Pilot Speed

Pilot Speed (formerly known as Pilate) is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1999 in Toronto, Ontario. The quartet's debut EP, For All That's Given, Wasted, was released in 2001 which gathered attention from MapleMusic Recordings who later signed them. Their three full length albums Caught by the Window, Sell Control for Life's Speed and Wooden Bones have since been released on MapleMusic Recordings in 2003, 2006 and 2009 respectively.

On June 26, 2006, the band posted a message on their site stating that, due to legal restrictions, they decided to change their band name before it incited lawsuits from companies outside Canada. As a result, they altered their name to Pilot Speed.^[1][2] Their second album was then re-released in the United States by Wind-up Records with a new name, Into the West.

Band members

• Todd Clark - lead vocals/piano/lyricist
• Chris Greenough - guitar
• Ruby Bumrah - bass
• Bill Keeley - drums

History

The year is 1999. Todd Clark, upon completing university, began the arduous process of music composition. Under the band name of Pilate, and with the aid school mates Trevor Taylor and David Elias, his first attempt was a 5 song self-titled EP. However, the band was incomplete; and accordingly, Clark posted an ad for a bassist on the internet. In this fashion, Clark and Ruby Bumrah met and began the process of writing and recording. Bumrah, a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design at the time, later introduced to the band Chris Greenough, who was a school-mate. Together they began to create music and eventually released an independent EP titled For All That's Given, Wasted in order to establish their presence on the Toronto music scene. Their unique sound eventually developed a small fan base in Toronto, both consisting of fans and music industry types. However, Clark insisted at the time that the members of Pilate were just five normal guys lucky enough to have found the same musical vision.

Pilate (pronounced as "Pilot" rather than "Pilates") soon became a popular draw on the Toronto club scene. After the band played a show opening for the British band Alfie, NOW reviewer Sarah Liss wrote that "It's not too often that you catch a show where more of the audience is there to see the opening act than the main attraction." Attention on Pilate grew further when, at the 2002 NXNE festival in Toronto, Pilate was named "Best Unsigned Band." In the following year, they were signed on to MapleMusic Recordings (Sam Roberts, The Dears) and released their first full-length album Caught by the Window, recorded in Toronto’s Umbrella Sound Studio with producer Joao Carvallho. "Into Your Hideout" became a radio success and launched the band on a Canada-wide tour with Montreal-based band, The Dears. Followed by "Melt into the Walls" and "Overrated", the band continued to tour. During this period the band toured and performed with many other notable Canadian talents such as Sam Roberts, David Usher, Finger Eleven, The Tea Party, Death From Above 1979,Sloan and Our Lady Peace.

The success of "Caught by the Window" garnered the band another album opportunity. This new album, titled Sell Control for Life's Speed, released in Canada on April 25, 2006, and on May 2, 2006 in the US. The first single was "Barely Listening" (the single appears in the video game NHL 07). They re-released the record after signing with the American Label "Wind-up Records" on September 19, 2006, re-titled "Into the West". At this point the band was also renamed as "Pilotspeed", under the pretense of lawsuit protection. However, "Sell Control../Into the West" was commercially unsuccessful, victim to Internet Piracy.

However, undaunted, Wind-Up Records committed to the recording of the last commercial release. Recorded in part in Oxford, Mississippi with Dennis Herring, and also Canteberry Studios in Toronto, Ontario with preferred producer Kevin Killen, on April 28, 2009 Pilot Speed released their final album, Wooden Bones.^[3] This album consisted of the singles "Please put the Phone Down" and "Light You Up".

March 2010. Pilot Speed disbands due to financial reasons; a direct result of managerial issues.

Of note, the song "Alright", originally recorded for the EP "For all that's Given, Wasted", then re-recorded on "Caught by the Window", is heard during two scenes and closing credits of the movie Death Sentence. It is also heard in the closing scene of the now-cancelled CBS show Joan of Arcadia (Episode 43: "Spring Cleaning".)

The song "Bluff", from the album "Wooden Bones", can be heard during the 13th episode of the third season of the TV series Flashpoint.

The song "Light You Up", released on Wooden Bones, was featured at TIFF 09, being used during each film screening's opening bumper to promote the Festival's various film categories, the Bell Lightbox as well as major sponsors.

Discography

Albums

• Caught by the Window (2003) [Under Pilate]
• Sell Control for Life's Speed (2006) [Under Pilate]
• Into The West (2006) (US Version of Sell Control For Life's Speed)
• Wooden Bones (2009)

EPs

• For All That's Given, Wasted (2001) [Under Pilate]
• The Window (2003) [Under Pilate]

Singles

• "Into Your Hideout"
• "Alright"
• "Melt into the Walls"
• "Overrated"
• "The Volunteer"
• "Barely Listening"
• "Ambulance"
• "Put the Phone Down"

Other contributions

• Maybe This Christmas Tree (2004, Nettwerk) - "Fairytale of New York"
• Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest (2008, Hear Music) - "Knife-Gray Sea"

References

External links

• Pilot Speed on Myspace