Features

It's been a while since we asked someone questions that turned out longer than the answers, yet were telling enough to print. The last time that happened was the late, great Lemmy. Well, Gared O'Donnell just released an incredible new album with Planes Mistaken for Stars. We sent him some long questions. He gave us short answers that somehow say more than the literary endeavors we kind of hoped for. If you have two minutes to spare: keep reading. Then, listen to 'Prey'. It'll all make sense. 

PRT: Let's quickly get that tiresome first question out of the way: why get back together with Planes?

Gared: We missed each other and the sounds we can make.

PRT: Some of us (me) were at the reunion show at Fest 9. Was the reunion already in the works for a while? Or did that particular show trigger this whole comeback?

Gared: I'm not sure we ever truly "broke up," we just waited a lonely storm out.

PRT: What were you expecting the reactions to be like when you announced you ware back at it. And did the reactions meet your expectations?

Gared: I'm not sure we thought about it or cared much.  We just wanted to write a good LP.

PRT: How do you feel about the 'proper' release treatment 'Mercy' finally got? Because when that record originally came out, you had to deal with a series of setbacks that led to the album not really receiving the attention it deserved.

Gared: I'm thrilled, Deathwish knocked it out of the park.  I'm relieved Mercy got a second chance.

PRT: I read that 'Prey' was written mostly in motel rooms and during Kerouac-like 'on the road' moments. What makes these situations so ideal for you to write music, or lyrics?

Gared: They were not Ideal or romantic; they were lonely and gross, ha.  But they knocked me into a mindset specific to what I needed to achieve with tone and lyric.

PRT: 'Fucking Tenderness' was released as a lead single because "it has hooks". For me, personally, I thought this record doesn't really need singles. It's very cohesive, like one long trip. Am I in the ball park here?

Gared: You are correct, we write records not singles.  It's a dying art.

PRT: You yourself described 'Fucking Tenderness' as a "Thin Lizzy-worship". Does that band have any special meaning for you? Except for them being awesome of course.

Gared: Phil is one of a short list of heroes of mine, what a blazing soul he was/is. Thin Lizzy are cannon to me.

PRT: Personally, your songs make me feel strangely uncomfortable but in a good way ... it's like sitting at a bar around 2 AM, drunkenly listening to a good friend spilling his guts. Figuratively. Can you live with that?

Gared: I can live with that. You hit the nail on the head.  It is a cathartic conversation over whiskies.

PRT: Won't a - let's say, beautiful sunshine - inspire you to write something rather cheerful?

Gared: As bleak as the songs may seem, there is hope hidden in the stitches and seams of every word and chime.

PRT: What's up next for Planes Mistaken For Stars now that the album is out?

Gared: Survival, Love, Hope, the usual. Be good, friends.