Schwartzman had launched Phantom Planet in 1994 and served as the band's drummer for nearly a decade, simultaneously furthering his acting career with roles in Rushmore, CQ, Slackers, S1m0ne, and Spun. The offers increased once he left Phantom Planet's lineup in 2003, but Schwartzman nevertheless had trouble shaking music from his system. With Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger serving as producer, he decamped to Malibu during the summer of 2006 to record Nighttiming, handling most of the vocal and instrumental duties himself while granting cameos to a slew of fellow actors and musicians (including Kirsten Dunst, Zooey Deschanel, Brandon Boyd, Ben Kenney, and brother Robert Carmine). The album was released early the following year on Young Baby Records, with the initial copies containing Polaroid photos taken by Schwartzman himself. ~ Andrew Leahey