As the Barrelhouse Rock Fest approaches, I’ve been diving intothe bands set to shake the stage. Knoxville heavy hitters Broken Side and Belfast 6 Pack are primed to bring the energy, but one act in particular caught my ear: Chattanooga’s PLVNET. 

Exploring their catalog feels like drifting through a sonic atmosphere- ethereal textures, expansive space and a sense of weightlessness that pulls you in. With new grittier music directly on the horizon, the timing couldn’t be better to catch up with guitarist Jonas Luttrell to talk about the band’s evolution and what lies ahead.

Who is the best band or artist you’ve seen live?

It’s really hard to pick just one, but we can name two that definitely delivered an experience above and beyond anything else we’ve ever seen and those would be Tool and Radiohead.

The band name is PLVNET (pronounced Planet) How did you decide on that spelling, and how the band originally form?

Initially, from 2008 until 2011, it was spelled ‘Planet’ but as we tried to build our online presence it became clear that we were buried under a million web pages about astronomy. So, we made the decision to invert the A to a V, which worked like a charm and shot us straight to the top of Google search results. 

As far as we know, we were the first band to use an inverted A though, it did lead to some Imitators though - because around six months after we released our first album, “Mvke BeLIEve” (2012), there was another indie band based out of Boston who inverted the A in their name. We won’t name them directly but they are named after the capital of France.

The first song I heard from you was “Cocoon” on Capital Underground  on 93.9 WABY in Albany NY.  Along with the message in the lyrics, sonically it also shows growth from your previous 2016 release SYZYGY. Is the heavier sound a sign of the direction you new material is heading?

Possibly. We’ve been on a strange journey since Syzygy. These three newest summer releases were all written on the heels of our six-year voyage through being a regional Tool Tribute band (10K Days), so their influence has certainly become more front and center in our current sound.

The tribute act was also how we met our new engineer, Braeden Lane (Next Lane Recordings) whom we are excited to continue working with for the foreseeable future on new recordings.

Listening to your music on YouTube, it’s clear your sound isbroad and you’re all skilled musicians. Who are some influences you listen to and who shines through when you’re writing?

Tool, Radiohead, Incubus and Muse are probably the obvious ones, but we also have a love of the old Prog and Hard Rock bands from the 70’s and 80’s so, those influences are also sprinkled in.

The Barrelhouse Rock Fest on June 6th is going to be a great showcase of the Tennessee rock scene. You’re co-headlining with Knoxville heavy hitters Belfast 6 Pack and Broken Side at what seems like a very cool venue. (With some delicious looking food, but I digress) What are you looking forward to the most at this event? 

We’re excited to be a part of it and we’re just looking forward to the whole experience - meeting some new people, seeing some familiar faces, eating some good food and getting to hear some great bands.

What else have you got lined up for the end of spring and summer? 

We are staying busy filming and editing music videos to accompany our three summer releases (“Cocoon” June 5th, “2-Bits” on July 10th and “Blood, Flesh and Bone” August 7th) and we will be playing some local and regional shows to promote those.

Where can listeners check out more of your music and follow what the band is up to? 

Just go to WWW.PLVNET.COM for a list of links to our music on all the usual platforms and social media, Like, subscribe and welcome to our PLVNET. It’s yours now too.