The band Planet of Giants and I slide into a booth at the Brotherhood Lounge in Olympia. My interview with the duo goes down as one of the longest and most entertaining sessions I've had in awhile. It lasted a good four beers, included tons of commentary that isn't publishable - and bombarded by two other interviewers. More on that later. ...

Sitting across from me under the red glow of the Broho's lighting was singer/guitarist Patrick Baldwin and drummer Eric Thompson, the duo now known as Planet of Giants. Baldwin and Thompson were members of the popular bluesy folk rock band Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel. After the quintet disbanded, the duo formed the short-lived rock band Camaro. The desire to simplify matters is the main reason the two refocused their talents into PofG.

Before sitting down with Baldwin and Thompson, I rode around in my grocery-getter with Planet of Giants' soon-to-be release EP. I came to really enjoy the band's low-fi, stripped down, blues and rock 'n' roll sound. I was surprised at first listen. Knowing the band was half Tacoma/half Olympia, and based on a purely judgmental once-over of the two-piece's online presence, I was expecting metal, or maybe garage. I was pleased with the Sonics, Black Keys and White Stripes lean I heard.

A sure inspiration for Planet of Giants, though, was to work with drums, vocals and guitars in a way that would work equally as well on stage as it would recorded.

"We wanted to do straight ahead rock and blues," says Baldwin. "We wanted it to be more accessible, kind of poppy, with a strong melody and easy to listen to."

This is different than Black Squirrel and Camaro, where overdubs and improv were all over the place. With Camaro, the duo would play over spoken word records, completely unabashed and improvisational, often with a silent movie playing in the background. In the Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel camp, the recordings were known to have overlays of chains scraping across garage floors, or a loop of extra guitar.

The Rebel Riot Festival last August was the last time the two have played a live show as Camaro. It's been a full year since Black Squirrel.

As we take a break to order more beer, a man approached the table donning a Fedora and pen in hand. He was a scribe for Olympia Power and Light, a fortnightly rag that rides a line between entertainment and politics. Keeping hush about our own interview session, we were thrust into his interview. It was an anonymous social experiment that asked a lot of probing, uncomfortable questions about class, religion and rash judgments. Although bizarre, it was humorous, and Planet of Giants and I know way more about each other than we should. (By the way Patrick, based on everybody's yearly income - while feebly ahead - you are buying the beer next time.)

Shortly after, we are approached by another person, this time it was Weekly Volcano reader voted "sexiest drummer" Jordan Taylor. He yanked my camera away and looked for artistic shots of us. After we informed him of our informal interview, he giggled some apologies, showed us his cool flyer art and headed to the Reef.

Heads spinning, our interview journeyed down to the duo's first meeting.  Thompson and Baldwin met roughly six years ago via the place where many bands have been born - Craigslist. But unlike many Craigslist bands, their relationship continues. When Brotherhood of the Black Squirrel ended after a solid five year run, and Camaro didn't have the staying power it probably should have, Planet of Giants jumped in as the latest incarnation of two genuine dudes that just want to rock.

Look for Planet of Giants debut show early March at The New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma.