Shannon: Can everyone go around and introduce themselves and say what instrument you play?
Mary Komody: My name is Mary, I play the keyboard and I sing.
Ethan Oliva: My name is Ethan, I sing and I play guitar and that's it for live. I do other stuff on the recordings.
Andy Yadeski: I’m Andy, I play drums.
Mitch DeLong: I’m Mitch, I’m a bassman.
Nick Boston: I’m Nick, I play guitar.
Ralph DiLullo: I’m Ralph, I play guitar.
S: Wonderful! A Six-piece band!
E: Yeah, we’re actually called Belle And Sebastian…
Today is the last night of the Cherry Glazer run. What's been your favorite part of this little tour you've been on so far?
E: Hopefully tonight! So far, though, the Philly show was my favorite. It was just like–I can't speak for everybody– but I was extremely nervous. Because, at least with this band, we have never played in front of this many people.
N: Also the show in Boston got canceled. So at the last minute we set up a show at this dive bar, and that was really fun. That was a highlight of the tour too.
M: Yeah it was nice to have that kind of smaller show in between these bigger shows. It was like something we're a little more used to.
S: Earlier, when we were at the WNYU Studio, you mentioned that a new record was in the works and coming out probably in October or November. I was wondering, is it going to be similar to the last Gaadge release where it's a little bit more collaborative than your previous efforts? I also want to know, what song are you the most excited about? And, are there any specific themes you explore on the record?
E: Well, the first Ex Pilots record was just me, and then Nick was on a song and Mary was on a song. In this one, we're all on it. Every single person in the band wrote a song on it. And that's the way it's gonna go forward. So yes, very much like the last Gaadge record. This one's like a lot– I don’t know if I would call it darker, but– I got better at using Logic…the program [laughs]...
M: Yeah we were taking advantage of our rapper friend, Logic [laughs]. He’s been helping and guiding us.
E: Yeah. This record is very uplifting but the sound is a lot more in your face and more traditionally shoegaze, I guess you could say. It’s a little bit more Hi-Fi– maybe, Mid-Fi. I am most excited about Mary’s song, Dog in the Yard, because that one has some very, very cool dynamics. The verses are just Mary in some quiet passages and then the chorus just kind of explodes. And then the ending is kind of like a juxtaposition of those two things. That’s my personal favorite.
R: I’m excited for Glory Thread. We did it over like, a day? We spent like 12 hours on one song… so hopefully it’s good! It’s the weirdest song I think we have.
E: Yeah, for sure… We haven’t told a lot of people about the record yet. I probably shouldn’t say the name of it yet– I’ll tell you off the record!– But I’m extremely excited for it.
N: And this one’s also the longest record, right?
E: No, it’s about the same as the last record. But there’s more songs. There’s a couple songs on it where we do the Guided by Voices thing where it’s really, really fast punk-leaning indie rock songs and then it’s over in a minute and ten seconds.
Jill: I noticed your Guided by Voices shirt earlier and the first thing you said was they are the only band that matters. And I know you were joking, but it felt serious. I was really curious about all of your first introductions to music. I'm assuming Guided by Voices was important to you growing up or at some point, but I would love to hear about everyone's beginnings.
S: Yeah! And more on the impact of Robert Pollard on Ex Pilots.
E: Well, for me, if we’re going way back… Weird Al and Pink Floyd. When I was five my dad gave me Running With Scissors by Weird Al on cassette and my grandpa gave me the Pink Floyd Pulse VHS and that pretty much cemented like, okay yeah, I want to make music…When I was 13 or 14 I had been recording at home for a couple of years and I was discouraged because I couldn’t afford anything because I was 13. And I was like, “Man, all this stuff I’m making sounds like it was made at home. This sucks and no one's gonna like this.” And then I found the Lo-Fi Wikipedia page at school one day and I stumbled upon Guided by Voices and I was like that's the coolest band name ever. So then when I got home that day I listened to Propeller and I was like, “Oh, this sounds like what I'm recording at home. I can just keep doing this.” So what hooked me was that sonically, it sounded like what I was able to make myself. And then the bonus was, the band is just that damn good. Ever since then GBV… I don’t want to say it’s a cult but, if it was an actual cult I would be a proud member.
M: I don’t even remember my intro to music. I started playing the piano when I was five years old and my teacher was friends with the youngest daughter from The Sound of Music. So honestly, that was kind of my introduction to it. My uncle was a band photographer and had this giant record collection in our basement so as a teenager I would listen to just literally everything. So much stuff. Otis Redding was probably my favorite.
N: Not a starting band but when I was in high school I had a radio show at Princeton with my friend, shoutout to WPRB. We were really huge music noobs but most of the music I listen to still comes from doing that show. We would literally just judge a book by its cover and pick out the coolest album covers and start finding which labels we really liked like Teen-Beat and C86 and all that stuff. So, yeah! College radio was how I got into music.
J: I was wondering, you know, there's so many amazing artists out there that have secret other creative outlets. Do any of you guys do anything outside of music that you feel like contributes to who you are creatively? Especially hearing that all of you worked on writing the songs, it would be really interesting to hear where you got inspiration for song lyrics or what around you inspires you or what other creative aspects in your life are interesting to you.
R: I work in film! I do music videos for like every band in Pittsburgh. I did the Ex Pilots video, the one that exists, and then I did a video for [Ethan and Andy’s] old band Barlow, and Sober Clones. Not Gaadge yet, but, hopefully we’ll do some more with this record that’s coming out soon!
M: I've always enjoyed screen printing. A couple years back I got really into that and I was volunteering and working at a shop. And when I’m working on something visual, something will pop into my head like a melody or like a lyric or something like that. So that's always kind of helped out. And it's fun to do show flyers and stuff like that too–
S: Screen printing is a huge, huge passion of mine too. There’s something so therapeutic about it.
N: Also, I feel like the thing that defines this band is that everyone likes to laugh–I mean everyone likes to laugh, but I feel like we're really trying to make each other laugh all the time.
A: We’re silly for sure.
R: My friend who's not affiliated at all, he's a friend from college, came and hung out with us and like he did not laugh at all or anything.
E: He was really confused the entire time it was amazing. We were just showing him pictures of us that were funny and he was looking at me like I was crazy.
A: Glad we showed him a good time!
E: Outside of music, I draw a lot. I would love to call myself a cartoonist but nobody sees the stuff that I do. I made the avatar on our Instagram, the smoking bartender, he’s got like six cigarettes in his mouth. I love comics from the 80s. I love Bloom County. I love Calvin and Hobbes. I love The Far Side. I also do a lot of collage work. The first Ex Pilots record is a collage I made.
M: Writing is definitely a creative outlet for me. I consider myself a collector of hobbies in a way. I like sewing and making stamps– whatever you can do to just get it out of your head and into the world I think is a great thing.
Talia: How did you all meet? How did this band come to be?
M: Four of us are from the same city– We’ve been playing shows and doing this pretty much since we were 15–me and [Ethan] were 15…
E: Yeah, we met when we were 15 or 16 in just our local scene and it kind of just snowballed. We’ve all remained friends for a long time. I’ve actually known Mary the longest out of anybody here. We met in a photography group online when we were 15…
M: [laughs]
E: And yeah, we just DM'd on there… This band was originally called Miles of Lace– when we realized that’s a terrible name for a band, I figured I’d just call a song that instead. But yeah, Summer 95 on Finley is the first thing [Mary and I] did together and that was before I knew any of these guys. You can hear in our voices we’re very clearly 16.
M: Yeah! We recorded that in your dad’s basement.
E: Yeah I told him about that. And he was like, I don't remember that at all. And I think he had a glass of wine in his hand, so, of course, you don’t, Dad.
A: Me and Ralph have known each other for an extremely long time. Like kindergarten, second grade kind of thing.
R: You were two or three years older than me in school–
A: –I still am!...But yeah. And then we sort of got into music again. And it’s like, hey, I know that guy…
R: Yeah and our mom’s know each other...
A: Dad’s too!–and me and Ethan we had a band and we played with Mitch’s band, in like, 2011 or 12-ish. And then yeah, and then we met Nick living in Pittsburgh, he came to a show.
N: Yeah. My friend Elaine actually introduced us because she knew the three of us were like, huge Guided by Voices fans.
E: Yeah, there’s nobody else in the city that likes that band as much as we do. And that’s on the record, Pittsburgh!
A: Oh, and Mitch? We hired him last week…
Everyone: [laughs]
J: Staying on origins story– how did you come up with the name ‘Ex Pilots’?
E: So I initially wanted to call it Psychic Pilots because there’s this Robert Pollard song called ‘Psychic Pilot Clocks Out.’ I think his best solo song. I love that song so much, but then I thought to myself, that's a little on the nose because we sound so much like GBV. So I then wanted to call it Tarot Pilots, but that does not roll off tongue at all. And then my mom was actually, what about Ex Pilots? And I was like, I love you, Mom. So, I guess my mom came up with the name. I wish it was some crazy story like “oh, we all met in pilot school and we dropped out to do a band that makes no money.” But, yeah. It’s essentially a dismantled GBV reference.
J: So, I don't know if you guys are this type of nerd, but I have been really wanting to start a DND campaign…
M: Yeahhhhh!
E: Oh yeah, Mitch is your guy.
J: Oh thank god…If you think about it, your band is kind of like a campaign all the time…I was wondering if you guys could place eachother on this moral alignment scale so we can learn a little bit about every member.
E: That is amazing… can we go down the line and have all of [the band] rate that member?
J: Oh yes, perfect!
E: Can we start with Mary? because I think we’ll probably all pick the same thing… I would say lawful good for Mary just because anytime I do something really stupid she's like… Stop!
A: Mary neutral good, I’d say.
N: Neutral good feels good, yeah.
R: Can I go for Ethan chaotic evil immediately?
M: [laughs] I agree!
E: I’m chaotic evil?
M: I would say chaotic neutral...
N: I’d say strong chaotic neutral! He's a chaotic neutral going towards evil…
Everyone (in unison, somehow): He’s chaotic evil, skewing neutral!
J: A few episodes of evil…
E: Okay so [Mary is lawful good] and i’m [chaotic evil], that’s a good start!
M: Andy…
R: I’d say lawful neutral.
N: I’d say between lawful and just neutral…
R: He made a prank call the other day so, I’d say just neutral, yeah.
Talia and Jill: He’s skewing!
M: He’s kind of lawful evil, but not quite evil
E: My vote is skew lawful neutral and lawful evil for Andy because in the many years we’ve known each other, he’s a lot more responsible than me. But we laugh at the same jokes… are up to the same pranks–
A: I’m known to cause a ruckus!
E: Alright, Mitch!... He’s chaotic good.
Everyone: Yeah, chaotic good!
T: It’s unanimous!
R: Nick is lawful good.
E: I would also say lawful good!
N: Oh hell yeah!
A: Don’t kill me… but I’m going to say neutral good for Nick.
Everyone: Woah woah woah!
A: I know that’s going to come up later…
M: He has smoked two cigarettes on this trip!
R: I had to say lawful good because he let me stay at his house the week before the tour. It was very lawful. No laws were broken in his house…
E: For Ralph I would say neutral good.
A: I would say just neutral… between just and chaotic neutral, for Ralph. Or, I’m back to just neutral for Ralph, I’m sorry.
J: Just to entertain me, could you tell me what kind of character you would be? An elf, a paladin, a troll, or any sort of mystical creature…
M: I can answer this question easily. I’ve been told on multiple occasions that I remind people of a wood nymph so, I think that has to be my answer by default.
E: Can I name my character, but it’s not a DND character?
S: Yeah!
E: I’m Bill the cat from Bloom County.
A: You’re stoopui cannopio! S-T-O-O-P-U-I C-A-N-N-O-P-I-O!
J: I think we need to get a character for each of you so we can introduce you with a photo! Show the “real” pictures of Ex Pilots.
E: [Andy] is Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes.
A: (pulls up a picture of Andy, Snoopy’s sibling in Charlie Brown) His name is Andy!
E: Aww!
A: I was going to say Mitch is Spike. But you haven’t showered in a few days… I’m sorry PigPen.
[the interview falls into shambles here, separate conversations, in depth charlie brown character assignments, we were having too much fun with each other.]
