Yes, Fiction Plane is fronted by Sting’s son Joe Sumner. And yes, the band is opening for the Police on their upcoming tour (Perth stop: February 1-2 at Members Equity Stadium). And yes, the name is an anagram for Infant Police. But, in between Police gigs to tens of thousands, this trio has been building a loyal international following on their own headline tour. Drummer Pete Wilhoit talks about the road, the band and Sting’s shadow.
Studio or Live Band? I would say we are a little bit of both, but as of late, it’s definitely grown more as a live band. Going out and touring this much as a trio has turned the band into a three-headed monster.
The Live Experience? It’s a very big sound from a small band. It’s kind of like a rock explosion, and it has reggae and Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, Pink Floyd… Joe’s a really good front man and loves to jump around and get the crowd into it. The more energy we get from a crowd the more energy we push off stage. It’s a barrel of fun is what it is.
Key to Surviving on the Road? If you get enough sleep and you don’t abuse your body too much, it’s not too gruelling.
The Low Point? We played a show, I think it was Manchester, UK. We were supposed to do the Police shows and then this club, and Sting got sick so they cancelled the Police shows. The promoter called us and said, ‘You might want to cancel your shows. I was banking on the people from those shows coming to this show.’ When we showed up at the venue, we were playing in the basement of some club; the sound system sucked; and nobody knew we were there, except they sent one guy from Kerrang, the big music magazine in the UK. They sent a guy to that show of all shows… You can’t really make music in that situation because you are just fighting to save face.
Fiction Plane v. Infant Police? The unfortunate side effect of Joe being Sting’s son is that you are always going to be compared to Sting and/or the Police, especially now that we are a trio with two Brits and an American drummer. And Fiction Plane is an anagram for Infant Police, which we had nothing to do with, absolute coincidence. It’s kind of scary, but I guess it was meant to be.
