In early 2008 Tommy Cantillon assembled Tommy & the High Pilots in Santa Barbara, California, after his previous band Holden dissolved without warning following a five-year run. As the group’s songwriter, singer, and guitarist, Cantillon opted to start over by moving from California to New York City, where he spent the next twelve months writing material and reconsidering his approach to music. His brother Michael Cantillon, who played guitar and keyboards, later joined him there, along with bassist Steve Libby and drummer Matt Palermo, two longtime friends from the West Coast; together they established the new band.
Entirely self-recorded and self-produced, Every Night appeared in 2009, with American Riviera arriving two years later in 2011. Also released in 2011 was the Sawhorse Sessions EP, tracked at Sawhorse Studios in St. Louis, Missouri. Only Human followed in spring 2012. In October 2014 the musicians announced they were changing the band’s name to Beta Play.
