"Whether it's ringing power-pop, or stark soliloquies, Sheehan boasts the same deftly crafted acumen of established visionaries like Ted Leo and Apples In Stereo's Robert Schneider, which as it goes without saying makes for some highly desirable company."
- The Big Takeover
"In the liner notes to their latest, the Celebrity Pilots thank Peter Sellers, Thomas Pynchon, and the Kinks, among others. It's a telling list, as this is droll, literate pop, as timeless as the heartache that inspires it.
For the past year or so, Pilots main man Chris Sheehan has been playing guitar in Doug Gillard's band, and Pavement sounds as if he took notes the whole time. Tracked at Kent's Waterloo Sound Recording with Todd Tobias (Gillard, Guided by Voices), the album benefits from a busy three-dimensional mix. Nearly every song bursts with layers of sci-fi synth and whirring samples, making Pavement an album that really comes alive when the headphones are on. Sheehan sings with a soft, plaintive lilt, his guitar providing all the fireworks on stirring pop daydreams ("Lemons From Lemonade") and growling garage rockers ("Long Live the Sting"). With Gillard having recently left town, Pavement makes a strong case for Sheehan's taking his place as the region's leading pop troubadour. " - Cleveland Scene
"The indie rock kids will be talking about The Celebrity Pilots this fall no doubt; they've got it all - the shimmery guitars, the gurgling synths, sweet pop melodies and solid indie rock drums." -- Left Hip Magazine, 08/2005
There is a theory that suggests the two different sides of the brain control two different "modes" of thinking, and that each of us prefers one mode over the other. Chris Sheehan , the one-man virtuoso who is Cleveland's The Celebrity Pilots may disprove this theory - splitting his time between songwriting, playing keys for Bob Pollard and guitar with Doug Gillard (formerly of Guided by Voices ), and working as a NASA engineer who designs International Space Station E xperiments.
This combination of left-brain logic and right-brain artistry has produced the Celebrity Pilots debut CD Beneath the Pavement, A Beach!, a lush, timeless pop vision, to be released on Sunken Treasure Records on September 13, 2005. "The 'math' side of my brain helps in the composition stage of my music" says Sheehan, "but ultimately I'm striving to create songs that are interesting on an emotional level."
Recorded with eccentric producer/drummer/bassist Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices, Gem) at Waterloo Studios in Kent , OH , Beneath the Pavement... stretches the boundaries of the typical indie-pop palette and highlights Sheehan's pop sensibilities as well as his broad musical vocabulary. From breezy pop gems, to jangly rockers, to intimate 4-track inventions, to elaborate studio productions, Beneath the Pavement... gives nods to a wealth of influences such as The Zombies, The Beach Boys, The Smiths, Ben Folds, E lliot Smith, and Wilco.
"I'm very interested in soundscaping a song," Sheehan says. "I've arranged the songs on the record with a sort of wall of sound approach. I'm not too particular about the fidelity of recording - I love the organic sounds of those old soul records from the 60s distorted vocals, bass high in the mix things you'd never hear on mainstream radio today."
Although Beneath the Pavement... is Sheehan's debut as a solo songwriter, he is no stranger to the craft, and his indie rock resume includes stints with The All Golden (with whom he shares songwriting and singing duties), indie media darlings The Witch Hazel Sound , touring with Doug Gillard, and session work with Bob Pollard.
Sheehan says he's been inspired by all of the musicians he's worked with. "After watching Pollard crank out 20-some tunes in a few days I thought it was time I just give it a go and get out some of my own songs." The Celebrity Pilots will tour as a full band to support Beneath the Pavement... in the fall.
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