Randy J. Klodz - Pilot to Gunner to Make Chicago ‘Get Saved’

April 8, 2004

Pilot to Gunner to Make Chicago ‘Get Saved’

By Randy J. Klodz

Following the rocking mid-February release “Get Saved,” New York’s own Pilot to Gunner will be making a Chicago appearance in support of the M’s on at Schubas Tavern on April 9 in an attempt to “save” the day for today’s standard rock act.

Pilot to Gunner--which includes Scott Padden on vocals and guitar, Patrick Hegarty on guitar and keyboards, Martin McLoughlin on bass and Kurt Herrmann on drums--often draws comparisons to fellow New York natives Interpol and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but the band said that the only thing similar between the bands is the Big Apple.

“When I say that we’re nothing like those bands, that we don’t like getting lumped with those bands, that doesn’t mean that I don’t like them,” said Pilot to Gunner vocalist and guitarist Scott Padden. “I think that Interpol has a couple really good songs and I hear they are really good live. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, I’m not too familiar with their music, but we have nothing to do with those guys. And far too often we get lumped in just because geographically we live within a mile of them. There is no New York sound. There is no New York scene, just a bunch of bands from New York who happen to be getting a lot of attention at the same time.”

In fact, rocking tracks from “Get Saved” such as “The Product,” “Hot Circuitry” and the title track sound more like Chicago’s own Local H with the use of standard guitar rock melodies and pounding drum work, rather than bands from the New York-infused art-rock movement.

The members of Pilot to Gunner enjoy each trip the band makes to Chicago, such as the shows they have played at Empty Bottle and Fireside Bowl in recent years, and although their band is the first of three bands to take the stage on April 9--with the second being Chicago’s own the Reputation and the M’s headlining, Pilot to Gunner could care less. “We never complain about the order of the bill. The Reputation we’re friends with and it’s their town; we never really bitch unless we are headlining and we shouldn’t be,” Padden said with a laugh.

Schubas Tavern is at 3159 N. Southport Ave. Tickets for this 21+ show are listed for $8 each in advance or $10 each at the door, with a starting time slated for 10 p.m. For more information on Pilot to Gunner log on to www.pilottogunner.biz.