“Unseriously Serious:” mypilotis (Awkwardly) Takes the Stage
By Luna Infante
Photography by Luna Infante & Nick Blevins
Blue and orange hues glistened off Chesca Umeno’s round glasses while she twisted side-to-side in front of her microphone from Stable Hall’s centerstage. Her black hair glided over her face as she strummed her guitar, and her powerful voice swirled through the round, tall venue. Umeno’s indie project — mypilotis (pronounced “my-pea-loh-TEA”) kicked off their first performance of the year in a perfectly unserious fashion on Jan. 9, accompanied by indie rock group, stillbefriends, and emo band, Roshii.
Friday evening’s sky shied from a soft blue to a blushed pink, welcoming a creative, electric night into the Alamo City’s historic Pearl complex. Five minutes after wrapping her sound check before the much-anticipated show, Umeno stood outside Stable Hall, slightly timid and effortlessly quirky as she opened the doors into her world — sharing insights about her artistic background, her open embrace of being awkward, and her goals on and offstage.
Umeno’s musical journey began almost two decades ago, offering a strong artistic foundation and prowess across multiple instruments, including voice. Umeno shared when and why she stepped into the musical world, “I’ve been kind of just doing my own music thing, but, at least 15 years ago, I don’t know, just [as] something fun to pick up. I like listening to music, so I just thought maybe I could play along with a couple of records in my room or something,” she said. “Like, ‘I want to learn all this stuff.’”
Joining the workforce allowed Umeno the financial means to invest in more musical equipment: “I started buying my own bass, keys, drums, and then kind of [following] the same process, just trying to do covers of other songs as [they were] fun to play.”
Umeno’s urge to perform live was rekindled by powerhouse J-pop girl group, Atararashii Gakko! “Just how they connect with people, and it just kind of provides an escape — going to these concerts,” Umeno said. “I thought, ‘That’d be cool to do.’” But the musical genius of mypilotis came by accident, a sneaky blessing in disguise.
After Umeno had posted a few song covers on YouTube, her cousin invited her to open for a birthday show.
“So it’s like, well, I’m only one person. I have songs, but it’s only me, like, ‘You want me to just do an acoustic set?’” Umeno recalled. “But around that time, the band that’s playing with me right now, they’re in a band called Roshii, who’s also playing tonight. So I helped them out with some stuff for San Japan, and they [were] like, ‘Don’t—don’t play solo. That’s silly,’” Umeno said. And the rest was history.
Umeno shared how she and her band stay close, shedding light on the importance of offstage connection between those who perform together.
“Oh, we just eat, really — to be honest,” she smiled, reminiscing. “We look up restaurants, and we eat, we hang out, we go to movies. And then sometimes, shows become like side quests,” Umeno exclaimed. “We started off as friends first,” she continued. “I was fortunate enough that they’re also musicians.” She added, “I hope when people see us perform, they see that connection and closeness and us being dorks on stage,” she said. “I think it’s really important, having that chemistry.”
When asked about what her wow factor is, Umeno hesitated.
“I never thought about it,” she laughed. “I wouldn’t say it makes us stand out, but what I personally like about the performance aspect for us is just like, we’re unseriously serious; we’re more unserious. We could just goof around and let loose, so we don’t take this too seriously.” Umeno continued, “We’re not afraid to show how—” she paused for a long moment, “awkward we are,” she said, tickled. “And then that’s weird, because it kind of developed into being on brand for mypilotis — to just [be] comfortable with being awkward.”
This charming embrace translates to handling pre-show jitters for Umeno and her bassist, Sophia Kurihara. “Sometimes, I get really anxious. Me and Sophie, out of the group, are, like, the most anxious,” she explained. “We’ll hit each other’s back as hard as we can,” Umeno pantomimed, turning to her side and hunching over, demonstrating how it goes something like, “‘Come on, hit me!’” she mimicked, swinging her arms up, then down, “Boom!”
Consumption of the craft is an artist’s favorite meal; creation alone is simply not enough. The switch from audience member to performer and vice versa is crucial. “It plays an important factor,” Umeno said. “You start getting ideas both ways, right?” she continued, “I think any performance, a show, is a two-way street, because we feed off of each other's energy,” Umeno explained. “As an audience member, I’m gonna give my energy so you can give back energy,” she said. “A tug and pull,” she described. “I don’t want to stand up there and just sing, like, ‘Look at me or my friends,’ or something. I want to be able to figure out a way to involve everyone so it’s memorable,” she persisted. “That way, [it’s] not just us having fun. Everybody has fun.”
Fun is an understatement. After stillbefriends rocked out in sunglasses and Roshii had the crowd bending down for dramatic effect, mypilotis closed out the night with an epic, memorable set in their matching tracksuits and voltaic stage presence.
As mypilotis performed its charming indie singles and nostalgic covers, Umeno’s voice penetrated Stable Hall’s walls. She had the audience’s heads moving, bodies grooving, and hands in the air. At first, arms rose for fun, then later — to many’s surprise — as a means to hold Umeno up through a crowd surf (not to worry, she wore a helmet). She danced, unseriously, in a shark costume, took to the balcony to shred an electric guitar, and led an encore after the crowd shouted, “We want more!”
Three words to describe mypilotis: “Goober, awkward, and fun,” Umeno said with a smile, and ironically, confident and unawkward as ever.
