Interview: Diarrhea Planet


By Kayleen Fulton

On January 28, 1969, a little known band on their first American tour played a Boston venue and shook the crowd. When Led Zeppelin tried to walk off stage that night, the crowd was in such a frenzy that they came back and ended up playing for four hours straight, until they had run out of songs, and played every cover that they could. Just two weeks before that, Led Zeppelin had played in San Diego, a ticket that sold for a whopping $5.

There are few bands who can induce that raw animalistic frenzy in a crowd, when everyone dances and screams for more, but when you know that feeling, you become addicted to it. San Diego is a prime venue for a search for this frenzy and if you know where to look, every once in a while you’ll find a band that can’t help but trap the crowd in their sound waves.

Diarrhea Planet played with Jeff the Brotherhood at the Casbah and stole the crowd. Jeff the Brotherhood played well and the crowd danced, but if crowd involvement was an indicator of that night, it’s safe to say that Diarrhea Planet lubricated the crowd for them.

A six-piece rock-and-roll band from Nashville, Tennessee, with a three history, their sound and delightfully offensive name has been spreading underground quickly. On their first West Coast tour, after a flat tire on their way over, they barely made it to the Casbah in time but shook the venue when they did. They stayed after the show, while the crowd calmed down from that animalistic frenzy, and I talked to guitarist Evan Bird for a bit.

 

Kayleen Fulton: What’s the origin of the name? …guessing you had trouble spelling your own band name for a while?

Evan Bird: When the band started, it wasn’t really supposed to be taken very seriously. Jordan and Evan Donohue (no longer in the band) wanted a name that would make them laugh, but that would also be stupid as well as offensive. So far as I know, all of us have had a hiccup with the spelling.

 

KF: How are you liking your first west coast tour?!

EB: We have been loving this tour! Every city we’ve been to – particularly in California- has been a blast and the crowds have been receptive. We’ve all been fans of Jeff The Brotherhood since before we signed to Infinity Cat or knew them personally, so being able to do this with them has truly been a privilege.

 

KF: I’m sorry you blew out a tire on the way to San Diego, it’s a bummer to miss exploring this city. Any plans to be back anytime soon?

EB: We can’t wait to return to San Diego! We decided immediately after our set in San Diego that we have come back as soon as we can and we have build a few extra day’s to explore and hang out. The city itself is beautiful and the people we met were so kind and generous to us that it set the bar pretty high for the rest of our California shows.

 

KF: How do you describe your music? I don’t know if power-pop-punk-rock covers it.

EB: We all still struggle to describe our sound, but we’ve been saying things like “Ramones with a team of Eddie Van Halens” or “arena punk” or even simply “steroids.” Power-pop-punk-rock is pretty good though. I like that.

 

KF: What song are you most proud of so far?

EB: I can’t speak for the band, but I am most proud of Mutt Feast. I really love how the recording turned out, and I love playing it live. I think that song covers all the bases dynamically and has a few spots where the guitars can really lock horns.