“I decided to do something crazy and book a tour with no band, so I posted an ad on Craigslist,” says Nathan Corsi, frontman of hard-working indie rock outfit Not A Planet. “About two weeks before the tour, I went into panic mode—still didn’t have a band—and I ended up meeting Liam.” Shortly thereafter, bassist Will Sturgis entered the picture. “I actually thought they were running drugs when I first joined up,” Sturgis says with a laugh. “There was a conversation that we had about the business aspects of the band, because the band had no money, and Nate looks at me and says ‘Let’s leave the business until a later date.’ It was so ominous! I was like ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going on a tour to transport kilos of cocaine or something.’ When we played our first gig, I was like ‘Ok, we’re actually playing music, not running drugs.’”
That’s right, Not A Planet, now comprised of Corsi, Sturgis, Liam Sumnicht (drums), and Nathan Showalter (keys), is definitely a band that plays actual music curated in the unique and burgeoning scene that is Kansas City, Missouri. The group will release Smoke Bombs & Cigarettes: The History Of Now, their foot-stomping barn-burner of an EP, on August 12th. The band pulled the title from the lyrics of album track “The World We Know”, a song Corsi calls their own “State of the Union”. “It marked a transitional era for us—socially and politically there is a lot going on. There’s an incredible state of unrest, not only here, but on a global scale. Humanity itself is in a transitional period. Maybe it’s just an election year, who knows. But we know that great things happen when you persevere,” he explains.
“People run around and document riots and violence and looting on their cell phones, but are completely passive about doing anything about it, it’s passive acceptance of the world falling apart. We’d rather take our daily dose of Facebook and memes and gifs instead of changing anything,” he continues. “Our album covers a lot of ground; there’s a song about finding potential inside of yourself and doing something great. There’s a song about us. There are so many facets of human experience and emotion, and we tried to put that together in a way that reflects how our band has evolved.” Adds Sturgis, “We have the choice to try, to stand up and say something or do something every day. It’s so important not to quit. You have to be an active part of the solution, and that’s something we really believe in.”
Not A Planet will tour to support the release, with a stop planned in Nashville to perform at local dive Springwater Supper Club on July 22nd. “We just want to spread the gospel of love. If that resonates with people, that means that we get to keep doing what we love,” says Corsi. “Come out to a show, and let’s talk about the truth together.”
For Nashville show info: https://www.facebook.com/SpringwaterSupperClub
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