History of Plaice

Plaice (pronouced "place") is an Portuguese-American rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, California by lead singer Vanessa Marcos and guitarist Jack Klein. The band has had several line-ups, with Marcos and Klein being the only founding members to appear in every line-up. They are best known for fusing pop rock with various genres and has been labelled the first hop rock band in 1998 by Cartoon Network as hop rock is a combination of pop rock and hard rock. However, Plaice said that Kiss were the first hop rock band with their 1980 album Unmasked.

History

Early history (1992-1998)

Vanessa Marcos Bettencourt was born on March 1, 1980 in Newark, New Jersey to Portuguese American parents. In 1986, Marcos and her family relocated to Los Angeles, California. Two years later, she met Jack Klein. At the age of ten, she discovered her talent by signing "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper and took singing lessons.

In 1992, Marcos shortened her name to just Vanessa Marcos because she felt that her last name sounded too much like a hard rock musician. Marcos and Klein decided to make a duo called Adventure.

However, it did not took off as they were too young to have a record deal at the time, despite recording a demo album.

In 1993, Marcos and Klein decided to take a break from music to concentrate on schoolwork. A year later, after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's death, Klein decided to return to music. When he asked Vanessa, she said that it would be impossible.

In 1995, Marcos and Klein later decided to that it was time to perform and record music. Adventure reformed as Locker in November 23, 1995. In the demo tape, Marcos played the drums and Klein played the guitar. 

Unlike Adventure, who were basically pop, Locker was virtually
pop rock with a twist of post-grunge and hard rock.

Locker began recording their demo album and after sending to record labels, it was unsuccesssful.

With this, they thought that the name was dated and changed to Plaice in 1996.

Plaice recorded their third attempt and after sending to Apparel Records, it was a complete success. However, Klein thought that it would be a good idea if the band was a four-piece.

In August 12, 1996, Marcos, Klein and friends Jacqueline Stevenson and Drew Laurence performed as Plaice and their first gig became a success.

Plaice signed a contract with Apparel Records in September 1996 and recorded their second demo album.

The second demo album was released on May 1997 as Plaice Against the Machine (a reference to the rap metal band Rage Against the Machine) and began recording their debut album on July 1997 after finalising the contract.

Plaice on Earth (1998-1999)

Departures of Stevenson and Laurence, Plaice, transistion to gothic rock (2005-2008)

On July 1, 2005, Plaice began demoing for their fifth album, which would set for a Christmas 2005 release. However after completing four demos for the album, Stevenson was exhausted from recording more music as a member of Plaice, same reason as Laurence.

A week later, after a performance in Stamford Bridge in England, Stevenson discussed to her friend Marcos saying that she would leave the band. On July 11, 2005, Stevenson officially left the band by mutual consent.

Laurence was unsure if he would continue as a band member of Plaice or leave the band. With this, he decided to leave the band and his departure was officially announced on July 14.

A month later, Plaice decided that the four demos (the final recordings with Stevenson and Laurence) would be included in the self-titled album, alongside with the finalised versions with Stevenson and Laurence replaced by two new members. They later hired Klein's cousin Jane Stifflet as their new bassist and Vanessa's brother David Bettencourt as their new drummer. However, when they decided to changed their pop rock style, they had decided that the band would be better if they added a keyboardist. Fellow friend Chad Everett was hired as a result.

On August 2, 2005, production resumed on their fifth album. They decided that the album would inspired by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and The Cure, hinting that the album would be a gothic rock album.

On May 1, 2006, Plaice released their self-titled album.

Closet and return to pop rock (2008-2009)

After touring through Europe and North America, Plaice said that the next album would be a return to pop rock.

The Lost Airbender (2009-2012)

On May 1, 2012, Plaice released their 16-disc boxset of The Lost Airbender consisting all four albums, all four video albums, all four films, musical and non-musical edits. If all four albums counted as a one album, it would be 80 songs on the album, making it possibly the longest album by Plaice. However, Bettencourt has said the remaining 80 songs which were recorded and the music videos for it were filmed and left off as outtakes would be released in 2013 as a rarities boxset.

Future projects (2012-present)

On May 16, 2012, Klein said that Plaice would be recording new material for their eleventh album. Plaice have said that new album will be coming out on November 2012 with 20 songs, 16 plus four Christmas songs.

Musical style and influences

Plaice's musical style has been labelled as "pop rock with a twist of alternative rock and hard rock" by critics.

Plaice has cited alternative rock bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blur, R.E.M. and U2, New Wave bands such as Bow Wow Wow, Talking Heads and Eurythmics as their influences.

Genre history

• 1992-1995: Pop (as Adventure)

Albums: Adventure (1993)

• 1995-1996: Pop rock, post-grunge, hard rock (as Locker)

Albums: Locker (1995)

• 1996-2000: Pop rock (as Plaice)

Albums: Plaice Tape (1996), Plaice Against the Machine (1997), Plaice on Earth (1998), Live in Stockholm (1999), Placebo (1999)

• 2000-2001: Pop rock, dream pop

Albums: Letters from Plaice (2000), Two Thousand and One Acoustic (2001) 

• 2001-2003: Pop rock, glam rock

Albums: Going, Going, Gone! (2001), 4: The Concept Album (2002)

• 2003-2004: Pop rock, alternative rock

Albums: Plaice Remixed (2003), Greatest Hits: 1998-2004 (2004)

• 2004-2006: Pop rock, pop punk, hard rock

Albums: Three out of Four (2005), Locker 1234 (2005)

• 2006-2008: Pop rock, gothic rock, emo

Albums: Plaice (2006), Rare Songs (2007)

• 2008-2009: Pop rock, soft rock, industrial rock

Albums: Closet (2008)

• 2009-2012: Pop rock, glam rock, soft rock, synthpop, hard rock, alternative rock, dream pop, industrial pop, New Wave

Albums: A Plaice in the Sun (2009), The Lost Airbender, Volume 1: Water (2009), The Lost Airbender, Volume 2: Earth (2010), The B-Sides (2011), The Lost Airbender, Volume 3: Fire (2011), The Lost Airbender, Volume 4: Air (2012)

• 2012-present: Pop rock, alternative rock, hard rock, hop rock, dream pop, New Wave, progressive rock, experimental rock

Albums: Untitled eleventh album (2012)

Discography

Studio albums

• Plaice on Earth (1998)
• Placebo (1999)
• Going, Going, Gone! (2001)
• 4: The Concept Album (2002)
• Plaice (2006)
• Closet (2008)
• The Lost Airbender, Volume 1: Water (2009)
• The Lost Airbender, Volume 2: Earth (2010)
• The Lost Airbender, Volume 3: Fire (2011)
• The Lost Airbender, Volume 4: Air (2012)
• Unshocked (2012)

Demo albums

• Adventure (1993)
• Locker (1995)
• Plaice Tape (1996)
• Plaice Against the Machine (1997)

Live albums

• Live in Stockholm (1999)
• Three out of Four (2005)

Compilation albums

• Plaice Hits (2001, hits from Plaice on Earth to Two Thousand and One Acoustic)
• Plaice Remixed (2003)
• Greatest Hits: 1998-2004 (2004)
• Rare Songs (2007)
• The B-Sides (2011)
• The Lost Airbender (2012, 16-disc boxset containing all four albums, four video albums, four films, musical version containing songs from the albums and non-musical edit with the films expanded with more scenes)
• The Lost Airbender Sessions (2013, 8-disc boxset containing the last 80 songs left off the sessions as rarities and the four albums as well)

Extended playd

• Letters from Plaice (2000)
• Two Thousand and One Acoustic (2001)
• Locker 1234 (2005)
• A Plaice in the Sun (2009)

Singles

• Plaice on Earth (1998)

1. "Plaice" (released: January 1998)
2. "Praise and Shamed" (released: March 1998)
3. "Fish" (released: May 1998)
4. "Dangerous" (released: July 1998)
5. "Decade" (released: September 1998)
6. "Free" (released: November 1998)
7. "Confused Again" (released: February 1999)
8. "You Let Me Know" (released: March 1999) 

• Live in Stockholm (1999)

1. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (released: April 1999)
2. "Once in a Moment" (released: May 1999)
3. "You Oughta Know" (released: June 1999)
4. "The Ditch" (released: July 1999)

• Placebo (1999)

1. "My Only Day" (released: September 1999)
2. "Just Me" (released: November 1999)
3. "Fairways" (released: March 2000)
4. "Nice Day for a Wedding" (released: May 2000)

• Letters from Plaice (2000)

1. "Secrets of Chance" (released: August 2000)
2. "Thanking You" (released: September 2000)
3. "Tripping Me" (released: October 2000)
4. "Happy Inside" (released: November 2000)

• Two Thousand and One Acoustic (2001)

1. "Forever Young" (released: February 2001)
2. "Rock is Dead" (released: March 2001)
3. "Take the Pieces Please" (released: April 2001)
4. "Four Weeks Later" (released: May 2001)

• Plaice Hits (2001)

1. "In God We Trust" (released: June 2001)
2. "What the Hey?" (released: July 2001)

• Going, Going, Gone! (2001)

1. "Going, Going, Gone!" (released: August 2001)
2. "Reasonable" (released: November 2001)
3. "Sweet Like Chocolate" (released: February 2002)
4. "Life on Mars?" (released: May 2002)

• 4: The Concept Album (2002)

1. "Take Face" (released: September 2002)
2. "Liked It" (released: November 2002)
3. "Holy Idiots" (released: February 2003)
4. "Quietly Insane" (released: April 2003)
5. "Running into You" (released: June 2003)
6. "What Are You?" (released: August 2003)

• Plaice Remixed (2003)

1. "Plaice and Shamed" (released: October 2003)
2. "You Let Me Free" (released: December 2003)
3. "What's Up?" (released: March 2004)
4. "You Get What You Give" (released: May 2004)

• Greatest Hits: 1998-2004 (2004)

1. "Keep On Dreamin'" (released: June 2004)
2. "Loser" (released: September 2004)
3. "Happy Now" (released: December 2004)
4. "The Inch Nails" (released: February 2005)
5. "Groundbreaking" (released: May 2005)
6. "Felicity" (relased: July 2005)*

• Three out of Four (2005)

1. "Greatest Hits Medley" (released: September 2005)*
2. "Sense" (released: October 2005)*

• Locker 1234 (2005)

1. "Locker 1234" (released: November 2005)*
2. "Whatever" (released: December 2005)*

• Plaice (2006)

1. "Paranoid" (released: March 2006) - The video begins with an unusually quiet room with Plaice playing melodic pop rock, however it progresses with Vanessa changing her style in the bathroom, completely ditching her clean look for a darker look. All except Vanessa decides to keep their look and as the video finishes, they bow out.
2. "Forevermore" (released: July 2006)
3. "Lifeline" (released: November 2006)
4. "The Good Life" (released: February 2007)
5. "Going Under" (released: March 2007)
6. "Understanding You" (released: April 2007) - The video was a complete departure from their darker rock look by going the band driving but Jack departs. In the end of the video, Chad realises their car was not theirs at all.

• Rare Songs (2007)

1. "Are You Ready?" (released: July 2007)
2. "Harder Or Stronger?" (released: September 2007)
3. "End of the Line" (released: January 2008)
4. "Confessions" (released: June 2008)

• Closet (2008)

1. "Ironic" (released: August 2008) - The single was promoted with a music video. It starts with Jack replacing his tyres.
2. "Closet" (released: November 2008)
3. "Apologize" (released: February 2009)
4. "You're in Threat" (released: May 2009)

• A Plaice in the Sun (2009)

1. "Back It Up" (released: July 2009)
2. "Creep" (released: August 2009)
3. "Never Fear" (released: September 2009)
4. "How You Remind Me" (released: October 2009)

• The Lost Airbender, Volume 1: Water (2009)

1. "The Lost Airbender" (released: November 2009)
2. "Everlong" (released: December 2009)
3. "Firelily" (released: March 2010)
4. "Feeling Alive" (released: May 2010)

• The Lost Airbender, Volume 2: Earth (2010)

1. "Bandit" (released: July 2010)
2. "1+2=3" (released: November 2010)
3. "Forget It" (released: February 2011)
4. "The Collapse" (released: April 2011)

• The B-Sides (2011)

1. "99.9F*" (released: May 2011)
2. "Place Your Hands" (released: June 2011)

• The Lost Airbender, Volume 3: Fire (2011)

1. "Betrayal" (released: September 2011)
2. "Glow" (released: December 2011)
3. "Nocturnal" (released: January 2012)
4. "End of an Era" (released: March 2012)

• The Lost Airbender, Volume 4: Air (2012)

1. "Not Over" (released: April 2012)
2. "Discovery" (released: April 2012)
3. "Running Out" (released: May 2012)
4. "The Last Song" (released: May 2012)

• Unshocked (2012)

1. "Unshocked" (released: June 2012) - The music video features the band driving to Los Angeles. It starts with Vanessa driving her Ford Focus only to be wrecked by a tow truck, but manages to escape the riots. She tries to find where her band is, but only finds a bystander (played by Hilary Duff). She tells Vanessa that her band is hiring a replacement for her. During the focus, Plaice tries to hire who should replace Vanessa (Hayley Williams, Amy Lee and Taylor Momsen are shown as suggestions, with Momsen presumably being picked, as her picture was shown more than once). However, Vanessa comes to the studio and realises that the band was not really replacing her after all, but wakes up to realise that it was just a dream. 
2. "Probably Maybe" (released: June 2012)

*All singles released from July 2005 to December 2005 were released after Laurence and Stevenson's departure. The music video for "Felicity" was already made prior to their departure. The music videos for "Greatest Hits Medley" and "Sense" were filmed live in Stamford Bridge in July 8, 2005, the last performances with Laurence and Stevenson. The music videos for "Locker 1234" and "Whatever" were mostly animated and a montage consisted of live and music videos, respectively.

Members

 

Current members

• Vanessa Marcos - lead vocals, piano (since 1992); Contributions: all Plaice releases
• Jack Klein - lead guitar, backing vocals (since 1992); Contributions: all Plaice releases
• David Bettencourt - drums, backing vocals (since 2005); Contributions: all Plaice releases since Plaice (2006)
• Jane Stifflet - bass guitar, backing vocals (since 2005); Contributions: all Plaice releases since Plaice (2006)
• Rory Dillinger - keyboards, backing vocals (since 2009); Contributions: all Plaice releases since The Lost Airbender, Volume 1: Water (2009)
• Sara Duncan - synthesiser, backing vocals (since 2009); Contributions: all Plaice releases since The Lost Airbender, Volume 1: Water (2009)
• Trent "Tracy" Harper - rhythm guitar, percussion, backing vocals(since 2012); Contributions: all Plaice releases since Unshocked (2012)
• Ashley Cooper - saxophones, theremin, backing vocals (since 2012); Contributions: all Plaice releases since Unshocked (2012)

Former members

• Drew Laurence - drums, backing vocals (1996-2005); Contributions: all Plaice releases from Plaice Against the Machine (1996) to Locker 1234 (2005)*
• Jacqueline "Jackie" Stevenson - bass guitar, backing vocals (1996-2005); Contributions: all Plaice releases from Plaice Against the Machine (1996) to Locker 1234 (2005)*
• Chad Everett - keyboards, backing vocals (2005-2009); Contributions: all Plaice releases from Plaice (2006) to Closet (2008)*
• Michael Carpenter - synthesiser, backing vocals (2007-2009); Contributions: all Plaice releases from Rare Songs (2007) to Closet (2008)*

*Laurence and Stevenson performed tracks 1-4 on Plaice (2006). All four songs were recorded on July 1, 2005 as demos, two weeks before their departure.

*Everett and Carpenter performed "The Lost Airbender" and "Everlong" on The Lost Airbender, Volume 1: Water (2009). Both songs were recorded on January 20, 2009, three days before their departure.