over the first two years the was in many ways the result of how the band The unique sound achieved Automatic Pilot grew came together from choral singers, players with jazz experience, and songwriters with a rock background and a taste for the avant-garde.

The standard for multi part singing in rock was set early by the Beatles and the Beach Boys. The psychedelic era had some complex vocal arrangements, from the Jefferson Airplane to te slicker Strawberry Alarm Clock. Not to mention the Fifth Dimension and the Starland Vocal Band. Although we used isntruments, we owe a lot to the whole a capella movement, from early doo-wop to groups like the Nylons, the Distractions, and the Bobs. Most punk and new wave vocal lines were fairly simple, often spoken. A notable exception was The Toons' "Punk Polka."

Automatic Pilot was formed by singers from the San Francsico Gay Men's Chorus just when the chorus was starting to receive acclaim and recognition for its musical excellence. We were motivated to live up to this standard, and equipped with our common experience reading music and singing together. So we were able to write vocal scores of a fairly high level of complexity.