The James Pitts Band
Suncook, NH | Established. Jan 01, 2016
Music
Press
James Pitts Band is a blues-rock power trio based out of Allenstown, New Hampshire and they are doing some amazing things. A band that's been together just over two years and hasn't even recorded their first CD yet. However they've gathered over 6000 likes on Facebook, over 7000 Reverbnation fans, they can be found on the Top Tens - Best Blues Rock Bands - Top Ten List and recently they broke the Top 40 bands on Reverbnation which in itself is a feat considering how many bands are on Reverbnation.
The James Pitts Band is fronted by guitarist James Pitts a veteran player who has spent the last 25 years performing throughout the country. Over the years James has been lucky enough to cross paths with some great players who he learned a lot from. James originally a Massachusetts native got his first taste of playing with a live band while sitting in with Big Boy Guitar and The Drive By Bloozin a band fronted by Mighty Sam McClain guitarist Pat Herlehy in the 90's. James recalls "Pat was great he really kind of took me under his wing so to speak and helped me get out there and play". James spent years playing around Mass and New Hampshire in various bands and had made a decent name for himself as a guitarist. In 2000 James and his wife moved to Hutchinson Kansas and remained there for 15 years. Over that time he fronted a popular mid-west band named Brick River for nearly 10 years, Brick River played all over the mid-west, they opened shows for or performed with acts like Pat Travers, Little Milton, Bill Murray, Brian Howe, Odell Reed, Michelle Blackmon, King Midas and many more. Eventually, he spent some time playing guitar for Ray Drew who was Bobby Blue Blands guitarist, he said: " I learned a lot playing with Ray, he was a great mentor to me". While he was living in Kansas he would go on to win the Battle Of The Blues guitar competition in 2013, and he would even be voted best guitarist.
In 2015 James and his family moved to New Hampshire and he immediately jumped back into the local music scene and was doing well until he suffered a severe case of Vertigo that left him unable to perform for nearly a year. In October 2016 he finally felt like he could perform without getting dizzy and put together the James Pitts Band on October 7th by October 30th the band was opening for world renown guitarist Eric Gales. The James Pitts Band continues to climb and is currently waiting to start recording their first CD. The band has some great originals like Misery, Just Fighting These Blues, We're Gonna Boogie, Come To Play The Blues, Hey Baby, Though You're Gone, Dear God, Once Again My love, You Better Run, Never Gonna Find It In Me, Evil, Our Loves Grown Cold and many more. They also have a lot of great covers they perform and they have some great crowd participation tricks and dance songs. Some of their originals have even been called hit songs for the genre by radio DJ's, music critics and even well-known blues artists who have heard the songs performed live. The James Pitts Band is prepping to make some big moves in the near future and everything is pointing towards that, we can't wait to see what the future holds for them.
Below you'll find some quotes about the band from other artists as well as concertgoers who have seen the band live.
The most talented group of musicians I have seen in years!! Can't wait to see them again, wish everyone could experience them.
-Barbara May (concertgoer)
Great guitarist and vocalist. The entire band was awesome!
-Peter Perry (concertgoer)
Great band & always a good time! Looking forward to seeing them play again soon! So enjoyable to listen too - they do an amazing job!
-Tara Brousseau (concert goer)
Awesome group...very talented musicians. Should check them out if you haven’t already.
-Lorraine Cordosi (concert Goer)
I've seen the James Pitts Band a couple times and I am blown away every time. These guys are amazing.
-Francis Simon (Live Music Reviewer)
"Everybody who Knows this band loves this band. Everybody who Discovers this band, goes out to see them. This ain't no flash. This is a lot of high octane talent"! - Billy Copeland (Bill Copeland Music News)
"James is an excellent guitarist, that knows a little bit of something about tone"
-Eric Gales (World Renown Blues Guitar Phenom)
"James is one of the finest guitarists I ever worked with. He's an incredible player"
-Ray Drew (Former Bobby Blue Bland Guitarist)
I got to jam with my old pal James Pitts who just moved back to New England from Kansas. Got Dang can that boy pick. Look out N'England.... James bout to rip shit up.
-Pat Herlehy (Mighty Sam McClain Guitarist/Sax Player and Big Boy Guitar Front Man)
You can find the James Pitts Band online at:
MoGuitar site
JamesPittsBand.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/jamespittsbandnh/
Reverbnation
https://www.reverbnation.com/jamespittsband
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thejamespittsband/
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvs6DQam3JhHIFQKikyojvA
If you get the chance to see the James Pitts Band I highly recommend checking them out. - Blues Tone Magazine
New England has a well-established blues community, with many great players, but there are also many up-and-coming artists emerging, ready to take the blues into the future. At the forefront is guitarist James Pitts and his band the James Pitts Band, who performs at the Strange Brew Tavern in Manchester on July 21.
Pitts has been performing and recording for over 25 years, citing a long list of inspirations that includes Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Gales, and Chris Cain. It’s no coincidence that the list of artists is heavily blues influenced.
“I play the blues because it is honest,” he said. “There’s no B.S. You can feel it. That is what music is all about. Sure, it needs to sound good, but for me, the feeling always comes first. Especially as a guitarist, it needs to come from your soul,” he continued.
“People can tell if you are being truthful and sincere. That’s what the blues is all about. You can’t fake it. That’s why I love it.”
Born in Salem, Mass, Pitts moved around quite a bit. He grew up primarily in Woburn. “We moved a lot while I was growing up,some how I always found my way back to Woburn” he recalled. “Whether I had to walk or ride a bike I would get there.”
Pitts choice of music as a career was likely influenced by his family. “I was really fortunate to have a music-loving family, most of whom played some kind of instrument” he said. “There was always an amazing album blasting in the house. We don’t listen to music quietly in my family,” he laughed.
“One of my earliest memories is sitting at my grandmothers piano and trying to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. ”
Over the years Pitts has managed to share the stage with some great acts, like Pat Travers, Little Milton, Bill Murray, Eric Gales, Odell Reed, Michelle Blackmon and even spent some time playing guitar for Ray Drew, Bobby Blands former guitarist. "Playing with Ray was a great experience, I learned a lot playing with him" he said.
For his band, Pitts has spent a lot of time trying to find the right players. “I attended a lot of blues jams, and posted a lot of ads” he said. “My wife and I have been hosting a jam for the last couple years and I met my bass player Chris Chesna through that."
Chesna has became a mainstay of the James Pitts Band. “The James Pitts Band has only been together about two years now, Chris has been with me for about a year” he said. “We really have fun playing music together, we're putting in all the time and effort to really try to make a great band and great music."
Pitts says "Right now I've got a lot of music I've written over the years, and quite a bit of newer material I've written over the last year or so." "We're hoping to have our first CD recorded and ready for release before the end of the year."
“People really love when I do Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix songs, and they also love the originals. There is one song in particular that will be coming out on the CD that’s called “Misery” that everyone really seems to like a lot,” he said. “It's a song about other people's misery and how it kind of seeps into your life and affects you, it's more of a blues-rock song.”
For his part, Pitts is happy with his career path, "We have a lot of fun that's for sure,” he said. “It is such a gift. We get to go up on stage and help people forget about their stress and their worries and just have fun.
“To be able to put a smile on someone’s face and help them forget about a bad day. That is what it is all about,” he said.
Next performance
Where: The Village Trestle
Goffstown, NH
January 18, 8pm-12am
No Cover.
You can find James Pitts Band online at:
James Pitts Band site
JamesPittsBand.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/jamespittsbandnh
Reverbnation
https://www.reverbnation.com/jamespittsband
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thejamespittsband/
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvs6DQam3JhHIFQKikyojvA
If you get the chance to see The James PItts Band I highly recommend checking them out. - Blues Tone Magazine
Discography
1993 - James played on a cd released by his uncle titled "Listen To The Voices Of Your Children"
1996 - James played guitar on the P.L.A.E.D.O cd "People Living And Endlessly Dreaming On"
1997 - James was recorded live on the air on WJUL 91.5 performing with the "Unknown Blues Band"
1998 - James played on DV8's debut cd "No Matter"
1999 - James played on D-Funkts cd "D-Funkt"
2000 - James played on Rood Moods cd "Taken Out'
2004 - James played on Brick Rivers debut cd "Hard Time Blues"
2006 - James played on Brick River cd "Bluesberry Jam"
2008 - James played on Brick River cd "Come Back Baby"
2010 - James played on - Brick River cd "Though You're Gone"
2013 - James played on LifeTribe debut cd "Reflection"
2015 - James played on Vagrants Heart cd "I Know You're Cheating Baby"
2016 - James was recorded live on WUML 91.5 with MoGuitar
2017 - James made two more live appearances on WUML 91.5 with MoGuitar
2019 - James will be releasing his debut album "Come To Play The Blues"
Photos
Bio
"James Pitts runs the gamut from sweet and smooth to uplifting to downright raucous without skipping a beat. He bends strings, works the slide and coaxes notes from the guitar only very accomplished guitarists can create and if that doesn't mean anything to you, you're not listening. Toss aside all of those years of Rolling Stone magazines inane "100 Greatest Guitarist" lists and listen to the music, fer chrissake! James Pitts is one. And if he's not on your list, he's on mine. He can freakin' play and it is all over Come to Play The Blues." - Francis Simon : Blues Tone Magazine
Stylistically hard to pigeonhole - - Is the music too blues for rock - or too rock for blues? -- to label the music is to limit it. Whether an improvisational jam or a carefully arranged song, James Pitts thirst for musical satisfaction is seemingly unquenchable. Equally capable of spontaneous serendipity as well as pre-planned perfection, this guitarist is truly in the midst of an all-encompassing love affair with the music he creates.
Born in 1976 and raised in a music-loving homes in various states throughout the U.S, James Pitts felt the calling to play after hearing blues great Stevie Ray Vaughan's song Lenny. A chance meeting with the former Mighty Sam McClain sax/guitar player Pat Herlehy catapulted Pitt's pursuit of a professional music career - what James terms "a turning point" in his life - when his mother orchestrated a chance for James to sit in with Pat's hometown band Big Boy Guitar & The Drive By Bloozin. He was called up for one but asked to play for three after the band heard him play. Later he would be asked to sit in at almost every local show the band did. James has sat in with many well known blues and rock guitarists and even been asked to go on the road with a couple, most recently he was asked by "Ray Drew" the former guitar player for Bobby Blue Bland.
Electric blues and rock fans searching for a new guitar hero need look no further than James Pitts, roaring across the country like a tornado. Nearly 200 shows a year since 1993 have proven his staying power while allowing him to develop his exceptional talents as a singer, songwriter and virtuoso instrumentalist.
James Pitts has been a music professional for more than 50 percent of his life. He's shared the stage with many of his heroes including Eric Gales, Johnny Winter, and Little Milton, as well as Popa Chubby, Pat Travers, and even actor/comedian Bill Murray. He has performed on concert and festival dates throughout the United States.
Band Members
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