BLIND PILOT AT OPERA HOUSE 8/9/2012

05 Aug BLIND PILOT AT OPERA HOUSE 8/9/2012

INDIE ROCK GROUP ALSO TO HEADLINE SHOWS AT THE FILLMORE, SAN FRANCISCO AND THE FONDA THEATRE, LOS ANGELES

The Sheridan Arts Foundation is proud to present an intimate evening with Portland, Oregon’s indie folksters Blind Pilot. The concert takes place Thursday, Aug. 9. Showtime is 8 p.m.

Returning for a third time to the Telluride area, Blind Pilot is touring in support of its sophomore album We Are the Tide, released last fall. The band’s grassroots breakout debut 3 Rounds and a Sound sold more than 65,000 units to date and was featured in NPR’s “Best Music of 2008” round up.

“We Are the Tide blooms agreeably from start to finish … these guys make remarkably sturdy, gorgeous songs,” said NPR of the most recent album.

On making We Are the Tide, which will be showcased at the Sheridan Opera House gig, founding member Israel Nebeker had this to say:

“We had a good idea of what we wanted the album to sound like and what all the instrumentation would be. There was excitement and anticipation but that came with a fair amount of challenges for me as the songwriter, since I had never written in that atmosphere before.  Fortunately, the creative process has a way of obliterating your expectations, and while we had a plan for each song, eventually the songs told us the way they needed to be. We learned a whole lot in the process and when I listen to the album now, I hear all these good surprises we didn’t know were going to be on there.”

Co-founding member Ryan Dobrowski elaborated:

“I love the first record, but it was really exciting to work on arrangements with the whole band in mind. There are some songs on We Are The Tide that sound like an extension of 3 Rounds and a Sound, but a good number that are exploring new areas.”

Blind Pilot was founded when Nebeker (vocals and guitar) and Dobrowski (drums) embarked on a West Coast bicycle tour playing mostly to unfamiliar listeners at small-town venues. The band now exists as a six-piece ensemble featuring fellow Oregonians Luke Ydstie (upright bass, backing vocals), Kati Claborn (banjo, dulcimer, backing vocals), Ian Krist (Vibraphones) and Dave Jorgenson (keyboards, trumpet).

In the years following fateful bicycle tour, the band has toured with the likes of the Decembrists, Josh Ritter, The Low Anthem, Laura Viers and Andrew Bird. Blind Pilot has also appeared at such festivals as Sasquatch!, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival.

Tickets,$20, and additional event information are available at sheridanoperahouse.com or 970.728.6363 x5.

For a preview of the group, watch this video.