Chris Johnson: Vocals, Guitar Chris “Houston” Hughes: Guitar Phil Robinson: Drums Rob Kucharek: Bass
Autopilot Off are four guys who play hard, fast, and melodically, without gimmicks or flavor-of-the-month additives.
Writing and performing songs that can be shoehorned into the punk/pop genre, APO blast tuneage that is blisteringly hard and blissfully catchy. The punk/pop tag is cool with them, just as it is with the more established bands they’ve toured all over with: Sum 41, Less Than Jake, MXPX, New Found Glory, and H2O. “The music needs to change,” states Chris “Houston” Hughes, guitarist and de facto spokesperson for the group. “We want to bring an aggressiveness back, but in a real way. We want to prove that four regular people can do it, that you don’t need a lot of fancy stuff.”
Autopilot Off have been on a humble but steadfast mission to change the music in a positive way since the mid-‘90s. They mounted their campaign the old-fashioned way – by loading up the van and taking it to every town that would have them. Newly signed to Island Records, the plan is for their self-titled EP to be an introduction to a wider audience. To that end, the band has been in Toronto at Metalworks working with producer Greig Nori, a member of Treble Charger and producer of APO friends and labelmates Sum 41. “With an EP, we can be introduced to the kids without them having to spend a ton of loot,” says Hughes. “Everything is so different now, especially being with a major label when we’re used to doing all the indie stuff, an EP is a good way to get accustomed to everything.” Topping off the production will be Tim Palmer’s mixing skills – Tim recently was involved as a mixer for the Grammy-award winning U2 release, All We Can’t Leave Behind.
The quartet formed and began gigging in Orange County…not the punk rock mecca OC that is a suburb of L.A., but Orange County, New York, a lesser-known ‘burb about 40 minutes northwest of Manhattan. Autopilot Off began gigging at Legion Halls and Elk’s Lodges around home, where there was “a real strong DIY scene with a lot of people doing shows,” according to Hughes. “It was a good opportunity to grow.”
By ’99, the group tracked their debut Looking Up, issued on NY Internet label Fastmusic. The band got the music to kids however they could; selling the disc at shows, getting it in to indy stores, and offering tracks on the Autopilotoff web site (www.autopilotoff.com). Their website, which the band created and still maintains, became a focal point for fans, many of who joined the APO Ground Crew street team. Touring and the Internet became the reliable ways to get the band’s music to an audience. “We had no other options,’ shrugs Hughes. “We had no record sales. We weren’t this cool niche band that was hot for six months. We just slowly were growing and growing, we still are. If a tour came up, we just took it, no matter how good or bad it was.”
This experience of touring helped increase the band’s self-sufficiency. Everyone honed other skills to make the band run smoothly. Autopilot Off maintains their web site, generates all art, and handles all communication with agents and their label. As to getting in the van and making it work, Hughes admits, “We’re used to roughing it. It’s easy for us to say we can do a tour in a van. We can tour-manage ourselves. We don’t need a lot of extra help.” The band is also looking forward to a time when they can help out up-and-coming bands. “We want to headline shows and bring bands we like and bring friends. Be the headliner and have 1,000 there to see you and the show you put together, because it’s bands you like. That’s the goal.”
The self-reliant attitude can be heard in the lyrics, the songs, and seen in the way the band conducts the business of being a band. “Taking from the negative and making things positive, that’s kinda what this band’s always been about. Things have never been easy for us, but we never let that stop us. It was just fuel for the fire.”
Source: http://www.islandrecords.com/
