Phantom Planet rocker enjoys praise

According to the November/December issue of ELLEgirl magazine, the generically scruffy twenty-something is the "hottest rocker known" to its readers. However, Greenwald, who fronts California's rising power pop outfit Phantom Planet, is hardly well known compared to some of the people he beat out.

Justin Timberlake and John Mayer look longingly from their spots at No. 2 and No. 31, respectively, among the 50 hottest rockers.

In a phone interview from his band's tour bus in Cleveland, Greenwald questioned the credibility of the ELLEgirl editors. "I think there are 49 other people on that list that are more attractive than I am," he said.

Letting Fox co-opt his band's catchy "California" as "The O.C." theme song probably helped Greenwald win a place in the hearts of ELLEgirls. Set in Orange County, Calif., the show carries on in the soapy tradition of "Beverly Hills: 90210" and "Dawson's Creek."

Before "The O.C." debuted in August, Phantom Planet was better known as a side project for its former drummer, Jason Schwartzman, star of the movie "Rushmore."

Although easier on the ears than other actors' bands (Keanu Reeves' Dogstar, Jared Leto's 30 Seconds to Mars or Russell Crowe's 30 Odd Foot of Grunts), Phantom Planet got only a lukewarm reception for its 2002 sophomore album, "The Guest."

What buzz there was could be traced again to "California," which appeared on the soundtrack to the movie "Orange County." The film that featured Jack Black and Colin Hanks (spawn of Tom) as brothers was almost as good as the charming "California" video, in which Schwartzman brushes his teeth and rinses with Jack Daniel's.

Capitalizing on the new Orange County notoriety, Phantom Planet re-released "The Guest" this month. The new package includes four unreleased tracks, new artwork and -- to the delight of ELLEgirls -- lots of photographs.

The band's third, self-titled album is due in February.

In classic rock 'n' roll cliche, Greenwald declared the new stuff is "totally different from everything you've ever heard from us."

Although rife with bright images -- Greenwald refers to the sun in five of 11 songs -- "The Guest" represents disillusionment with the golden state.

"Symbolically, all of us humans follow light and heat and the sun. A lot of people wind up in California expecting their salvation. It's not always there. It's not always what it's cracked up to be," he said.

Greenwald said the sun comes up rarely, if at all, on the new album.

"The songs are more personal, and there's better, more exciting stories about either individuals or myself within the songs," he said.

Three-fourths of "Phantom Planet" was written during an 18-month tour, before Schwartzman left the band to pursue film full time. The band, which now features Jeff Conrad on drums, Sam Farrar on bass and Jacques Brautbar and Darren Robinson on guitar, recorded the album at an isolated, Amish-built cabin in Fredonia, N.Y.

On the video for the first single, "Big Brat," Greenwald trades his pretty face for an undead appearance. He said he's a fan of any movie with the word "dead" in the title and had wanted to do a zombie video since "California."

Spike Jonze directed "Big Brat," a faux documentary of the band making a homemade zombie movie. Greenwald's gang also got help from makeup artist Tony Gardner, who worked on that other zombie epic, "Thriller."

Provided the monsters don't scare off fickle female fans, Greenwald could keep unwittingly devouring hearts for a while. He said he doesn't worry about the adoration of ELLEgirls everywhere contributing to his band's teenybopper reputation.

"People are going to be attracted or unattracted to other people. Why harp on it? It's just a part of life. I'll take it as a compliment," he said.

However he came by it, Greenwald appreciates his teen-idol status as only a former GAP model could. "How could it feel anything but good?" he cooed.