NORTHPILOT

More often than not, a band's sound is directly influenced by its surroundings. Be it the dark and ominous winter or the bright and enthusiastic summer, Northpilot's music pays homage to its Midwestern stomping grounds, incorporating its dynamic sound into a live performance which one reviewer hails as “…being shot through a cannon into a brick wall of sound.“ (Real Detroit Weekly) The Michigan transplants pooled their talents in 2006, cutting its teeth as a four piece and creating its visio...

More often than not, a band's sound is directly influenced by its surroundings. Be it the dark and ominous winter or the bright and enthusiastic summer, Northpilot's music pays homage to its Midwestern stomping grounds, incorporating its dynamic sound into a live performance which one reviewer hails as “…being shot through a cannon into a brick wall of sound.“ (Real Detroit Weekly) The Michigan transplants pooled their talents in 2006, cutting its teeth as a four piece and creating its vision in a second story walk-up in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. Having recently upgraded to a 6 piece, the band spent the past 4 years building a solid resume, gracing notable windy city and Midwest mainstays including The Chicago House of Blues, Double Door, Schuba's, Subterranean, Martyr’s, Reggie’s Rock Club, Lager House (Detroit) and The Crofoot (Detroit), sharing the stage with hipster heavyweights Josiah Wolf, The Silent Years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Reptar and pop punk band All Time Low (7-11 Battle of the Bands Competition, July 2010). In 2007, the band landed a spot in the top 8 of the Lollapalooza Last Band Standing Competition, and was a finalist in the 2010 Slurpee Battle of the Bands National Competition, where its final four status earned it a trip to Dallas to shoot a music video. In addition to landing weekend headlining shows at many Chicago venues, 2010 saw the band release its debut EP, The Bright Brigade, which continues to generate buzz by entertainment rags and blogs like Revue (Grand Rapids, MI.), Hot Hot Music (New York), Troysnoise.com (New York) and Chicago’s Loud Loop Press, Gaper’s Block, Heave Media, Illinois Entertainer and Windy City Rock. It is with this cut-throat determination the band is setting itself up for an exciting future. It plans to ride its momentum to the next level and cordially invites you to join its Bright Brigade. For high quality photos or interview requests, please contact Northpilot at management@northpilot.com or contact Travis Shaver at 312-925-2026. Travis Shaver – vocals, guitar, Mark Colwell – vocals, guitar, horns, keys, Dan Julian – percussion, Matt Cragnolin – vocals, bass guitar, Justin Vittori – guitar, Danielle Schnurer – vocals, keys *** What publications are saying about Northpilot and The Bright Brigade EP *** -LOUD LOOP PRESS (Chicago), Jason Shough, published 10/7/2010- -“With The Bright Brigade, the band has sewn together a brilliant patchwork of rock, beautiful melodies and experimentation.” “Across the board, hearty piano riffs pair up alongside growling synthesizers and less-growling guitar lines. ‘Beautiful Raincoat’ has an unbelievably catchy melody laid over a cool brit pop/surf rock feel. ‘Ochre Written Flint’ lays down earthy synth over hyper-active drums, and by far the coolest thing about Northpilot is how they somehow make this combination sound ‘groovy.’” “The songs are works of precision, but not in the progressive or industrial rock sense. Instead, they gather their precision from the way the band atomizes several simple yet independent parts and weaves them together with great skill.” -HOT HOT MUSIC (New York), Patrick Gibson, published on 4/5/2011- “Northpilot is not satisfied with simplicity, but rather an almost scientific approach to layering music that is not only beautiful, but deep. This music isn’t simple and it isn’t straightforward. Like a birthday cake, there’s just too many layers to dissect in one bite. Northpilot offers more than your average rock band, which is imperative in an age where our well of music runs deeper than ever.” -ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER (Illinois), Carter Moss, published on 6/1/2011- “The five tracks give a clear taste of what the band is all about – weaving thoughtful lyrics through intricate pop instrumentations. Influences range from Peter Bjorn & John to Coldplay, and each track is clearly distinctive from the next.” -GAPER’S BLOCK (Chicago), Moises Montenegro, published on 12/4/2010- “Listening to Northpilot's song ‘Naked Before My Captors,’ you can feel the onset of another Chicago winter. Snowflakes practically swirl from the track's twinkling pianos as lead singer Travis Shaver metaphorically exposes parts of himself to the listener. Perhaps it's Michigan's brutal winters or Detroit's economic woes that echo through the urban angst of Northpilot's work.” -WINDY CITY ROCK (Chicago), Andrew (staff writer), published 12/1/2010- “Northpilot recognize the tests of life, existential, artistic and all in-between. It is obvious in their debut effort how large of a scope they look at life through; as the band continues to grow, the questions will no doubt become even more poignant.” -REAL DETROIT WEEKLY (Detroit), Ryan Patrick Hooper, published 6/3/2008- “Northpilot has managed to stand tall in a thick ocean of talent by combining dark, intricate melodies with a live show that rivals being shot through a cannon into a brick wall of sound.” -HEAVE MEDIA (Chicago), Wes Soltis, published on 2/15/2011- “(The Bright Brigade EP) is captivating and lush, a hard thing to find on a debut record.” *** Notable Northpilot Happenings *** -On April 4, 2011, Troysnoise.com (New York) featured “Radio Lawyers” on its blog and wrote “(‘Radio Lawyers’ is) one of the many quality experimental rock tracks off of their EP, The Bright Brigade.” -During the fall of 2010, nationwide Internet radio outlet Grooveshark reported over 16,000 plays from The Bright Brigade. -In the summer of 2010, Northpilot was a finalist in the 2010 Slurpee Battle of the Bands National Competition after winning a Midwest regional competition at the Chicago House of Blues. Its final four national status earned it a trip to Dallas to shoot a music video. -In 2007, the band landed a spot in the top 8 of the Lollapalooza Last Band Standing Competition.