Texarkana Gazette - September 2005
Title: Seek, Scan & Shuffle: Adrift in a sea of sound ...

By ANTHONY DAVIS
Texarkana Gazette


Pilotdrift, Texarkana's avante garde orchestral rock band, has achieved in a little over two years what no other local bands have ever (to my knowledge) accomplished.

Band members Kelly Carr, John David Blagg, Eric Russell, Ben Rice and Jay Budzilowski got rave reviews and widespread crowd acceptance with their first CD, Iter Facere, which is now out of print due to its success, making it a collector's item overnight.

Pilotdrift has toured nationally with Tim Delaughter and his internationally popular Polyphonic Spree and with Tyler, Texas, pop music sensations, The Eisleys. They became the first signees with Good Records Recordings ,which will release Pilotdrift's new CD, Water Sphere Sept. 20, to widespread anticipation in the indie marketplace. Little Big Man Promotions has been brought on board the good ship Pilotdrift to handle booking and publicity matters.

That anticipation will be rewarded with an amazing effort by these creative young musicians. No sophomore jinx here, folks.

Water Sphere is a conceptual masterpiece of Carr's vibrant imagination in conjunction with inspired input and performances by Pilotdrift band members. The nine-song, self-produced disc includes several reworked songs from Iter Facere, which blend nicely with the new material.

One is left with the feeling of having viewed a film of the imaginative workings of Carr's mind and emotions. This reviewer is not the first, nor will he be the last, to liken Water Sphere to a movie soundtrack with its ebb and flow of story-based tales of perception, behavior, history, and, yes, sexuality and relationships.

Drama, science fiction, love affairs and friendships, all written and recorded with an undercurrent of spirituality and personal optimism, are all presented for the listener's consideration.

The opening number, "Caught In My Trap," plays like an invitation to encounter Pilotdrift's music, recognizing the results are likely to ensnare your attention.

"I am not who you think I am a warm, helpful generous man/ I left out bait/ you turned, you bit..." sings Carr as an orchestral introduction beckons. "Caught" completes the instrumental framework with intermittent string and horn arrangements combined with heavy percussive and guitar rhythms and piano riffs and then segues into "Bubblecraft," an observation on our solitary nature in contemporary society.

The symbolism of a "Bubblecraft" presents images of the social "bubbles" from which we experience our world, referring to "a Water Sphere, a weightless atmosphere..."

There's strong percussion with touches of a light, airy feel from harmonic guitar embellishments by Blagg. Heavy bass licks emerge before harmonics return to close the song.

"Passenger Seat" is a realistic depiction of a personal relationship gone awry. Drummer Rice said the song was originally written by former bandmate Micah Dorsey who has left the group but still remains a close collaborator. Carr was somewhat unaccustomed and a bit anxious about covering his friend's song, resulting in some minor reworking of the lyrics.

The trip Pilotdrift departed on with Iter Facere now has one less passenger on the road to musical recognition, much like the couple referenced in the song know it's over, but the fondness will always remain.

"Late Night In A Wax Museum" again relies strongly on piano and orchestral support in addition to some pretty unusual special effects. A mid-song transition brings out a more tuneful, almost Beatlesque sound with vibraphone and guitar licks which sound much like modern jazz experimentation. The lyrics speak of famous frozen figures which come to life in a museum after the sun disappears.

"Doris Day deeply lost in each other's eyes/ Einstein with Marilyn Monroe, a love from a different time..."

"Jekyll and Hyde Suite" took the reviewer back to the days of the Alan Parsons Project's "Tales of Mystery and Imagination," Parson's attempt to set the works of Edgar Allen Poe to music. APP was also known for its orchestration and sweeping score-like qualities.

Again experimental, haunting, sometimes atonal sounds are mixed with the sounds of deeply ringing church bells and time changes to more rock-influenced performances. Even the dark images of Jekyll and Hyde are lightened by Carr's intonations and playful creativity.

"Elephant Island," a song inspired by the tale of explorer Ernest Shakleton who attempted to reach the Antarctic, was also reproduced from the first CD. As usual, Kelly and his Pilotdrift "crew" lead one to feel as if he is a part of a tragically optimistic journey, including pub beer-drinking songs and circus-like music in the mix.

Now we get to the sexuality part. "Rings of Symbols" is clearly about two persons becoming one in mind, spirit and body, but you'll find no crude references here. Almost tribal percussion leads into effective guitar back-up by Blagg and synthesized voice-overs to accompany the sparse but pointed lyrics. "We're all beings of sexual harmony, but the beauty of the divine, wait..."

My word, could sexual abstinence and personal responsibility be next?

The instrumental "Comet" gives Pilotdrift a chance to shine as musicians. Backing the instruments are choral singing of an almost Gregorian dimension. "Comets" lends a spiritual aspect to the interstellar phenomena of comets and the nature of Pilotdrift.

"So Long" begins with rhythmic percussion, string and horn arrangements with transitions to folk rock sounds accompanied by fuzzy electric guitar and the back again to bright-sounding orchestration in a crescendo of orchestration, metal licks and conga beats. "So long, in song/ Now that we're here, a fork I the road is before us..."

Thus far, Pilotdrift has taken all the correct forks on the back roads to indie success and, hopefully, more widespread recognition. The last time this reporter wrote about the band, I commented that Pilotdrift is "from" Texarkana but not "of" Texarkana.

I stand by that assessment. Pilotdrift is an imaginary world where stories of life and spirituality dominate the musicscape and thoughtful, imaginative music is the means of communication. Carr can do more with fewer lyrics than any songwriter I know. No big hook-lines, no wasted words.

But the message is clear, even to a generation of old hippies. It's still about peace, love and understanding.

Water Sphere. Buy it.