Echo Pilot’s Record Release at The ’58
Echo Pilot released their sophomore record with Wynton Existing and Leilani Kilgore on the bill.
I found myself back at the ‘58 inside the walls of Eastside Bowl in Nashville. I’ve written about this 1950’s style diner vibe turned music venue before but let me reiterate how cool this spot is. An actual starlit venue, complete with red, white and blue checkerboard tile patterned floors. Instead of root beer floats and malts its inventory consists of local beer and PBR’s as well as a pub fare laced food menu. The patrons were a mixed bunch of like-minded music lovers here to see their friends tear it up in this relatively small venue. The crowd boasted around 50-60 at the beginning of the first set but grew to near 100 by the time the headliners took the stage. Tonight, we were gathered for the new record release from Nashville local artists Echo Pilot. They were supported by Wynton Existing and Leilani Kilgore this Saturday night adjacent to the psychedelically illuminated bowling lanes, however the sounds don’t clash. Eastside Bowl does a great job of hosting 4 different venues inside one enormous space and yet keeping them enjoyable as separate entities.
Let me start by saying that Punk Rock is Not Dead! I was so enamored by the garb of some of the people at the show on this night. Leather pants, mohawks, shredded jackets of jean and leather, platformed boots, piercings and tattoos glistened across the room. I was on the cusp of being the oldest in this space and basked in all these 20-something-year-olds who knew the music of the past and are now carrying the torch for the future. One kid literally had on a jacket with the phrase “Punk Rock Is Not Dead” sewn onto the back. While “heroin-sheik” has been replaced with High Noon Hard Seltzers (not a bad thing) the rawness of rock is still alive. This wasn’t necessarily a punk rock music show, but the sense was. Patti Smith once famously said,
“To me, punk rock is the freedom to create, freedom to be successful, freedom to not be successful, freedom to be who you are. It’s freedom.”
That was the spirit of this gig.
If there was a punk band on the bill it was the opener Wynton Existing who opened with a guttural tune called “Captain Bullshit”. The lead singer exclaimed that “it’s about a superhero, but he’s afraid, to die. So, he’s kinda useless.” I am still not sure if Wynton Existing is the name of our lead vocalist or the band. I think it’s probably much like Alice Cooper in the sense that the moniker was that of the band and the pseudonym of the person and it was just there to put a working title on the ensemble, or whomever was taking part on the stage. Whatever it means, they rip. “I am Wynton and if these guys weren’t here I wouldn’t exist” was the declaration of our frontman. I told my buddy during their set that they were like a “More Filthy-Aerosmith” (that was a compliment). The long-haired bass player donned white and black striped leggings and a grey, sleeveless vest that matched a majority of the rock stars that one would see as they thumbed through the May issue of CREEM Magazine in 1972.
Their style was eclectic though and they ranged from hard rock to a surf sound and then reggae with those punk overlays. They even played a self-described, “spooky song” that they had written for Halloween. I loved the Danny Elfman B-side that they then brought forth. Like the lost or rejected track from “A Nightmare Before Christmas” that should have made the soundtrack. The closer was the pinnacle of this bands act as our lead stripped down to only a pair of gold short-shorts and leapt into the audience to bang on a drum that had been dragged out to the middle of the tiny mosh pit that formed.
“Art is what you can get away with” – Andy Warhol
Then it was time for Leilani Kilgore. Much like me, she is a Nashville transplant hailing from the West Coast. Leilani Kilgore plays both aggressive and hard-rock with a touch of sultry blues and is fearlessly honest with her emotional expression. Imagine if Chrissie Hynde fronted Jefferson Airplane, but the music was written by Deep Purple. From her website, “Her variety of sound and electric performance has earned her headlining slots on legendary stages such as the Sturgis Buffalo Chip main stage and Summerfest, and placed her as the opener for renowned acts like Buddy Guy, Lita Ford, 38 Special, Limp Bizkit, and The Dead Daisies.”
Her music is fiery and vivacious with poetry in her lyrics. She is a force on stage and this blues-rock frontwoman has clearly cut her teeth across this country and developed a super sound that will most likely take her far. She describes herself as “Blues musician with a coffee addiction a few years too early and a date of birth a few decades too late” on her socials. She has the spirit of the music engrained in her soul and it shines through when she plays.
“I just want to play guitar and be in a band. Same as I always did.”- Chrissie Hynde
The headliners were Echo Pilot who were promoting their sophomore album Notion. Echo Pilot is a four-piece alt-rock band that features Ryan Van Abeele on guitar/vocals, Aaron Smith on guitar, Andrew Stuart Howsman bringing the bass and backing vocals and Dan Russell pounding the drums. They bring a very high energy and a wonderful array of showmanship that was apparent in their lead-in to hopping on stage. A backing track featuring that arena music sound you’d hear when the Chicago Bulls were announced player by player in 1996 resonated throughout the room. Indeed, another voice, popped on the mic and introduced Echo Pilot in the same vein that we hear the name Miiiiiichael Jooooordaaaaan pierce the Chicago dome.
Ryan looks like a young Sammy Hagar and has a voice that seems to be a mingling of Dave Grohl and John Fogerty. The band is cohesive and plays tightly woven chords and melodic verses full of structure and intertwines a bouncing-heel-hitting pattern of happiness and time-stamping fortitude. The opening track from the album is called ‘It’s Over Now’ and it embodies all the things that this band is. It is beautifully mixed and even when I heard it live it felt so well put together. The music halts towards the songs ending and Ryan and Andrews voices blend magmatically on the hook of “Now you’re down. To the ground. And it’s over. Down. Down and out. You will drown. And it’s over Now”. The harmony is gorgeous as they fade to the next song which takes off with pinging electric prowess.
They have a chemistry on stage that harkens back to those old school neighborhood rock n rollers who strolled from club to club just to play for free drinks and maybe a place to stay, but you can tell that while they love bringing the music to these small venues, they want more. They deserve more. They dabble in soul searching smooth rock in the case of a track like “Gonna Be” but most of the set is harder. I love that they played in new album in its entirety before announcing “We’ve got more!” and then set forth to their earlier projects. The band is endearing as well as highly proficient and I implore you to seek them out on any platform that you can.