| The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Loraine, California, United States |
| Genre: | Post-hardcore, punk jazz, noise rock, post-punk |
| Years Active: | 2001 - 2006 |
| Associated Acts: | Crocodiles, The Soft Pack, Some Girls, The Blood Brothers |
| Past Members: | Brandon Welchez Willy Graves Charles Walsh Brian Hill Cody Dan Maier |
The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower was an American four-piece noise rock/post-hardcore band from San Diego, California, United States, that formed in 2001. After disbanding in 2006, drummer Brian Hill now plays with The Soft Pack, while singer Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell formed the duo Crocodiles.
On their earlier work, their music incorporated elements of punk rock in a jazz-oriented improvisational and constructional sequence, whilst later works incorporated a more noise and lo-fi approach. Their name is taken from the book by Greil Marcus, itself a reference to a line in Guy Debord's 1978 film In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni.
The band was known for their confrontational live shows. While performing on their 2005 tour with The Blood Brothers and Big Business, each member wore a red armband with "PLOT" written in a white circle, intentionally mimicking the armbands worn by members of the Nazi Party. The armbands were in keeping with thematic/aesthetic elements associated with the 3rd Reich that was prevalent on their album Love in the Fascist Brothel.
Live shows often included "everything from smashing the stage, molesting the microphone to random acts of homo-erotic behavior." Welchez often walked into the crowd to spit on, kiss, touch or undress members of the audience, especially men, to which some people took offense. At one stop on their final tour, Brandon even insisted on half of the audience joining the band on-stage during "SLC Hunks" and encouraged them to "brutalize" the band.
Welchez also claims they caused a "near riot" in Salt Lake City, and caused a "piss waterfall" in Baltimore, which led to them being banned from playing in the city.[1]
The Plot won the San Diego Music Award's "Best Punk Act" award two years running, in both 2005 and 2006.
On September 26, 2006, The Plot announced via a Myspace bulletin that their then-current U.S. tour would be the band's last before disbanding. Their final show was in their hometown of San Diego. A posthumous release of a seven-song mini-LP entitled Saviors & Suckers on Three One G records was in the works, but Three One G has since said they will not be releasing the title.
Brandon, William, and Brian (with the addition of Andrew Miller) created The Prayers, a more 1960s pop-influenced band that released a CD/12" EP entitled "God Save the Prayers" on Art Fag Records in mid-2007. Willie and Brian have since left The Prayers, Willie replaced by Chuck Rowell and Brian replaced by Joel Issac Black.
Charles Rowland and The Vultures have released an album entitled Vulture Land and are also planning to put out a single called "Let Them Bleed/Sex Bomb" on Collective Records. Sir Charles has also written two books: Darkland and Friends, Lovers, and Suckers (with Wes Eisold).
Dan Maier, the original bass player and recording engineer for the first few Plot releases, continues to produce and record albums in San Diego.
Brandon and Sir Charles also participate in Skull Kontrol, an odd conglomerate that usually also involves Welchez's bandmate Andrew Miller and Mario Orduno of Art Fag fame. Skull Kontrol's mission is to put on amazing parties, mainly at clubs in the San Diego area, featuring combinations of its four main members and various other musicians/artists/creative-types DJing and causing a scene.
The Prayers broke up in March 2008, having released only one recording and having completed only one US tour, with two brief trips to the UK. Brandon and Sir Charles have since reunited as a two-piece; Crocodiles. Brian Hill is currently playing drums in The Soft Pack (aka The Muslims).
Willy Graves died Monday, September 15, 2008, as per information supplied by his mother.
Plot's style is a fusion of the genres: post-hardcore, jazz, post-punk, noise rock, indie rock, spoken word and hardcore punk. The band took influences from John Zorn, Swing Kids, Miles Davis, Drive Like Jehu, Bad Brains and Fugazi.