The "Public Notice Music" section of the Village Voice has been the meeting place for many a great rock band. Now, it can boast of bringing together yet another one of New York City's most promising new bands, Plankton, a quartet centered on the songwriting nucleus of Julie Slater and Chris Shumway.

Formed two-and-a-half years ago, Plankton members consist of Slater on lead vocals, guitar (and occasional bongos), Shumway on lead guitar and vocals, Dennis Greeley on bass, and Brian Kelsey temporarily filling in on drums. You may be familiar with Slater. She's a DJ at New York's popular modern rock radio station, K-Rock, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays. If you're wondering whether her day job had any influence on the evolution of Plankton, Slater begs to differ.

"It really didn't have anything to do with that," says Slater following an impressive gig at the Elbow Room in New York City on March 18th. "I met Chris through the Village Voice after I put in a bunch of ads. I had auditioned for other bands and wasn't finding anything I really wanted. So I thought, ‘Why don't I just start my own band?' I put ads out for a guitarist/songwriter… Chris and I started working together and then we put together Plankton. So it's not necessarily my band; it's really our band."

At the risk of pigeon-holing the band, I would describe Plankton's sound as a female-fronted Marcy Playground or Ben Folds Five, sort of a mellower modern rock, yet not short on moments of intense emotion. The tunes generally start out softly and then build into wonderful crescendos. The strong bond and chemistry between Slater and Shumway is apparent, giving Plankton a special character and dynamic that works well for the listener.

Looking pretty as a picture at the Elbow Room gig, Julie Slater, wearing a tight pair of bell bottoms with a sleeveless midriff blouse, kept all eyes glued in her general direction. Although she appears to have the spotlight, Slater and Shumway actually share equal time on vocals and guitar.

"Chris does a lot of the songwriting," says Slater. "He just has a million songs that he brings to the table. The songs that I wrote are usually the ones that I play with the acoustic guitar. The rest we wrote together. As far as meeting someone who is your musical soulmate, that's me and him."

Plankton has 120 people on their mailing list, many of whom regularly attend the shows. Their recent performance at the Elbow Room gave the unfamiliar attendees (like me) a strong taste of the budding band with songs such as "Vampire" and "Billy Lister." Julie describes the tune "Exit" as her fantasy of asking a guy to step out of a moving vehicle. (Yes, she has had a bad relationship or two.) "Central Park," however, was my favorite of the night, with its catchy melody and intelligent, well-crafted lyrics.

Future plans for the band include finding a permanent drummer, and recording the demo that they've been discussing since the band's inception. "It seems that whenever we get to the point where we're going to record, something happens to one of our band members. It definitely tests you, but Chris and I are in it for the long run."

April 1998