Texarkana Gazette - January 2006
Title: Pilotdrift sets sail for new horizons

Pilotdrift sets sail for new horizons
Sunday, January 22, 2006 12:07 PM CST

Pilotdrift songwrighter and lead vocalist Kelly Carr jams with the other four members before they all head out on a national tour that startes in early Febuary.

Local band catches attention of music world, imaginations of loyal fans

By ANTHONY DAVIS
Texarkana Gazette

Sailing on shooting stars was hardly the picture in Kelly Carr's mind's eye as he wrote song after song alone in his home before assembling a group of bandmates he believed could deliver his musical message.

They call themselves Pilotdrift, and in barely two-years' time, the local art rock group is preparing for it's most important national tour to date, opening for internationally popular Brit pop/rock group Supergrass.

As shooting stars, Pilotdrift continues an upward arc of national recognition for the music on their two self-produced albums, Iter Facere and Water Sphere.

And critics are still finding it hard to believe Pilotdrift calls Texarkana home.

"At the moment, Texarkana has only two musical claims to fame: 1) It's the childhood home of ragtime composer Scott Joplin; and 2) It's the name of a song on R.E.M.'s Out of Time. With a little luck, the Texas-Arkansas border town will soon have a third: being the home of Pilotdrift," writes Thor Christensen in the Dallas Morning News.

The cyberworld has had a good time with Texarkana as well.

"Hailing from the country's nerdiest-named town, Texarkana, the band self-produced their debut album," observes Kimberly Rosenbauer of transformonline.com.

Comments such as these show how little is known outside of this region about the richness of the Texarkana area's musical heritage

By the time Kelly reached high school, he was simply doing what came naturally to him as a creative musician. He then began to share his musical epics with like-minded close friends Eric Russell, Micah Dorsey, Ben Rice, Jay Budzilowski and John David Blagg. Dorsey has since left the group to pursue other creative projects.

"It was just a hobby for me at first, I think that's why the music had such a big scope to it. I was basically writing for myself," Kelly said in recent interview before practicing for their hometown show Saturday before meeting up with Supergrass at the Kool Haus in Toronto.

"I never really had a plan. I was a kid, I guess, and it came to a point where I thought it would be fun just to start a band. The idea came as just something to do. Then it grew to where it actually looked like it would go somewhere. I think everyone has this idea but you don't really put down a plan.

"I have written and recorded at high school. I've always thought having a band was far away. It was almost like practice really, it was just for me and some friend to share my music with. Then things started to happen faster and it turns out that was good because all during the writing process I was not concerned with the circumstances. There was no pressure at all. No expectations."

Iter Facere created a whole new atmosphere of music in Texarkana. And a new standard for creativity.

By employing diverse sounds with classical orchestration, story-telling and cryptic lyrics featuring call and response vocals to give the listener a mental image of the sound, Pilotdrift was charting new, sometimes undiscovered, realms of musical expression.

The CD's release was met with open ears and warm hugs from young musicians mining a similar vein in East Texas venues such as Tyler before capturing the attention and fancy of the Denton, Texas, always-percolating music scene and, eventually, Dallas.

Pilotdrift soon got the attention of Tim Delaughter, a longtime musical fixture in Dallas who had abandoned traditional rock and pop for music celebrating life, health and happiness.

Back in Texarkana, the few venues that featured Pilotdrift were left with audiences either puzzled or amazed by their music.

Unlike the majority of musicians in their age range who approached music with the proverbial teen angst and muted anger, the band caught flak from locals who dubbed them "rich kids" whose families' money paved the way to Pilotdrift's success.

"A lot of people think we're all rich kids who had all this handed to us," says John David, a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, as are his fellow band members. "It is something that gets under your skin because you know it's not the truth, but there's nothing you can do about it. Like somebody said we bought our PR guy; like we went out to a store and bought a press agent."

Others labeled them as Christian rockers. True, each member is a Christian. And they do rock. But Pilotdrift's music uses instrumentation and vocals to lend any spiritual aspects or interpretations to the overall sound.

Playing before an audience was new to Carr, who was accustomed to the comforts of his own resources at home and the privacy it offered.

"I really wasn't worried about how it would come across live," he said. "Actually in the beginning I was rather naive to think I could release a CD without playing anywhere live. That wasn't a concern for me. I wasn't really big on live music. I'd rather listen to an album, but I'm not that way now. Now I'm all about seeing music come alive."

The musical influences for Pilotdrift are as eclectic as their current tastes.

"Honestly, I was not raised surrounded by music at all. The first music I was around in middle school and early high school was Garth Brooks," said Eric. "Kelly and I were friends in church and we started hanging out together in middle school. We became better friends in high school. I would actually go over to his house when he was writing and recording stuff.

"I think the first time we ever began to talk about a band-he came over to my house and we went for a jog around the block and he mentioned doing a band. I guess that's how I got into it, We were just friends who had mutual interests in like-minded music. I guess we just had that connection there."

John David grew up with music, though in his mind it was very limited in scope until he reached high school.

"My first record was Michael Jackson's album with 'Beat It.' I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, and my parents had like four cassettes always going in the car. It was either the Eagles, CSN&Y, Cat Stevens or Jim Croce.

"I had those four greatest hits albums permanently imprinted in my head. Didn't really start branching out until about seventh grade and that's all I listened to for three years. Then Radiohead comes along and opens all the doors to this cool stuff. My mom plays guitar and sings, so I heard a lot of what I consider good music growing up-James Taylor, the Beatles, Anne Murray, Beach Boys, Carole King, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell. I liked Pink Floyd in junior high for certain aspects of their music."

For drummer and percussionist Rice, music wasn't the priority at his home.

"Growing up I wasn't exposed to a lot of different music; music of the kind I would consider more interesting now. Jazz was a big influence after I went to work at SMART. It's one of the tent posts in my life. It's remarkably interesting to me. It exposed me to a lot of things I never knew about and it's opened a lot of doors for me musically."

Ben's comments jostled John David to reflect further on his major influences.

"When I was in middle school I heard "The Bends" by Radiohead. I liked rock in general, anything loud and electric," said Blagg. "But one thing about Radiohead is that they were one of the first mainstream bands which incorporated an art of our time, experimental things and things other people weren't doing with electronic music. I also have to say Wilco and the Flaming Lips were favorites too, but I really love Radiohead."

Radiohead has been an influential source for many creative rock bands since the mid-'90s. Many see them as having as big an impact on music as the Beatles. Their music pointed to new directions and reinforced the concept of music as an artform. It has revealed an underground vein of indie music inspiration for thousands of young up-and-coming artists such as Pilotdrift.

"You can't necessarily pinpoint what it is about their music, but the more you listen to it, the more you like it. When you listen to it in terms of theory and composition, it's not just simple chord progressions," said Kelly. "It's more of an orchestration with different tempos. You can respond well to the different textures. Radiohead was the most accessible thing I've found in my life. They are the torch carriers."

Individually and then collectively, Pilotdrift members saw Radiohead's music as a source of inspiration and learning.

"It just made you want to explore more than what's on the radio. For me, some of my favorite bands ever, no one else has ever heard of or they were never very big, John David said. "My dad introduced Pink Floyd to me when I was in seventh grade. I feel like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon made me realize I liked experimental music. Very much like Radiohead has."

Pilotdrift's music is subject to a wide range of speculation concerning style or genre, and each album has had picture-puzzle stories and musical shenanigans.

"People over 30 say we sound like Pink Floyd. People under 25 say we sound like Radiohead," said John David. "If you can't put your finger on it, people think its Radiohead because it is something most people have never heard."

"It's easy to listen to our music, and because they don't understand it, they say it sounds like Radiohead," Carr added. "The music comes first from a different musical idea. The song structure is already laid out. I mean, I'm a very musical person. The lyrics are just one of the components which enhances the character of the song."

Touring nationally with the likes of teen pop sensations Eisley, Polyphonic Spree, and others remains one of the most enjoyable aspect of Pilotdrift's rise to indie-music success."

"It's given us a deep appreciation for all the opportunities we've had. The biggest thing about it is the relationships you develop along the way. Yeah, it's incredible to play on stage and have people to share our music with, but when the night's over and you've made all these new friends, it means a lot more than an hour set. There's an overwhelming sense of appreciation and thankfulness that we are able to do what we are doing," Ben said earnestly.

There's also almost overwhelming approval from music critics across the country.

"Rarely do you find an album (Water Sphere) where every song is different from the next. Pilotdrift's eclectic mix of sounds pushes the boundaries of music. This band is not afraid to use their instruments, vocals and unconventional sounds to create original music," says Celebrity Cafe.

"Pilotdrift has quickly emerged as one of the more unusual bands in rock. Water Sphere ... sounds at turns like Gilbert and Sullivan, Radiohead and Emerson Lake and Palmer's Brain Salad Surgery," wrote tough-sell Christensen of the Dallas Morning News.

But perhaps the most interesting and intriguing description comes from This Is Texas Music:

"Pilotdrift's (music) is a bizarre world, but one eminently worth exploring."

To keep track of Pilotdrift during this and upcoming tours, check out the group's online forum at www.Pilotdrift.com. Also, be on the look-out for a new video shot by animation specialist Geoff Marslett.