Three Mile Pilot Return After 13-Year Silence

Posted on Sep 10th 2010 4:00PM by Linda Laban
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Temporary Residence

Some might call Three Mile Pilot's 13-year silence a break-up, but for the San Diego indie rock trio, it was merely a hiatus. The proof of that comes via a brand new album, 'The Inevitable Past Is the Future Forgotten,' due out Sept. 28, Temporary Residence, and the promise of a nationwide tour this fall.

Of course, the main reason for this lengthy silence is the success of the band members' splinter groups: Pinback, which features 3MP bassist Armistead Burwell Smith IV (aka Zach Smith) and drummer Tom Zinser, and Black Heart Procession, which includes vocalist/guitarist Pall Jenkins and latter-day 3MP pianist Tobias Nathaniel. "We never meant to not record again. We never said, 'Right. That's it,'" Jenkins tells Spinner. "I guess it's been that long, but our other bands got busy. Black Heart has put out six records. I forget how many Pinback's done, four or five. It was always our intention to continue with Three Mile Pilot then suddenly all these years had passed."

Jenkins doesn't want to dwell on why 3MP decided to take a break, which came after the release of what many regard as a career pinnacle, 1997's 'Another Desert, Another Sea.' However, like many bands at the time, 3MP got caught up in the post-grunge major label feeding frenzy and was signed by Geffen Records. The relationship stymied after the release of their second album, 'Chef Assassin to the Sinister,' in 1994, but not before the experience took its toll on group morale.

With that behind them, Jenkins prefers to concentrate on the present. He says that the new record might have a different sound to the angular, guitar-less mode they began with in the late 1980s but it's all a part of the same musical progression. "I'm sure we've all brought new elements from our other bands," he says. "We actually started recording together four or five years ago and slowly assembled these songs. It took me a while to get out of Black Heart Procession mode and remember the Three Mile Pilot sound. But once I did, it was just natural."