Tommy & The High Pilots Return for Annual Xmas Show

For so many of us, the holidays are about coming home. And for Santa Barbara pop rockers Tommy & The High Pilots, no words could ring truer. Since forming in 2008, the band (made up of lead singer Tommy Cantillon, guitarist Michael Cantillon, drummer Matt Palermo, and bassist Steve Libby) has remained adamantly devoted to its live show and fans, which means long hours, endless show dates, and thousands upon thousands of miles traveled. (At press time, the guys were cruising from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Denton, Texas.) It also means that every year, right around the holidays, these four lads return home to (relatively) sunny Southern California to celebrate the season in style.

This Wednesday, the band takes to SOhO for its third annual Christmas show, and trust us when we say that 2010’s promises to be the best one yet. Together with part-time Santa Barbarans Dead Country, the Pilots will transform SOhO into a rockin’ winter wonderland, complete with lights, stockings, and the requisite stash of ugly sweaters. In addition, the guys will be mixing a whole bunch of new material in with the old favorites and Christmas classics. The show will be only the band’s second in town since they released their EP, American Riviera, in September, which means new tunes that have been road tested and tirelessly readied for this big hometown return. And with a mix of twangy folk, sweet four-part harmonies, and Local Natives-style buildups all making their way into the fold this time out, we’re certain that this Pilots show will be near-bursting with the kind of palpable, drum-fueled energy that demands to be rocked out to.

I recently spoke with Tommy from the road to talk shop about the EP, the recording process, and Christmas, Pilots-style.