Blind Pilot

Blind Pilot

Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon
Background information
Origin Astoria, Oregon, United States
Genres Indie folk, indie pop
Years active 2005–present
Labels Expunged, ATO
Website www.blindpilot.com
Members Israel Nebeker
Ryan Dobrowski
Luke Ydstie
Kati Claborn
Ian Krist
Dave Jorgensen

Blind Pilot is an American indie folk band based in Portland, Oregon, United States. They have released three albums and one EP since 2008.

History

On July 15, 2008, Blind Pilot released their debut CD 3 Rounds and a Sound on Expunged Records.[1] "Go On, Say It", was chosen to be a Single of the Week on July 7, 2008 on Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store, and for the week of July 26 the record reached number 13 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart.[2] Allmusic gave the album 3.5/5 stars.[1]

Originally a duo between Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski, the band added four touring members in February 2009.[3] On December 29 of that year, the band released an iTunes only live EP. This EP featured a cover of Gillian Welch's "Look at Miss Ohio".[4] The EP also included new versions of previously released songs, along with a new song, titled "Get It Out". The EP was mixed and recorded by Tucker Martine.

Blind Pilot released their second album, We Are The Tide, on September 13, 2011 as a sextet.[5] The album featured the song "Get It Out" from the previous EP. Allmusic praised the additional members, whom they said "add bigger, brighter colors to the mix" in a 4.5-star review.[5] Popmatters, however, stated that though "[a]ll these players add texture, ... mostly they serve to strengthen a foundation for Nebeker’s voice to layer" in a 6/10-star review.[6]

On June 1, 2016, Blind Pilot announced their third album, And Then Like Lions, would be released August 12 on ATO Records.[7] The album received 'universal acclaim' from Metacritic, getting a user score of 9.3 and a critic score of 71.[8]

Origin of the band name

During a 2009 interview with LAist, Israel describes how the original duo comes up with the name:[9]

A blind pilot is one of the scariest things I can think of. Why did you choose that name?
When Ryan and I came up with the name in Astoria, when we were planning our first bike tour. It seemed fitting for what we were trying to do. We hadn't heard of anyone else who had done it and we hadn't booked that many shows. It was if we were flying into the unknown. We couldn't see what's going to happen.

Performance and touring history

The band completed a bicycle tour in 2008,[10] biking from Bellingham, Washington to San Diego, California, carrying their instruments on custom bicycle trailers they fashioned themselves. They made more than two dozen stops along the way, including Port Townsend, Seattle, Olympia, Portland, Corvallis, Eugene, Coos Bay, Arcata and Santa Cruz.

Touring for their debut album continued in 2009. On February 12, Blind Pilot made their network television debut on Last Call with Carson Daly.[11] In May, they played at the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, and in August they played a Lollapalooza in Chicago and Outside Lands in San Francisco.[12][13][14]

To promote We Are The Tide on January 6, 2012, the band made their second network television appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.[15] Subsequent touring for the album included a performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee on June 9, as well as returns to Lollapalooza and Sasquatch.[16][17][18] Their song "Half Moon" was performed on Ellen during the host's birthday episode on January 25, 2013.[19] Blind Pilot's music has been featured in some television programs, including Chuck, One Tree Hill, Californication, and Private Practice.[20]

The band finished their most recent tour with Vance Joy on December 3, 2016. Blind Pilot is, as of 2017, currently touring with Bad Bad Habits Anna Tivel, and Gregory Alan Isakov.

Band members

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[21]		 US
Alt
[22]		 US
Folk
[23]		 US
Indie
[24]		 US
Rock
[25]
3 Rounds and a Sound
  • Released: July 15, 2008
  • Label: Expunged
 149 — — 22 —
We Are the Tide
  • Released: September 13, 2011
  • Label: Expunged
 56 10 2 14 19
And Then Like Lions 79 7 2 4 7
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

Drummer Ryan Dobrowski did the artwork for both 3 Rounds and a Sound and We Are the Tide.

EPs

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[21]		 US
Alt
[22]		 US
Folk
[23]		 US
Indie
[24]		 US
Rock
[25]
iTunes Session - EP
  • Released: December 29, 2009
  • Label: Expunged
 — — 6 39 —
"—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released

Singles

Year Title US
AAA
[27]		 Album
2008 "Go On, Say It" — 3 Rounds and a Sound
2012 "Half Moon" 17 We Are the Tide
2013 "We Are the Tide" 20
2016 "Packed Powder" 10 And Then Like Lions
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released

References

  1. 1 2 "3 Rounds and a Sound - Blind Pilot". Allmusic. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Digital Albums". Billboard. July 26, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Almost there!". Blindpilotmusic.wordpress.com. February 27, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Blind Pilot iTunes EP Available Now | Blind Pilot Official Website". Blindpilotmusic.wordpress.com. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "We Are the Tide - Blind Pilot". Allmusic. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Blind Pilot: We Are the Tide". Popmatters. September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Song Premiere: Blind Pilot, 'Umpqua Rushing'". NPR. June 1, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Reviews for And Then Like Lions by Blind Pilot - Metacritic'". August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Meet Israel Nebeker - Lead Singer of Blind Pilot". LAist. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  10. ↑ "Burnside helps local artist hit digital paydirt - Portland Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. August 8, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Live on Carson Daly". blindpilotmusic.wordpress.com. February 16, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Sasquatch! 2009 Line-Up: Jane’s Addiction, NIN, YYYs, Animal Collective & Zach Galifianakis". stereogum.com. February 17, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  13. ↑ "It's The 2009 Lineup". Lollapalooza. April 21, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Outside Lands 2009 Line-Up". stereogum.com. April 13, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Late Show With David Letterman". blindpilot.com. January 3, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Bonnaroo 2012 Lineup". Bonnaroo. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Lollapalooza 2012 Lineup: Black Sabbath, Chili Peppers, Black Keys Headlining". Billboard. April 11, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Sasquatch! 2012 Lineup". stereogum.com. February 3, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Episode Calendar January 2013". ellentv.com. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Blind Pilot". tunefind.com. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  21. 1 2 "Blind Pilot - Billboard".
  22. 1 2 "Blind Pilot - Billboard Alternative Albums".
  23. 1 2 "Blind Pilot - Billboard Americana/Folk Albums".
  24. 1 2 "Blind Pilot - Billboard Independent".
  25. 1 2 "Blind Pilot - Billboard Rock Albums".
  26. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Blind Pilot – Chart History – Adult Alternative Songs". Billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
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