dailysouthtown.com - February 2006
Title: Idols, idolizers share stage

By SUZANNE SANDERS
Correspondent

It must be just about the ultimate compliment to a band when it finds an opening act that has been idolizing it since "middle school."

Supergrass found such an opener in Pilotdrift, although bassist Mick Quinn said he isn't particularly thrilled about the requisite gray hairs that go along with being an established and well-respected band.

Both bands will play Tuesday night at the Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago. The bill seems a good fit, especially considering the mellow quality of Supergrass's latest release, "Road to Rouen."

Oxford, England's Supergrass hit the scene in 1994 amid all the Liams and Damons of Britpop. But Supergrass, more than a decade later, has not just stayed the course. The bandmates - Quinn, singer and guitarist Gaz Coombes, drummer Danny Goffey and keyboardist Rob Coombes (Gaz's brother) - have reinvented that course. The band's discography of five full-length LPs doesn't contain a single stinker, which is quite a feat.

"Most bands go downhill after about three records," Quinn said. "But there doesn't tend to be a formula that we go for. We mix it up as far as where we record and who we record with. We keep it fresh every time."

Pilotdrift's singer and guitarist Kelly Carr must be thrilled with his mentors' attitudes. Pilotdrift's own debut, "Water Sphere," is a collection of dreamy, almost-prog tunes.

"The hard part is being true to yourself and what you want to express artistically without the motivation of what you think will please critics and stuff like that," Carr said of his songwriting.