Chicago's Ghost Pilot Sets Course to Rock & Jam

An emerging band in the Chicagoland area is slowly making a name for themselves. In large part, because they can be seen every second Friday of each month at Silvie's Lounge.

Ghost Pilot (ghostpilot.com/) is one-part cool dudes with great riffs and another part jam rock. Their sound is an amalgamation of free-form improvisation in the spirit of Phish, while interweaving Particle's electro-experimental keyboards and spacey guitars.

"It's really hard to characterize our sound," said lead vocalist Mike Overmier. "We love rock music and we like to jam, but we really don't focus on extended jams. We typically play 45 minute to one hour sets so we have to limit our jams to be able to play a good mix of our songs."

Having been together for more than three years as primarily a quintet, the recent incarnate features Mike Montali, a long-time friend and new addition to the group. His exceptional guitar works seems to meld easily with the band's funky and experimental sound.

"People are really surprised after they see us play," said Overmier. "On one hand, no one really knows about us. But after they see us, they really like our sound and what we're doing. We've recently found that bands won't put us on their bill because people are really liking what we play. They [other bands] are claiming we're stealing the show."

In addition to Silvie's Lounge (www.silvieslounge.com), Ghost Pilot can be seen around some of the Windy City's area pubs as they are still attracting a following. Some of the band's recent gigs have also taken place at Quencher's Saloon, Kinetic Playground and Elbo Room.

After recently viewing a facebook-uploaded video, it's hard to believe their following hasn't grown. Likewise, in reviewing their myspace page, (www.myspace.com/ghostpilot), it's easy to see how they could attract a large crowd. It appears they have a mastery for their own original material in a song titled, Grandpaw Hands. But equally exciting, and a pleasant surprise, is a fun version of the Talking Heads' Born Under Punches. The band captured the essence of the 'Heads, while putting their own stamp on the song.

From some of the few observations posted online, it also appears the band captures the audience's attention, and has a lot of fun interacting with them. And as an emerging band, it is important to connect with the audience and make them feel like they have a personal relationship.

Now, with new tracks from a forthcoming self- titled CD coming out in less than a month, Ghost Pilot is setting a new course for the future. One that will surprise everyone, once you see them perform.