Israel Nebeker has had a big year. The Portland, Ore., resident has been celebrated for his likable songs and thoughtful lyrics, his kindly charisma and unusual character. Sure enough, the talented Blind Pilot frontman — who brings his band to the Bluebird Theater on Saturday — deserves the many accolades coming his way.
Nebeker is one of 2009’s most prominent breakout songwriters, and with the five members who fill out Blind Pilot, the band is making some of the most important music coming out of the U.S. today.
Blind Pilot’s debut “3 Rounds and a Sound” debuted nearly 18 months ago, but the record’s momentum has been organically building ever since. It’s a lush chamber pop album you can listen to without skipping a track, and while the single “One Red Thread” is a stunning, stand-out track, the LP doesn’t have a single lackluster song on it.
We caught up with Nebeker and his bandmate, drummer Ryan Dobrowski, to talk about writing songs in old buildings, covering Gillian Welch and touring via bicycle.
Question: I read on your Twitter account that you wrote/recorded a couple new songs about a month ago. What can you say about those — are they for an EP or full-length?
Ryan: Good to know someone is reading the Twitter. I just started that during Lollapalooza and am never sure if anyone reads it.
The recording was for an iTunes session that will be released around Christmas — the day after Christmas, to be specific. It is sort of a live recording done in a studio because the songs have evolved so much now that we have all of these other players. We did five songs including three from the album, a cover of “Miss Ohio” by Gillian Welch and one song that never made it onto the album — not because we didn’t like the song, but because we just weren’t sure how to record it.
Q: Where are you most comfortable writing music?
Israel: The woods, old buildings that feel old and real, small nooks set aside in the attic … I think the most important aspect of where to write, for me, is to go somewhere and bring an intent; somewhere that is distant enough to be a place just for that intent.
Q: And when are you typically most prolific? Early mornings? Late nights?
Israel: Fighting my way out of winters.
Q: You recently played a swing through Aspen and Telluride, two gorgeous places. But they can also be weird places. Any interesting things happen to you in either of those towns/shows?
Israel: When we got to Telluride, from the moment of getting out of our van and seeing the opera house, to walking down the streets and seeing the mountains, to riding up and down the gondola, our jaws were dropping the whole time.
We spent the afternoon after sound check just walking around the small city, astonished and laughing at how amazing and beautiful the place and people were. That show was the last of our tour, and it might have been our favorite.
Q: I read on Daytrotter that “Go On, Say It” was the first song you all wrote while planning your first tour on bike. Your ambitions were modest, but did that first bike tour end up meeting or exceeding your expectations?
Israel: Our ambitions were modest in most ways — we had almost no shows planned, and we knew we’d be playing for very small groups of people in towns that never get bands coming through. But in one aspect, I remember our ambitions were bigger than a lot of tours. We were trying for something a bit intangible. It ended up being the only time I can remember where I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Our path on bikes turned metaphorical, and I’ve never been in that as much as that particular time. So yes, it exceeded our expectations.
Q: Everything has gotten bigger since those days. Do you wish you could do another bike tour — or do you have plans to do another?
Israel: We have plans to do another. You can’t have everything at once, and we’re more than fortunate to have fans to drive to and play for all over the country. The bike tour was a certain time that we probably won’t recreate just the same again, but there are plans for more in the future.
Q: This next tour is such a massive tour, I have to ask: What do you like most/least about being on tour?
Ryan: It is great that we have been able to tour as much as we have this past year. I think we know what to expect now and have been trying to adjust things to make touring as enjoyable as possible.
It can definitely get grueling at times. Sitting all day and eating interstate fast food can get pretty tiresome. The trade-off is we get to play music every day to a whole new audience. To see people smiling and singing along 2,000 miles away from where we live is pretty unbeatable.
Read the full interview on The Post’s music blog, Reverb: Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
BLIND PILOT.
Chamber pop. Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Ave. with Mimicking Birds Saturday. 9 p.m. $13.25-$15. or 303-830-8497
