Metro Pulse/Music/Plan A

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What:
Plan A w/ Umana Sumana and Westside Daredevils

When:
Thursday, Dec. 18, 9 p.m.

Where:
Blue Cats

Cost:
$5

One young band treads the unknown path

by Paige M. Travis

Plan A doesn't shy away from the term "radio friendly." Applied by a reporter shortly after the young band's arrival on the scene, the rock quartet accepts the label that a cynic might use as a curse.

"I like it," says Matt Woods, a longtime local player who was a member of Magpie Suite for five years. "That's the goal, I think, to get the music heard. Radio reaches more people than any other medium."

Currently on rotation on UT's student station 90.3 The Torch, Plan A's "Behind" is catchy like the chicken pox in a kindergarten classroom. Upon hearing the single's earnest vocals, eager pop melody and energetic rhythm section, you might double check the preset on your radio. No, the pop station isn't crossing frequencies. "Behind" is a pure example of mainstream post-grunge pop rock that packs arenas across the country. And its source is right here in town.

Born six months ago from the ruins of a handful of local bands, Plan A is building its reputation on a regional level like Hootie and the Blowfish, the Dave Matthews Band and Matchbox 20 did before they became nationally famous. The Southeast has a reputation for supporting and launching bands like these, and Plan A is already cultivating a fanbase that reaches to Augusta, Ga., Charleston, SC, Charlotte, NC, and Norfolk, Va. In October, they had hitched their wagon to Nashville-based band buddies P Jones, planning to spend six to eight weeks on the road as an opener. But, when P Jones canned its booking manager, the bands were left to their own devices. Undeterred, Plan A played the gigs it had in the Southeast. Nationwide domination will have to wait, and, in the meantime, Plan A has plenty of local fans to cultivate, says bassist Grant Houser.

"I think there's a bigger group out there that we haven't had a chance to figure out if we're well-received by or not yet. We're still trying to get our name out," Houser says.

One key to capturing attention from local fans is the coveted opening slot. Plan A warmed the stage for the Dave Matthews Cover Band at Blue Cats on Oct. 2.

"They brought out so many people," says lead guitarist Dave Wright. "If you can get a chance to open for [bigger name out-of-town bands], then you get to spread the music to people who would most likely not go out to a regular live venue to hear live music." The mainstream radio-listener is a hard animal to catch in the wilds of the live music scene of Knoxville. But bands like DMCB bring them out in droves. That's the crowd Plan A wants to pay attention to them. Quite a few signed their email list that night, and people have recognized them later as the band that opened for DMCB.

For the opportunity to open for bands like DMCB and Jagstar, and a general supportiveness of local bands, drummer Brad Jacobus is thankful bordering on worshipful to Blue Cats.

"Blue Cats has just been awesome," he says, commending the club for publicizing and promoting local bands. "They really do want us to see us succeed and help us out." He's particularly pleased when local bands get to play the 750-capacity venue without having to be anchored by a national act. Thursday's show is a local showcase featuring Umana Sumana (a new band fronted by Dave Campbell of the Coveralls) and the pop sensation Westside Daredevils. As one band's fans get introduced to the other bands, a kind of musical cross referencing occurs, increasing the number of fans for each band, and further strengthening the scene.

Recording an album is the next step for Plan A; they plan to enter a studio in the new year with at least 15 songs to whittle down into a solid disc. Woods is the principal songwriter, with other members contributing until the final song is a group product. Writing, always a mystery even to those who do it, sounds a lot like a psychic vision or childbirth the way Woods describes it.

"When it's there, it's there. I can tell," he says, his eyes widening as if seeing a figure approaching in the distance. "There's a song coming. I don't know what it's going to be or when it's going to be here, but it's on its way." When it arrives, Woods calls Wright (or another unsuspecting bandmate). "I just wrote a song!" he exclaims. You get the idea the process never gets old for him. Playing live surely doesn't.

"If we could play live six nights a week, just go out and have fun, I would. I play live as much as possible."

Almost sheepishly, Woods admits that he is a professional musician; he doesn't have a "day job" that isn't about playing music. The rest of Plan A inhabits the workday world or academia. But together they seem to share one idea, a notion that informs their name: making music is their main objective, the driving force that keeps them going—the point of the whole thing. When you keep your eye on what's important, there is no Plan B. The direction of your whole life is Plan A.