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Homegrown talent will kick off Jump, Jive and JamFest’s Saturday night of live music on May 17 when Texarkana indie band Pilotdrift takes the helm to lead listeners on a mysterious musical odyssey.

Pilotdrift opens for headliners Spin Doctors on the Scott Joplin Stage that night, and while Pilotdrift’s tunes surely sail on different waters, both acts have a devoted following.

With frontman Kelly Carr guiding the way, Pilotdrift has been mapping its territory with music that’s as interesting to listen to as it is difficult to define.

Working to finish its third album, Pilotdrift now consists of Carr, Eric Russel and John David Blagg.

It’s a time of transition for Pilotdrift after finding a great swell of success early on in the band’s ride.

After getting its initial buzz through live shows and the self-released “Iter Facere” in 2004, the band put out “Water Sphere” in 2005 on Tim DeLaughter’s Dallas-based label Good Records. “Water Sphere” combined new material with some reworked songs from the first CD.

“He saw that we were getting a real healthy crowd that was showing up for our shows and he became extremely supportive and asked us to go on tour,” said Carr.

Looking back, Carr said Pilotdrift’s success evolved quickly with everything seeming to come easily to the band. Connections were happening and things were rolling.

“I guess we kind of thought this is how it works. You just kind of sit and wait for things to happen,” Carr said. “And so everything was in place but it was just a matter of getting on the road and touring and playing shows.”

Pilotdrift played live with DeLaughter’s band Polyphonic Spree, the Tyler, Texas-based group Eisley and then, in early ‘06, went on tour for a month-long road adventure with indie superstars Supergrass.

But in the downtime between tours, not much was going on, said Carr, who says it was maybe too much too soon even though the band did pay its dues early on.

“We were used to making it happen ourselves ... (but) nothing happened. So things started getting to feel stagnant like we’re not moving,” said Carr, describing those days.

But Pilotdrift was certainly getting noticed on tour by such publications as the Washington Post, LA Weekly, Dallas Observer and the Montreal Mirror.

He said touring with Supergrass, his favorite band, “was the most amazing experience.”

Pilotdrift started work on a new album a little more than a year ago.

In that time, Carr and company focused on both their personal lives and doing music at the same time, explained Carr, noting “Looking Glass Insects” is one name under consideration for the new album. The inspiration for that possible name? Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

“Now we’re done mixing. We’re finally there this last week,” he said while sitting down to discuss the band’s direction last week. “It’s all just a matter of picking which songs will work in the album.”

Carr said he’s always wanted to make each song sound different from the others—even within the same album.

“I suppose that’s something I’ve found from music that influenced me,” he said, citing The Beatles. “It’s a complete universe on its own, each song.”

Now he’s looking forward to the challenge of making the songs work together and shape them into an album.

“There’s a few that kind of sound like they’re related, coming from the same mother ... it will be a challenge to see how to get it to work together,” said Carr.

As for Pilotdrift’s future, Carr said this show will probably be the last live show as the same Pilotdrift that fans have known.

Whichever direction the band sails next, Carr is excited about the band’s future.

“I’m just really excited about the possibilities of what I’m brewing up right now,” said Carr.



(Tickets for the Spin Doctors and Pilotdrift are $25. Pilotdrift will start things off at 7 p.m. Call the Perot Theatre at 903-792-4992 or visit www.jumpjivejamfest.org for reservations and tickets. For more information on Pilotdrift, check out www.pilotdrift.com and www.myspace.com/pilotdrift.)