Blind Pilot Picks Bikes & Campfires Over Sex, Drugs & Rock N Roll

posted in: Features

In a world where bling is king it’s refreshing to meet a band that is satisfied with the simple things in life. Like riding your bicycle” gear hitched to a coffineque homemade trailer”while touring the West Coast with your band. That’s what Portland, Oregon’s folk-pop outfit Blind Pilot”formed by drummer Ryan Dobrowski and singer-guitarist Israel Nebeker” opted for… TWICE. (Let’s just hope they changed out of their spandex bike shorts before they took the stage.)

The universe has been kind to the nature-appreciating band. Their single, “Go On, Say It” was featured as an iTunes download of the week”yielding over 2 million downloads”and their debut LP, 3 Rounds and a Sound, reached Number 13 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart. The band has been consistently touring worldwide”headlining and opening for bands such as media darlings The Decemberists and The Hold Steady.

Jay Sweet caught up with Blind Pilot’s Ryan Dobrowski to ask him about green living, what he thinks of technology and what the future holds for the way we listen to music.

JW: Word is you are quite a healthy band both physically and mentally.  Can you describe the importance to you about living well on the road?

BP: That’s kinda funny to hear. I think we try to do what we can, but it is hard to live a healthy lifestyle when you’re touring. I think for us, it is important to make an effort to enjoy the days as much as possible. The party stops being a party if it is every day. We aren’t crazy about it, but we do like to run or hike when we can. We also prefer vegetables in the green room to Doritos. I think it helps us bring something good to the stage.

JW: What is the most effective thing a band can do to grab people’s attention/ listen to their music?

BP: Outside of making interesting music, I think not relying on standard methods of operation is always a good idea. It wasn’t a marketing tool by any means, but the bike tours we did ended up getting us a lot of attention. I’m not saying come up with a shtick. That would be a bad idea.

JW:  What percent of the music you listen to was recorded in the past decade?

BP: We are about 50/50 right now. I think it is great to hear what people are putting out now, but older recordings seem to have a magic and sincerity that is hard to find in newer bands.

JS: Is the word  “indie” still relevant? Do you believe we have all become musical omnivores in a “Shuffle Playlist” world?  Is music becoming one great melting pot?

BP: “Indie” is actually a very annoying word to me. I know its intentions are good, but it seems like it is getting more and more self-conscious. It’s hard to say what it even means. It’s like “alternative rock” and will eventually sound just as dated.

JS: What makes you feel relieved, content or excited about the current state of music?

BP: Things are pretty artist-friendly these days. It’s a lot easier to get decent recordings of your music out to a lot of people. This also can be bad because there is so much music being put out. There is a lot of diversity though and that is a good thing.

JS: What is the one song that sums up the decade for you?  Why?

BP: Tough question. The song that is coming to mind is a song of ours called “Get It Out.” It was the first song we wrote specifically for Blind Pilot. The song never made it to the album, but we recorded a version that will come out at the very end of the year. It’s kind of about how we started this project. There’s a line “it looked like a river but was a freeway in dark,” that’s sort of where this decade has taken us.

JS: Have all the changes in technology in the past decade made the music better?

BP: I don’t think it has made music itself better. It’s easier, but easier often doesn’t equal better.

JS:  How do you think we’ll listen to music 10 years from now? What might your music sound like?

BP: In 10 years, I’m sure it won’t be too dissimilar to things now. The CD will fade away and everyone will primarily listen to music on his or her smart phones. Vinyl will have a small following for those who like a physical product.

It’s hard to say what we will sound like. Things evolve fairly quickly with us so hopefully it will be different than what we sound like now. Not too different though. We won’t be putting out an electronica album anytime soon. Actually, who knows?