Monte Pittman, American guitarist notable for playing guitar for Platinum selling artist Madonna and Adam Lambert. Monte once was Prong’s guitarist as well.
Monte Pittman Interview
1. How was it recording your latest EP M.P.3: The Power Of Three, Pt. 1?
– It was great working with Flemming Rasmussen! We had one day in the studio and all 4 songs were recorded then.
2. Where did the ideas and concepts for the different parts on the EP come from?
– I have a bunch of songs written and I thought they were a little too extreme from each other to go together at first. Since I had a day to record with Flemming we were able to knock out the acoustic tracks. Since I had that ready to go, I decided to release it as an EP.
3. How was it recording with Grammy Award-winning engineer Flemming Rasmussen?
– It was great working with someone and you can reference something he has done before on one of your favorite albums. I could say “you know the effect you used on this song” and he knows exactly what to do. It sounded incredible from the very beginning. He has a certain signature that you hear in his recordings. Even though Metallica didn’t make acoustic/singer & songwriter types of recordings, they still had those elements as intros. You hear that same texture on “M.P.3: The Power Of Three, Pt. 1”
4. What do you think of promo videos nowadays with everything going on YouTube?
– I think it’s a great form of exposure! You can make your own commercials. It’s amazing to have that.
5. How is the current Madonna Tour coming along?
– We have 4 shows left and 2 more cities to go to. It’s hard to believe we’ve been working for a year and now that chapter is coming to a close. It’s been an amazing year! We’ve gone to places, yet again, I never imagined going to.
6. Would you say the music scene in general is getting better or worst?
– Music always revolves in cycles. There are a lot of promising things for upcoming artists that we never had before. People have more exposure to more types of music and more bands or artists. Then again, just about anybody can make an album and put it out there. Before all of this, you had to really work at it to get noticed. It separated the “men from the boys” so to speak. The days of record labels signing bands are dim and it appears that when someone gets massive, their failure is set up as part of the entertainment.
7. What were your earliest influences?
– When I was a kid, my sister turned me on to Kiss. That’s where it all started. I was born at one of the most opportune times in history. I got to be at the right age when a lot of new types of music were born. From Michael Jackson “Thriller” to Motley Crue “Shout At The Devil” as a kid all the way to Pantera “Vulgar Display Of Power” or the first time my friend came over with a VHS tape of this new band called Nirvana saying “you have to see this video!” (which was “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. I haven’t seen that kind of excitement in a long, long time.
8. What could we find interesting in your music collection at home?
– People usually find it intriguing that I like so many different types of music. I’ll go from Slayer to John Coltrane to the Beastie Boys to John Denver to Albert King to Tool to Bob Marley to Whitesnake to Dead Can Dance all back to back. I like all kinds of bands and music.
9. Could you describe what goes on in a day in your life as a musician on tour?
– On a good day you grab breakfast, definitely coffee, hit the gym unless your too exhausted from giving it your all the night before. Catch up on emails. Head to the gig. Get settled in. Soundcheck. Grab dinner. Check out the crowd. Call home. sit in the dressing room and make yourself relax and get ready for the show. Play the show. Head back to the hotel or on to the next city…
10. Without Social Media could bands today manage to survive?
– It’s created opportunities that have made peoples careers. I think the groups that survive would survive even if it weren’t around. It’s great that you can spread the word all over the world. The downside is that anyone can create a Twitter account and write you whatever they want and there’s no point in responding because you don’t even know this persons name or what they look like. People can get really brave when they can hide behind an avatar.
Extra Questions with Monte Pittman
Life without music would be – boring
Favorite movie – Walk Hard
Favorite sport – Baseball
Favorite food – Sushi
Favorite drink – Port
Favorite saying – When there’s smoke, there’s fire
Favorite car – the new Tesla cars
Favorite book – The Art Of War
Favorite band – Metallica
Star Wars or Star Trek – Star Wars
PC or Mac – Mac
Hope you all enjoyed the Monte Pittman Interview
Check out Monte Pittman Online