Three Mile Pilot


Three Mile Pilot is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California, United States, formed by Armistead Burwell Smith IV from Pinback, Systems Officer, Neighborhood Watch ) on bass and vocals, Pall Jenkins on vocals and guitar, and Tom Zinser on drums.

History

1991-2000

The group released their first album, Nà Vuccà Dò Lupù in 1991. It was recorded and mixed in three days, composed only of bass, vocals, and drums, and released on Cargo/Headhunter. Their next record, The Chief Assassin to the Sinister, came out in 1993, with a vinyl version released by Negative Records and then later by Goldenrod Records. It was significantly darker and introduced Jenkins on guitar. Geffen Records took an interest in the band, re-issued Chief with three new tracks produced by Tchad Blake, backed three months of touring and set them up at Seattle's Bear Creek Studios to produce a new album with Steve Fisk. Because of internal strife over the belabored new album Another Desert, Another Sea, Geffen dropped 3MP, allowing them to keep their masters which were later released by Headhunter. They added Tobias Nathaniel on piano/keyboard and released Another Desert, Another Sea in 1997. Several seven inch releases followed on various labels, as well as a self-titled EP released on Gravity Records the following year. Songs from the seven inch releases and other unreleased tracks were gathered in a two-CD compilation titled Songs From an Old Town We Once Knew, released on Cargo/Headhunter in 1999.
3MP's early releases often referenced the cult sci-fi computer game series Star Control, as evidenced by album and song titles such as Star Control Out, "Chenjesu", "The Ur-Quan Destroyer", "Androsynth Guardian", and "Ilwrath", simply because they liked the names.

Reunion

After years on the backburner writing material intermittently, Three Mile Pilot partnered with indie label Touch and Go Records working toward a new album and played the uber-weekend extravaganza Touch and Go 25th anniversary festival in Chicago in 2006. Following the downsizing of Touch and Go the band moved on and is now partnered with Temporary Residence Limited. Pinback and Blackheart have also both moved from Touch and Go Records to Temporary Residence Limited.
Three Mile Pilot played three sold-out shows at Tim Mays' The Casbah on January 18, 19, and 20th of 2009 as part of the venue's 20th anniversary celebration. The line-up included Pall Jenkins, Armistead Burwell Smith IV, and Tom Zinser, as well as Kenseth Thibideau on keyboards, and Brad Lee on bass and guitar.
The band toured the west coast in July 2009, their first tour in over ten years, and re-released their earlier work as a handmade six CD box set titled Three Mile Pilot: 1991 - 1999. They announced that a new album was nearly finished and that in October 2009, a seven inch with two new songs would be available. Their latest album entitled The Inevitable Past is the Future Forgotten was released on September 28, 2010 to much critical acclaim. This was their first album in over a decade.

Discography

;Studio albums
;EPs
;Compilations
;Singles