Phantom Planet came to DeKalb, and between bowling a few games in the Huskie Den, guitarist Darren Robinson talked with the Weekender — this is what he said.

-Weekender: So, have you blogged anything yet today?

Robinson: No, it’s hard to get online here. I would sit online all day if I could; I’m a dork. It’s easier to keep in touch when talking to six people at a time.

W: I cringe when I see “what are your influences” in interviews. I’ll spare you.

R: I guess it’s part of the job.

W: So, what’s your impression of NIU so far?

R: It’s cool. Colleges are the best place to play. We love it.

W: Even better than a club tour or opening arena shows?

R: The biggest thing is not the venue but where you play on the bill. Opening shows causes more pressure to impress, which can be a good thing.

W: Because you have to win over the fans?

R: Yeah. When you open, you only have a little time to play. When you headline, people are there for you, and your job is to make sure they don’t leave.

W: So I take it you’re never completely relaxed on stage

R: No. When you get too comfortable, the shows suck. They are sloppy and boring.

W: So what do you prefer?

R: It’s strange. Playing for a few hundred people is harder than playing for 20,000 because it feels like every eye is on you.

W: Let’s talk about the record. It’s different than the first two.

R: We didn’t say, “We want to write a dark record.” It was a natural change.

W: It is much different than the first two but sounds more like you do live.

R: I hate when bands don’t change. We toured for 18 months, and we grew up as people and songwriters. Our tastes changed, and we wrote music that represented that.

W: Are you happy with it?

R: Of course. This is what I wanted our last record to sound like. I wasn’t totally happy with the production on our first two because they sounded too poppy. I liked the songs, but they were so polished. This is the kind of band we are. I mean, we have three guitars, so I wanted to sound like we had three guitarists. It is very raw and hard-rocking. I always thought, “Why have piano intros and bells when we don’t have a piano player in the band?”

W: Live these songs are great, but when I reviewed the disc, I only gave it two out of four stars.

R: That’s OK. There wasn’t really anything in your review that wasn’t truthful. The thing is, this represents how we’ve always seen ourselves.

W: I didn’t say it was bad, just not as good as your last.

R: To each his own. If it’s good, people get it.

W: So this is obvious, but you guys are so fan-friendly. You registered your band on Friendster, you have invite-only shows, tonight you’re meeting contest winners. Why?

R: It’s better to get involved. It’s a nice contact. I consider this a job, but it’s a fun job. We have such a good thing going. If we didn’t connect with the fans, I’d feel like I was blowing it. We get to play music and travel the world. It’s the best job.