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Idiot Pilot
Posted by Rob Ortenzi on 11-Jan-08 @ 05:47 PM|
HQ: Bellingham, WA NOW PLAYING: Wolves (REPRISE) WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: This epic-rock duo's soaring hooks and more-than-decent looks make for a catchy mix that will bounce around your noggin even after you press "Stop." YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE: Head Automatica / Muse / Hot Snakes STORY: Kory Grow PHOTO: Brion Topolski Band life can get pretty intense, especially when it involves two guys spending every waking minute together. For Bellingham, Washington, duo Idiot Pilot (who play a bombastic mix of pomp-rock, screamo and electronica) the relationship between members singer/guitarist Michael Harris and multi-instrumentalist/screamer Daniel Anderson couldn't be more volatile-at least when their making music. "I've been struggling with a lot of issues and confronting a lot of inner demons," says Harris, the diminutive, blonde vocalist from his home in Washington. "And Daniel comes from a more peaceful, sort of subdued background." Their personal differences, however, seemed to have worked to their advantage when they wrote their second album Wolves. After sticking it out in the two years since their debut, Strange We Should Meet Here, the duo decided rather than dismiss the other's criticisms about any given song, they should learn from their differences and disagreements for creativity's sake. In the end, it was a perfect marriage of opposites. "My solo record and his solo record, in my mind, would pale to anything we could do as a duo," admits Harris, "because [we're] literally taking polar energies and throwing them together to create something much bigger than ourselves." Beyond just understanding one another, Wolves was the first time Harris and Anderson allowed outsiders into their creative process, having co-produced "Last Chance" with (+44) bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, who ended up drafting his bandmate, drummer Travis Barker, to play on the track. The first day of collaboration was difficult-the duo insists all of their collaborators understand that Harris and Anderson get final creative say-but it opened them up to more possibilities, seeing that, according to Harris, Hoppus brought "pop sensibility and arrangement to the band." Although Idiot Pilot worked with renowned producer Ross Robinson (Glassjaw, At The Drive-In), who sought them out via MySpace, they finished the rest of the album with current Coheed And Cambria drummer Chris Pennie, formerly of the Dillinger Escape Plan, who breathed new life into their sound. After working with mostly programmed drums while using a laptop live, the duo felt it was time to work on what Anderson calls a "more organic live sound... We have always considered ourselves a 'band,' but sometimes I would feel we were going onstage and doing an art project. It was very strange." No longer a performance-art two-piece, Idiot Pilot have struggled through a bumpy journey to punk-rock's limits, and the end result, Wolves, reflects two very different people making the needed adjustments to find a poppy middle ground. For the most part, however, the pair's dynamic hasn't changed. "I would say we're really good friends at this point," says Harris, "and we still go play Frisbee-golf together or whatever." ALT |
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