Yellow Paper Planes formed somewhat out of necessity after Joshua P. James and Brandon Woods spent a few months on hiatus from touring as Joshua P. James and the Paper Planes. Woods and James started playing together in early 2011, touring fervently through 30 States and some 150 shows. That early collaboration on James’s solo material naturally dissolved as lineup changes sucked the momentum out of two packed years peddling tunes on the road, but there were still songs to be sung.
In August of 2013, after writing an entirely new set of music, this time with a band at the center of the songwriting motivation, a newly formed foursome including bassist, Peter Mendenhall, and multi-instrumentalist, Jeremy Ebert, played their first show as The Paper Planes.
Several early setbacks made it seem like the ghosts of music future didn’t want the band to get off the ground. Right out of the gate, threat of legal action prompted a name change from “The Paper Planes” to the current Yellow Paper Planes moniker. Then, in the winter of their first year, Woods (drummer for the band) broke his hand, which required three pins and extensive physical therapy to get back to even holding a drum stick. During that time, James, a self-styled “overthinker,” re-evaluated the set of songs they had written and were planning to take to the studio that spring. The conclusion was to scrap it all and strip everything back to the studs. It wasn’t until after the release of their debut, Feather’s Touch, a cathartic five-track EP, that they were able to establish a clear focus on what they were set out to do.
The new album (Building a Building) tackles topics both personal and universal drawing on existential themes that are natural to introspection but presented with earnest outward passion and layers of hooks. The album track list continues to skirt any notion of easy genre classification taking cues from late ’60s British Blues a la The Kinks to the ’90s alt-scene (Sebadoh and Built To Spill) through to modern indie pop and rock.
Today the band premiere’s their video for the album’s “Pinch of the Sunrise,” which was filmed and edited by Joshua Howey and Feikert Creative.

(Catch Yellow Paper Planes live here:
June 23 – Northside Yacht Club – Cincinnati, OH
June 24 – Spacebar – Columbus, OH
June 29 – Casa Cantina – Athens, OH
June 30 – CODA – Cleveland, OH
July 22 – Rumba – Columbus, OH
August 11 – Blind Bob’s – Dayton, OH
August 12 – James Street – Pittsburgh, PA
Visit them online here:
facebook.com/yellowpaperplanesmusic
twitter.com/ypaperplanes
Instagram @yellowpaperplanes
yellowpaperplanes.bandcamp.com
open.spotify.com/artist/2jyVPWH6FMka00uY9hsXwY)