the smartphone.  it kills jobs in the traditional internet way; postmen, librarians, bank tellers, anyone who works in the entertainment industry, and of course, retail (all of these are jobs that haven't or can't really be outsourced).  hell, even stockbrokers, think about how little man power it actually takes to run any of that now.  and the kicker is that also kills the need for other electronic products like camera/camcorders and media players.  i understand that it takes man power and human intelligence to produce and program a smartphone, but it doesn't come close to the amount of jobs that it replaces.
  think about the magic pill.  think about if scientists invented a pill that was cheap and easy to produce, and could cure every disease.  maybe it's an enzyme that restructures dna, or a bacteria that kills every virus, bacteria, parasite, and cancer cell without harming the patient, or more likely it will be a cluster of nano-robots, but whatever, just say it's invented.  this is the dream of medicine.  this pill is a fixture, whether it's mentioned or not, in every futurist utopia; and it would mean utter economic collapse under our current system.  collapse for not just for doctors and researchers, but for the janitor who cleans the hospital, the factory workers who manufacture the beds, and so on.  and that's not even considering the strain on our resources and environment that increased longevity would bring.
  the iphone is the closest thing to the consumer electronics version of the "magic pill" that we have yet to see, but it surely is just the beginning.  barring some major global catastrophe, innovation will continue to make hundreds of thousands, if not millions of jobs obsolete with each coming decade.  optimistically assuming that human population plateaus in the near future (which it probably won't), this still presents a real quagmire.  how will we as a planet engulfed in employment based capitalism respond when the need for labor is greatly reduced?
  the irony of a man named jobs pioneering a field that lead to a reduction in the demand for actual jobs is quite astounding.  it's almost too absurd to be real.  but isn't it equally absurd to continue to use employment as means to prove worthiness in a post-industrial economy?  jobs will inevitably become obsolete faster than they are created.  let it also be know, for the record, that steve jobs expired on october 5th 2011.  i just wonder how many other jobs we will lose in the future, and how our global society will respond.
 

BROOKLYN

last night rocked! we always have decent turnout and a good time playing at bruar falls, and last night was the best yet. we were worried that the true jacqueline might not make it down in time from massachusetts, but they made it ok. most of justice of the unicorns was stuck upstate due to hurricane irene damage, so russ played a solo set to start off the night. he was good given the circumstances, but i was really looking forward to hearing the whole band. hopefully i'll be able to catch them sometime soon.

tru-jac played a really good set as the crowd grew a little bigger, and by the time gold streets went on, the place was really hopping. gold streets were one of the first bands i saw when i moved to brooklyn 4 years ago and they are super nice and always put on a good show. they've been working on a new recording and we can't wait to give it a listen.

we played a pretty good set, i think the philly set was the best we've ever played (and there was no one there to see it!), but thursday in noho, and last night at BF were really solid. gavin had a little guitar trouble, which lead to me attempting to play (and f'ing butchering) the solo in "red car", and we played "love is a losing game" without him, which meant we skipped the guitar solo, which sucks, cause i thought it was awesome. honestly, i didn't know how it would work covering that song, i think we really kinda made it our own.

setlist:

helen of troy
holy bones
omg
red car
sleeping contest
secret show
love is a losing game
sea + enemy
meditation
free love

we had a blast on this little mini tour, but sadly, our days of playing together as a real working band are coming to an end. we are going to put out a 5 song ep over the next couple of months and play a release show for that. jeff and i will keep the planes going, but we're going to need a new bassist and guitarist, as sacha and gavin need time to pursue other endeavors. the four of us have had a wonderful time playing together, thanks in no small part to the mountains of support that we've gotten from all of our friends and fans out there.

people ask me why i still play music after years and years of work with no real commercial success. the answer is that i do it for all the other bands out there who put up countless hours of work for fleeting moments of glory, and for all the people who come out and spend their time and hard earned money supporting unknown acts in tiny bars because they understand that a community is a machine and even the smallest part is necessary to the function of the whole.

if you're a musician out there, on hard times, and someone out there asks you why you still do it, tell them you do it for me. i'll meet you at a show in the stratosphere. i'll buy the first round.

-steve