The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower was an American four-piece

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

band from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States, that formed in 2001. After disbanding in 2006, drummer Brian Hill now plays with

The Soft Pack The Soft Pack is an indie rock band from San Diego, United States. History The band was originally named The Muslims, but changed the name due to "ignorant and racist" comments. Matt Lamkin has stated Soft Pack can describe the band as being ...

, while singer Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell formed the duo

Crocodiles Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant memb ...

Background

On their earlier work, their music incorporated elements of punk rock in a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

-oriented

improvisational Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

and constructional sequence, whilst later works incorporated a more noise and lo-fi approach. Their name is taken from the book '' Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century'' by

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

, 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 Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

, 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 Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. 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 Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, and caused a "piss waterfall" in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, which led to them being banned from playing in the city. The Plot won the San Diego Music Award's "Best Punk Act" award two years running, in both 2005 and 2006.

Breakup

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 31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California-based independent record label, started by musician Justin Pearson in 1994 and focusing on punk and experimental music. The label has released a number of albums and compilations in what ha ...

records was in the works, but

has since said they will not be releasing the title.

Aftermath

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 Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

and Brian replaced by

Joel Issac Black Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

. 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;

. Brian Hill is currently playing drums in

(aka The Muslims). Willy Graves died Monday, September 15, 2008, as per information supplied by his mother.

Style and influences

Plot's style is a fusion of the genres: post-hardcore,

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

. The band took influences from John Zorn, Swing Kids,

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

Drive Like Jehu Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy an ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...

and Fugazi.

Members

* Brandon Welchez - vocals/saxophone * Willy Graves - bass (Deceased) * Charles Rowell ''(A.K.A. Charles Rowland, Sir Charles or Chuck)'' - guitar * Brian Hill - drums ''(A.K.A. B.H. Peligro - in tribute to drummer

D.H. Peligro DH, Dh, dh, or dH may refer to: Places * DH postcode area, in the United Kingdom for the area of Durham and surrounding towns * Diamond Head, Hawaii, a volcanic tuff cone on Oʻahu Organisations * D+H, a Canadian financial services company * Dep ...

of the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

)'' * Cody Laing- bass (2001) * Dan Maier - bass (2001–2003)

Discography

* '' If You Cut Us, We Bleed'' (EP) * "Split 7" with Necktie Party" * '' Dissertation, Honey'' * '' Love in the Fascist Brothel'' * ''INRI'' (EP) * ''Saviors & Suckers'' (unreleased)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups from San Diego Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Punk rock groups from California