HomeMusicModern FixPLANET SMASHERS – by james wright home The Low Down: Most definitely Canada’s most talented ska band and one of their proudest exports. Combining elements of reggae, ska, punk rock and early 60’s pop music makes the Planet Smashers a repeat player in my discman. Sure the songs can be a bit simplistic at times but the sing along choruses are infectious and god dammit their music is fun! Highly recommended for fans of bands like Operation Ivy or Mad Caddies. D.I.Y Or Die: Planet Smashers front man Matt Collyer started Stomp Records in 1994 with the release of the “All-Skanadian Club Volume 1” compilation. From there the label has went on to release 4 records from the Planet Smashers as well as releases from Big D and the Kids Table and the Kingpins. Mistaken Identity: Considering that I’ve been mistaken for [Canadian Rocker] Matt Good, it’s hard to imagine that we’d have a harder time breaking Canada than Our Lady Peace. I mean, really, I look like Matt Good and Dave [Planet Smashers bass player] looks like the guy from Barenaked Ladies, one should expect that we’d be frickin’ famous. 10 years of touring the country has finally started to make sense,” laughs frontman Matt Collyer. “But seriously, Canada’s been good to us, I’ve got no complaints.” Sex On the Road: “When entering Madrid on the highway back in 2001, we were all cramped in this little Toyota 6-seater with the windows wide open in blistering 30C+ weather. I’m driving and I notice in the left rearview a quickly approaching car, but something’s not right. It looked like two people were in the drivers seat, but I couldn’t make it out. So, I tell everyone to look to the left to see what’s up. To our ABSOLUTE HORROR, the driver was a business man and his co-pilot was a sexy chick with Bo Dereck hair from the movie “10” but she was getting busy performing an on line oil change,” explains a smiling Collyer. “All I could see was her butt and the top of her head every other second.”
