Planet Us
Encyclopedia
Planet Us was a short-lived supergroup
that formed in 2002 with Sammy Hagar
on lead vocals, Neal Schon
on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Deen Castronovo
on drums. The band later recruited a fifth member - famed guitarist Joe Satriani
- when their original choice, Slash
, turned them down.
The band's name Planet Us has been alternatively spelled as Planet US in various publications.
albums and Van Halen
still unreformed at this point, the members decided to kickstart a separate project. The band was announced in early 2002 yet Schon and Castronovo were still recording and subsequently toured with Journey that summer, while Hagar was touring with David Lee Roth
in the successful 'Sans Halen' tour. The new group then planned to reconvene in the Fall but the initial recording sessions scheduled in San Francisco were again delayed until January 2003 while Castronovo recovered from an illness.
In the end, only two songs were written and recorded under the Planet Us name: "Vertigo" and "Peeping Through a Hole" and neither was officially released by the band itself. "Vertigo" was originally intended for the first Spider-Man
movie; however, it was turned down by Sony (correctly, says Sammy) for being "too f---in' heavy!" "Peeping Through a Hole," a very dark song about an abused child, was later re-recorded by another of Neal Schon's projects, Soul SirkUS
with Jeff Scott Soto
on vocals, and released as "Peephole" on the Soul SirkUS "World Play" CD.
In an interview from late 2005, Neal Schon described how material he had originally written for Planet Us ended up on the Soul SirkUS
project instead: "There was a couple songs that did end up on Journey's Generations that I wrote during the same time period that I wrote that material like "Faith in the Heartland" and "Out Of Harm's Way". They were all written in the same month. I wrote about twenty songs that month and it was all going to be for the project that I was doing with Sammy Hagar. ... I wanted to do something with this material that I had written with Planet Us. So, I decided to re-group and put it out with some guys that I think are 'happening'. And that's what I did. I sent Jeff (Scott Soto) all my material and he wrote all the vocals. When he got eight songs done, we went into the studio and knocked it out in a couple of days."
The band only appeared live four times, the first being at the 25th annual Bammies (aka the California Music Awards) on Saturday, April 27, 2002 in Oakland, California. After Sammy Hagar took the stage playing three songs with his band the Waboritas
he announced a few friends and Schon, Anthony, and Castronovo took the stage. They then played "Vertigo" and "Peeping Through a Hole" publicly for the first time. Hagar and Anthony had performed at the Bammies years earlier as Los Tres Gusanos.
The second and third appearances also occurred when Schon, Anthony, and Castronovo joined Hagar on tour, this time at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on May 17 and May 18, 2002. Both nights they ended Hagar's headlining show with performances of their only two songs.
Their fourth and final performance occurred on March 12, 2003 on the syndicated radio show Rockline
hosted by Bob Coburn. Sammy introduced the band's recently expanded line-up with Joe Satriani on guitar and after briefly explaining the origin of the 'side project' they played "Vertigo" to end the night.
Planet Us never finished their planned album likely due to the busy nature of its members at the time. Hagar and Anthony returned to Van Halen with much fanfare in 2004 and subsequently went on a world tour. In frustration, Schon and Castronovo took the material written for Planet Us and formed Soul SirkUS
with Soto, touring the results before returning to their regular duties in Journey.
album. In the liner notes Hagar states: "Neal Schon has been a friend for years. We have talked about working together but the time had never been quite right. A few years ago we finally wrote a couple of songs, "Psycho Vertigo" and "Peephole", and decided to go into the studio and record. I called Michael Anthony to play his bass while Neal enlisted Deen Castronovo to play drums. I had a home studio in my
basement where we worked out these two tracks. We were really excited about the way things were going and had already decided to call ourselves Planet Us. Then the phone rang and the Van Hagar reunion was an idea that was just too irresistible to pass up. I am happy these tracks are finally coming out."
Planet Us was the second project that Hagar and Schon formed, the first being the short-lived Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
from the mid-1980's. Although it seems unlikely that they will regroup and produce a proper album, Neal Schon has left the door open stating "If he (Hagar) calls me up and says 'Schon – let's go'. I'm gone and it'll be fun."
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
that formed in 2002 with Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
on lead vocals, Neal Schon
Neal Schon
Neal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Deen Castronovo
Deen Castronovo
Deen Castronovo is an Italian American drummer who has played in various bands, including Kandles at Nine, Cacophony, Bad English, Journey, The Enemy, Wild Dogs, Dr. Mastermind, Hardline, Planet Us, Soul Sirkus, Social Distortion, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler's G/Z/R, as well as in...
on drums. The band later recruited a fifth member - famed guitarist Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
- when their original choice, Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
, turned them down.
The band's name Planet Us has been alternatively spelled as Planet US in various publications.
History
In 2002, with some down time between JourneyJourney (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
albums and Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
still unreformed at this point, the members decided to kickstart a separate project. The band was announced in early 2002 yet Schon and Castronovo were still recording and subsequently toured with Journey that summer, while Hagar was touring with David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
in the successful 'Sans Halen' tour. The new group then planned to reconvene in the Fall but the initial recording sessions scheduled in San Francisco were again delayed until January 2003 while Castronovo recovered from an illness.
In the end, only two songs were written and recorded under the Planet Us name: "Vertigo" and "Peeping Through a Hole" and neither was officially released by the band itself. "Vertigo" was originally intended for the first Spider-Man
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
movie; however, it was turned down by Sony (correctly, says Sammy) for being "too f---in' heavy!" "Peeping Through a Hole," a very dark song about an abused child, was later re-recorded by another of Neal Schon's projects, Soul SirkUS
Soul SirkUS
Soul SirkUS is a band that initially featured singer Jeff Scott Soto, guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Marco Mendoza, and drummer Deen Castronovo.-History:...
with Jeff Scott Soto
Jeff Scott Soto
Jeff Scott Soto is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the lead singer for the group Talisman from 1990 till the end of Talisman in 2007, the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and for stepping up to the job of lead vocalist for Journey on...
on vocals, and released as "Peephole" on the Soul SirkUS "World Play" CD.
In an interview from late 2005, Neal Schon described how material he had originally written for Planet Us ended up on the Soul SirkUS
Soul SirkUS
Soul SirkUS is a band that initially featured singer Jeff Scott Soto, guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Marco Mendoza, and drummer Deen Castronovo.-History:...
project instead: "There was a couple songs that did end up on Journey's Generations that I wrote during the same time period that I wrote that material like "Faith in the Heartland" and "Out Of Harm's Way". They were all written in the same month. I wrote about twenty songs that month and it was all going to be for the project that I was doing with Sammy Hagar. ... I wanted to do something with this material that I had written with Planet Us. So, I decided to re-group and put it out with some guys that I think are 'happening'. And that's what I did. I sent Jeff (Scott Soto) all my material and he wrote all the vocals. When he got eight songs done, we went into the studio and knocked it out in a couple of days."
The band only appeared live four times, the first being at the 25th annual Bammies (aka the California Music Awards) on Saturday, April 27, 2002 in Oakland, California. After Sammy Hagar took the stage playing three songs with his band the Waboritas
The Waboritas
The Waboritas is the name of Sammy Hagar's backup band, though they are frequently and more recently referred to as "The Wabos". They were formed in 1997 and have been active ever since...
he announced a few friends and Schon, Anthony, and Castronovo took the stage. They then played "Vertigo" and "Peeping Through a Hole" publicly for the first time. Hagar and Anthony had performed at the Bammies years earlier as Los Tres Gusanos.
The second and third appearances also occurred when Schon, Anthony, and Castronovo joined Hagar on tour, this time at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on May 17 and May 18, 2002. Both nights they ended Hagar's headlining show with performances of their only two songs.
Their fourth and final performance occurred on March 12, 2003 on the syndicated radio show Rockline
Rockline
Rockline is a nationally syndicated radio interview program hosted by Bob Coburn that broadcasts live via satellite every Monday and Wednesday night from 8:30pm-10pm PT to radio stations in the United States. Founded in 1981, it is considered to be the longest running, uninterrupted program in rock...
hosted by Bob Coburn. Sammy introduced the band's recently expanded line-up with Joe Satriani on guitar and after briefly explaining the origin of the 'side project' they played "Vertigo" to end the night.
Planet Us never finished their planned album likely due to the busy nature of its members at the time. Hagar and Anthony returned to Van Halen with much fanfare in 2004 and subsequently went on a world tour. In frustration, Schon and Castronovo took the material written for Planet Us and formed Soul SirkUS
Soul SirkUS
Soul SirkUS is a band that initially featured singer Jeff Scott Soto, guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Marco Mendoza, and drummer Deen Castronovo.-History:...
with Soto, touring the results before returning to their regular duties in Journey.
Epilogue
In 2008, Hagar released the songs "Vertigo" (now renamed to "Psycho Vertigo") and "Peephole" on his Cosmic Universal FashionCosmic Universal Fashion
-Personnel:*Sammy Hagar - lead vocals, guitar*Michael Anthony - bass, vocals on tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10*Billy Gibbons - vocals on track 6*Billy Duffy - guitars on track 4*Matt Sorum - drums, percussion on track 4*Bootsy Collins - backing vocals on track 8...
album. In the liner notes Hagar states: "Neal Schon has been a friend for years. We have talked about working together but the time had never been quite right. A few years ago we finally wrote a couple of songs, "Psycho Vertigo" and "Peephole", and decided to go into the studio and record. I called Michael Anthony to play his bass while Neal enlisted Deen Castronovo to play drums. I had a home studio in my
basement where we worked out these two tracks. We were really excited about the way things were going and had already decided to call ourselves Planet Us. Then the phone rang and the Van Hagar reunion was an idea that was just too irresistible to pass up. I am happy these tracks are finally coming out."
Planet Us was the second project that Hagar and Schon formed, the first being the short-lived Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve were a band featuring lead vocalist Sammy Hagar, lead guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Michael Shrieve. The group reportedly rehearsed for less than a month before playing in concert...
from the mid-1980's. Although it seems unlikely that they will regroup and produce a proper album, Neal Schon has left the door open stating "If he (Hagar) calls me up and says 'Schon – let's go'. I'm gone and it'll be fun."
External links
- Melodicrock.com news 2002 - First reports of Planet Us 'supergroup' forming
- Schon Interview 2002 - Neal Schon discusses birth of Planet Us
- Journey Newsletter - Photos of first Planet Us appearance in Oakland, 2002.
- Planet Us in Vegas 2002 - News of 2nd & 3rd live appearances
- Melodicrock Interview 2002 - Sammy discusses delay of Planet Us record
- BW&BK Jan. 2003 article - News of first Planet Us recording session
- RedRocker Feb. 2003 announcement - Sammy puts Planet Us on hold
- Planet Us on Rockline Mar. 2003 - Photos of Planet Us with Satriani on Rockline
- Schon Interview Apr. 2005 - Neal Schon discusses aftermath of Planet Us
- Schon Radio Interview Sept. 2005 - Neal Schon discusses breakup of Planet Us
- "Peephole" lyrics - Soul SirkUS website