INTERVIEW: Friday Pilots Club
by Rianne Akindele
PC: Emma Zanger (@emmaaazanger)
After meeting four years ago at a Chicago party, following their departures from their respective hometowns to attend Columbia College, Friday Pilots Club—a duo consisting of Drew Polovick (multi-instrumentalist/producer) and Caleb Hiltunen (vocals)—was born. Shortly after the two hit it off due to their incredibly complementary nature and started their musical project, they played their first show together at House of Blues Chicago. In the four years since then, they’ve signed to Big Machine Label Group with plans for a debut EP around the corner.
Before they were Friday Pilots Club, though, they were Caleb from McCordsville, Indiana, and Drew from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Drew elaborated on growing up in Ann Arbor, stating that it was a privilege to grow up there, as the “public schools are amazing and there is such a strong community of artists and support for the arts within the city.” With the support of the city, plus his family, Drew was able to pursue his dreams from an early age, after realizing that he “wasn’t really passionate about anything besides music.” He even went so far as to confess that he wouldn’t “know where [he] would be if it wasn’t for growing up in Ann Arbor.”
Drew describes himself as a music nerd who knows “the ins and outs of music theory and equipment,” which allows him to be “super nitpicky and a bit of a sonic stickler.” This, combined with the talents of Caleb on vocals—who is a bit of a “vibe guy,” allowing him to “lead songs into the right character with his lyrical choices and vocal tone”—makes for a perfectly symbiotic team that glances at each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They describe their sound as “no-nonsense, multi-dimensional and exploratory music, existing somewhere within the alt-rock sphere.”
Recently, I spoke with Caleb and Drew on the tail end of the release of their latest single, “Breaking My Bones,” which speaks about how we sometimes change our online persona to fit an image that may not be true to who we are. This track was a bit of a step away from their usual sound due to the band wanting to “bring something fresh into the studio.”
Additionally, I was able to have a chat with the band about random scene phases growing up, their influences from Every Time I Die to Ariana Grande to Roddy Ricch, how Drew working as a producer for the group affects their sound, and the ups and downs of social media.
How have y’all been? How’ve you spent your time in quarantine? Any staple books, films, snacks, Animal Crossing?
Drew: Good! A lot of writing. We’ve probably already got the start of the next Friday Pilots Club record while we’ve been locked up. [I’ve watched] a lot of movies and TV shows—notably, the OG Texas Chainsaw Massacre (always been a fave but now solidified after my 5th viewing) and Breaking Bad (2nd time watching). Those are probably my personal favorites from the last couple of months.
Did you guys go through any random phases like an emo phase or preppy phase growing up?
Drew: Oh yeah, big time. I know this whole “I did x before it was popular” saying is so trite, but I really wore skinny jeans before it was popular and got made fun of all the time. I also used to paint my nails black, wear huge skate shoes with no laces in them, and wear my belt outside of my belt loops. I don’t think that qualifies as an “emo phase” as much as it does a “really bad fashion” phase, but given the fact I was listening to a lot of mid-2000’s metalcore [at the time], I would maybe include myself in that scene.
You mentioned that when you met, y’all bonded over nerding out about music. Are there any topics that, once you get going, you never run out of things to say about?
Caleb: We will go on and on about the character of a song, as in what is the perspective of the person singing the song and what is the emotional place that it comes from. There are a lot of times we get so deep in the conversation, we end up coming up with concepts for 2 or 3 other songs outside of the song we started talking about.
So, with Caleb on vocals and Drew on guitar/production, how do you two come together when it’s time to write and create a new song?
Drew: The process for each song is totally different. Sometimes, Caleb sends me a voice memo of him playing an idea on acoustic guitar or ukulele, or I send Caleb some instrumental idea to see if it sparks anything creatively for him. Sometimes, we just text each other because we’re both in the mood to write, and we just start coming up with something from scratch in my studio.
How do you think things are different since Drew is there to work on production?
Drew: I think that, with me doing the production, there is more of a seamless transition and integration between the songwriting and production processes. There are no third parties involved with our writing/production process so whatever sound we want, is the sound we get, and we can do it right then and there when we are working on the songs. So, ultimately, I think it leads us to be more creative in the studio and feel more uninhibited with our sonic search.
Your latest single, “Breaking My Bones,” is about how people kind of create these characters of themselves online with the help of social media. What message are you all trying to send with this song?
Caleb: There’s no major “wake up sheeple” message to this one; it’s more just playing with the idea that we all contort ourselves in some weird, new ways for the sake of being “cool online” and how fucking tedious it can be.
Do you think social media has allowed people to more freely express themselves or the opposite, as some may take in what they see from others and think that that is how they should be/ how they should act?
Drew: Both. This song was ready to go before the mass protests started which was ironic because the online environment cultivates so much positivity and support for individuals who may feel isolated in these times but, also, sometimes it can zap individuality and create drones of humans whose value systems are completely reliant on the likes of people they may never meet, who probably don’t really care that much about them. I love this question because it points out the obvious duality of this giant monster we call the Internet.
What do you guys think about how social media is currently being used to spread awareness and information on the many social injustices in the world?
Drew: Social Media in 2020 is this sort of enigmatic, double-edged sword that we haven’t quite figured out how to wield. You see the immense amount of power that lies within the sharing of information and resources, and the sense of solidarity that can be found amongst an online community—which is especially important in the age of COVID when we can’t see each other in the flesh—but, simultaneously, you see the danger of intentionally spreading misinformation and that there are people who can say whatever they want online, where they can hide behind a keyboard. It’s hard to say if the positives outweigh the negatives, or if that is even a quantifiable conversation we can have, but I personally think the way it’s being used to support the current movements is a great thing.
You’ve mentioned that you can’t wait to play “Shades of Red” live again. What makes that song special or even more fun to play live?
Drew: “Shades of Red” is probably the heaviest and most punishing tune to listen to and play that we have ever written and it’s just an absolute blast.
Seeing as you all have influences and favorites ranging from Roddy Ricch to Sam Fender to Every Time I Die to Ariana Grande, how have you kind of brought those influences together to make the Friday Pilots Club’s sound?
Caleb: I think what we bring from all of our backgrounds and inspirations is a sense of musical intensity and integrity. We want our songs to be a direct reflection of emotion and personal experience, and we listen to and draw from a wide selection of artists to capture the wide range of emotions and personal experiences there are out there. Variety is the spice of life!
If you had to make a dream festival or maybe even one-night concert lineup who would you choose?
FPC: Slipknot, The 1975, Beyoncé, Friday Pilots Club
There was a mention of Drew drinking La Croix on tour via your Instagram story. Do you have a favorite flavor?
Drew: Lime. Always lime. I say, “If it ain’t lime, it ain’t worth my time.” Hard to believe LaCroix didn’t even pay me to say that.
I know touring is pretty much off the table for the foreseeable future, but what can fans and listeners expect from you all in the near future?
FPC: More music. Livestream show, perhaps. Lots of content. Expect us.
Anything else you’d like to add?
FPC: Black Lives Matter.
Thank you so much to Drew and Caleb for taking the time to speak with us. We hope you enjoy and check out their music on all streaming platforms! Keep up to date with them via their socials below.