Plan B logo refresh

Over the years Plan B has stuck pretty closely to the logo that was originally created for the band by Mark Storm in the early 80's (see the images below). The design was created to look a log like a blueprint with three figures playing brass instruments lounging on various parts of the logotype.

When the band reformed in 2009 the logo was retraced in Adobe Illustrator and the figures in caps replaced with images of iconic Australian animals playing brass instruments. It was decided because the band was to be playing mainly over seas that animals easily recognizable as Australian would help identify the band as an international act (from Australia).

With the upcoming tour it was decided to again refresh the logo. This time one of Australia's premier illustrators Chris Wahl was commissioned to draw the animals. As part of the design process it was decided to swap-out the trombone playing emu with that of a platypus.

Let us know what you think of the final result. Also be sure to grab a TShirt at one of our shows :)

PlanB's logo in the 80's

PlanB's logo refreshed for 2009

Latest version of logo with illustrated fauna.

Plan B developing new techniques for next round of film clips

On the up coming tour, Plan B intends to record an album of original material. To help promote this album as well as generate a bit of fun for the band while on tour three film clips suitable for broadcast will be shot in and around Phenom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City.

One of the approaches which is being prototyped utilises micro cameras attached to the instrumentalists while they are performing. The embedded Youtube video above shows an experiment with a camera attached to three different places on a trombone while being played.

Adelaide Rehearsals in Full Swing

In preparation for the upcoming 2010/2011 Southern Delta tour of Cambodia and Vietnam, Brett (Harley) Monten, John (Blind Melon) Mulholland and Walter (Jaegermeister) Kiess are catching up every few weeks to craft the new tunes and tweak the old ones.

The way the band comes together is quite unique (with members coming from Dubai, Qld, NT and SA) in that the team is together as a full group only two days before their first gig in front of hundreds of people at @Sharkys Bar on New Year’s Eve. So in those two days, the seven members all have to learn their parts in 30+ songs and learn how their parts interact with others’. Any musicians on this list will appreciate how daunting this task is.

Having three members in the one state makes a difficult job easier in that the base rhythm and structure can be bedded down in advance of the full band rehearsals. The rehearsals are recorded and sent to other members of the band for their own individual practices and for familiarity with format and feel. As a result, what the SA boys do is crucial to the band being able to perform as a professional unit on such a tight schedule.

PlanB goes live on Jango

Recently PlanB added it's latest single Call Me to the Jango play list. If your a Jango user or would like to be part of this new and exciting internet based radio service you can check the song out here.


Launched in November 2007 and based in New York City, Jango is a social music service that lets you create and share custom radio stations. It's the easy way to play the music you want online, legally and free.

With over seven million US unique visitors a month, Jango has grown fast to become the #5 largest music site in the US (ComScore, pageviews, July 09).

Just type in an artist - and your first station starts playing right away. You'll get the music you want, along with similar favorites of Jango users who share your taste. Customizing your stations further is just as easy. Just add more artists and rate songs that you want to play more or less.

You can also tune in to other people's stations - and they can tune in to yours! In your player, you'll see who's listening to the same music as you, who's listening to your stations, and what your friends are playing.

LIVE: PlanB, Direct from Australia

This article was copied from the FCC Cambodia website.

Australian 80s music powerhouse brings 25-year reunion tour to Cambodia

It's always good to have a plan B.

Just ask Peter Flierl, a.k.a. Sneaky Pete. When the Australian bass player's band, Del Webb Explosion, split up in the early 1980s, he put plan B into motion: he formed a new band that he fittingly named PlanB.

"PlanB quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with," Flierl says.

The Adelaide-based group quickly became popular while playing "a very palatable form of hard-edged pop-influenced soul", he says.

"We were all pretty good lookin' back then . . . still are . . . although some have fared better than others," Flierl jokes.

The eight-piece soul-influenced rock band plays The FCC Angkor on Jan. 3. Two Phnom Penh dates include Memphis on Jan 1 and Sharky's on Jan 2. The band will be playing about 50 percent original music while the remainder will be covers of bands that have influenced PlanB, including The Commitments, Dexys Midnight Runners and Southside Johnny & the Ashbury Dukes.

"It's emotional music geared to take the audience through a range of emotions during the course of a three-hour show," Flierl explains. Other bands and individuals that have influenced PlanB include Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Chicago and the Blues Brothers.

PlanB's original members, who are back for the current lineup, are Flierl on bass and vocals, Patrick Stapleton on trombone, Rob Williams on trumpet and Peter Spooner on keyboards and vocals.

The new members are Brett Monten on lead vocals, John Mulholland on lead guitar and vocals, Glen Torrens on tenor saxophone and Walter Kiess on drums and vocals.

The band originally broke up in the mid 1980s. The idea of a reunion tour came from a conversation on Facebook between Flierl and Stapleton about PlanB's early days.

The pair wanted somewhere other than Australia that was easy to get to and not too expensive. Flierl, who currently works an office job in Dubai, was posted in Vietnam in 2004-06. During that time he and his wife had formed a band called The Mekong Delta Band.

"So Vietnam and Cambodia seemed the obvious choice," Flierl says about the decision to tour Cambodia and Vietnam.

The timing was perfect, he says, and he and Stapleton both had a strong urge to play again as PlanB.

"Patrick and I had itchy feet. We missed being up on stage with the eight-piece tower of power that was PlanB," Flierl says.

The band is planning to record live cuts from the tour as well as have its performances filmed with the intention of making a documentary, he says. As well, PlanB will be recording a new song in a studio in Ho Chi Minh City.

Flierl is looking forward to the Cambodia gigs.

"Personally, I am very excited to bring the band to Cambodia and play at two great venues in Phnom Penh as well as what should be a great venue at the FCC in Siem Reap," Flierl says.

Southern Delta - music video

The above clip is a montage of events that occurred during PlanB's tour of Vietnam and Cambodia over the 09/10 New Year.

A quote for the song writer Peter Flierl

"Wrote this in Canberra in 2007 after returning from 27 months in Vietnam. Its basically about my recollection of the Mekong Delta woven into a sort of very brief story line about a young guy who leaves the delta region but returns because its really the only place he knows/feels comfortable in. Only previously recorded as an acoustic song with violin and cello accompaniment."

Purchase this tune on itunes here.

Call Me - music video

The above song was recorded and shot in Ho Chi Minh City during the band's recent tour of Vietnam and Cambodia over the new year. The clip features a local lass as the love interest shot in and around inner city HCMC.