Band of the Day: Autopilot

Today’s band will be very grateful and polite and nice, due to them being from Canada. Don’t let that fool you, though… they can still rock!

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It’s a real place.

How did you meet?

Through mutual friends who are into music.

How long have you been playing as a band?

I’m not the best at keeping track of the years, but it’s definitely been more than a few. Long enough to put out 3 albums, a few EPs, and cover a lot of ground on tour.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

I can’t even remember. It was a thing we came up with years ago maybe as a sort of reference to the bow on the guitar and the effects we were using. As our sound has evolved, the name has become less relevant but it stuck.

What are your influences?

While the music we listen to (Modest Mouse, Bear Hands, The Killers, to name a few) has a big influence, I feel where  I have been, the people that make their way into our lives, and the time we spend apart also has a lot of influence on our music.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

To put a genre to it, Indie/Alt/Rock is what we are told mostly – just doing our take on it. We like to write a catchy rock songs with hooks and have a really high energy show with more delay than distortion. I use a violin bow on the guitar to get some unique sounds.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

No, not really on this record.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

Our show is high energy. After writing and recording the songs, it’s really important to us to get out on tour and play them live. I don’t have a count on the number of shows we’ve played. Hundreds for sure.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

We have a lot of stories, the first one that comes to mind I think took place in Dallas, TX. I thought it was a good idea to jump up on the bar and start to play guitar with the bow. In the process I kicked the bar owner’s pint across the room. It was an accident, but it sure looked intentional. He picked up his phone and started taking video so he didn’t seem too upset.

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

Guitars – custom made Mad Dog Purple Heart guitar. I got one of the first ones ever made given to me. Other than that I use a Fender American Strat that I’ve toured with for years. It’s beaten up pretty badly but still sounds amazing. Also, a Fender Japanese Jaguar. So much Fender gear in this band, it’s almost time for an endorsement. I use a Fender Concert tube amp that they reissued a while back.

The bass amp is a Traynor Bassmaster YBA 300 and a Fender American P bass.

Drums are a Yamaha rock tour kit.

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

Our new record “Afterglow”, check it out!

What are your plans for 2019?

We will be releasing 3 more singles along with videos and doing a lot of touring, hitting up a few festivals, and getting to work on the next record this summer.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you?

We’d love to be on a bill with Spoon and have this great band we just played with in Toronto called Altered by Mom open.

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