Sometimes a band becomes more well known for who used to be a member.

A bunch of teens who loved music formed Phantom Planet in 1994 in Los Angeles. They gigged around Hollywood and their catchy pop-rock and good looks eventually attracted the attention of Geffen Records, home of Nirvana and Beck. The band didn’t score any hits, since their music bucked the current musical trends, but they did show a knack for getting their songs placed on soundtracks.

In 1998, Phantom Planet appeared on the Sabrina The Teenage Witch soundtrack. In 2001, their song “Do The Panic” appeared in the obscure indie film Don’s Plum (the movie’s release was blocked in the US and Canada by two of its stars: Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire). And in 2003, their song “California” was selected as the opening theme for teen-oriented drama The O.C., and this finally brought some attention, especially in the UK, but not enough to really get things going.

That same year, original drummer Jason Schwartzman (son of actress Talia Shire and nephew to Francis Ford Coppola) left the band to focus on his acting career. It worked out pretty well for him, especially when he teamed up with director Wes Anderson.

After his departure and ensuing fame, Phantom Planet became largely known as “that band Jason Schwartzman used to be in.”

But they weren’t about to call it quits. For their 2008 Raise The Dead album, the band resurrected and rerecorded “Do The Panic” from the doomed Don’s Plum film. The single still wasn’t a hit (except in the Czech Republic where it reached the Top 10!) but it showed Phantom Planet relaxed, reinventing, and rocking on, even without one of their founding members.

Jason Schwartzman wasn’t entirely finished with music. In between movies he released a couple of solo albums under the name Coconut Records during the late 00s before devoting himself to acting full-time: