[citation needed] Spent part of his youth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before moving to Longview, Washington, where he graduated from R.A. Long High School in 1976.

After changing the name to War & Peace, Pilson released a total of four albums, starting with 1993's Time Capsule, utilizing different players and lineups along the way.

During that time, Pilson, Goldy and drummer Tim Pedersen also had a heavy progressive rock project named 13th Floor although no album was ever released.

The album, which included a cover of Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning", was released in Europe and Japan in 2001 and Pilson put together a short-lived live band and performed a handful of L.A. club shows.

He became the bass player for Foreigner in the summer of 2004 when he joined an impromptu lineup consisting of founding member Mick Jones, Jason Bonham, Jeff Jacobs, Thom Gimbel, and Bonham singer Chas West for a benefit show for muscular dystrophy on July 25, 2004, in Santa Barbara, CA at Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort.

[17] 2020 saw Pilson part of yet another all-star project involving former bandmates, Robin McAuley and Reb Beach, as well as drummer Matt Starr from Mr. Big.

On October 31, 2022, it was announced the Pilson had joined forces with guitarist Joel Hoekstra and drummer Deen Castronovo to become part of the band Revolution Saints.

In addition to producing his own projects starting with War & Peace, Pilson has also worked in that capacity with several other acts, helming Benedictum's Uncreation (2006) and Seasons of Tragedy (2008), respectively, and Adler's Back from the Dead (2012).

[21][22] As of late 2014, Pilson had resumed production work on the debut album by Last in Line, a band featuring original Dio members Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell, with Andrew Freeman on vocals, which is due out in 2015.

[23] Pilson has also produced his two latest musical projects, The End Machine and Black Swan, whose debut albums were released through Italian label Frontiers Records in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Pilson played bassist Jorgen, of the fictional band Steel Dragon, along with Zakk Wylde, future Foreigner bandmate, Jason Bonham, who also contributed to the Soundtrack, with Miljenko Matijevic and Jeff Scott Soto as vocalists, who cannot be seen.