Monte Pittman

Monte Pittman

Monte Pittman (born Monte Lee Pittman on November 17, 1975 in Longview, Texas) is an American musician, songwriter and singer. Pittman juggles duties playing with Madonna, Prong, and most recently, Adam Lambert’s live band. He has just released his first solo album, The Deepest Dark. Pittman lives in Los Angeles, CA with his family.

Career

Pittman started playing guitar as a teenager. His guitar teacher was Robert Browning. Pittman still calls Browning every now and then to ask him questions. Among the artists he cites as influences of his solo work (from his Myspace page): Nick Drake, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith, John Denver, Don McClean, Jim Croce, Bob Dylan, Acid Bath, The Beatles, America, Alice In Chains, Agents Of Oblivion, Radiohead, The Beach Boys, Cat Stevens, Jeff Buckley, Chris Cornell, Dead Can Dance, The Doors, Neil Young, Nico, Pink Floyd, Richie Havens, The Smiths, Spanky,Our Gang and The Zombies.

Myra Mains

Pittman’s first band was the 4-piece Myra Mains, headquartered in Longview, TX. The band was influenced by heavy rock/metal bands such as Pantera, Cannibal Corpse, Prong and Fear Factory, but also took influence from funkier, groove-based bands such as Fishbone and Rage Against the Machine. Myra Mains album Buried (1999) was mixed by Sterling Winfield, who has worked with Pantera, King Diamond, Damageplan, and Hellyeah.

Madonna

Pittman moved to Los Angeles in 1999 and worked at a guitar store as a salesman. He eventually quit to start teaching guitar lessons. Pittman’s third student was British film director Guy Ritchie, who had just received a guitar as a gift from his girlfriend, Madonna. Ritchie later returned the favor, buying Madonna her own guitar—and she began to take lessons from Pittman as well.

A month after Pittman started giving guitar lessons to Madonna, he was invited to join her onstage at the David Letterman Late Show to promote her album Music. The pair played guitar together on an acoustic version of the hit song Don't Tell Me. Subsequently, Pittman was invited to join the band for Madonna’s Drowned World Tour (2001). He has played in every incarnation of Madonna’s live band since then.

Pittman shares writing credits with Madonna on the tracks Easy Ride from American Life (2003) and It’s So Cool from Celebration (2009).

Additionally, Pittman has contributed performances to Madonna’s studio recordings, appearing on 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor (Like It Or Not), 2007’s Hey You charity single, and 2008’s Hard Candy (Spanish Lesson).

Prong

Pittman was introduced to Prong’s Tommy Victor by White Zombie drummer Ivan de Prume; the two hit it off, and Pittman joined Prong in 2000. He played guitar on their 2002 tour that spawned the live album 100% Live. Pittman handled guitar and bass duties for the 2003 album Scorpio Rising.

On Prong’s 2007 release Power of the Damager, Pittman wrote 5 of the 13 songs and provided backing vocals alongside bass duties. He is also credited as an associate producer for the remixed version Power of the Damn Mixxxer which was released on May 2009.

Citizen Vein

Pittman formed the rock band Citizen Vein with musicians he had worked with previously-- including Tommy Victor (Prong) on bass and Steve Sidelnyk (Madonna) on drums. After Pittman’s collaboration with singer Adam Lambert to write music for LA revue The Zodiac Show, Lambert joined the band on vocals.

The group members all had other projects to juggle, and Citizen Vein was put on hold indefinitely while Lambert competed on the reality television program American Idol. Lambert was the runner up on the show finale, but subsequently recorded and released his debut album, For Your Entertainment. Pittman is currently playing guitar with Lambert doing promos for the album.

Solo

Pittman has been known to perform solo acoustic shows in between his responsibilities with Prong and Madonna. His debut solo album, The Deepest Dark, was released in November 2009 and features 11 songs all written by Pittman, except for The Circle which was co-written with Tommy Victor and Adam Lambert. All the songs are acoustic.

Equipment

Guitars

Pittman has been seen using various guitars over the years, but seems to have settled into using the Gibson Les Paul as his primary guitar. He has also been known to play Gibson SGs and he has a number of custom made Gibson electrics, acoustics, and basses--frequently specially-built for use in Madonna shows.

Amplifiers

Pittman is endorsed by Orange Amplifiers and has a number of custom-built Rockerverbs and Thunderverbs. Most notable about Pittman’s Orange amps is the fact that none of them are orange in color (typically a trademark characteristic of the company’s amps)—he has been spotted playing through amps that are white, purple sparkle, and black. Madonna’s and Pittman’s stunning white Orange Rockerverbs from the Confessions Tour may have been the inspiration for Orange to offer their entire range of UK built amps in Limited Edition White Finish during 2009.

Effects

Like most guitarists, Pittman’s effects change from show to show, but he has consistently employed the Roger Linn AdrenaLinn, the Emma DiscomBOBulator, and the Keeley Compressor. He has been known to use Eventide, [[Boss Corporation|Boss], MXR, Crybaby, Ernie Ball, Electro-Harmonix, Digitech, Line 6, [[Dunlop Manufacturing|Dunlop], and Fishman effects pedals.

Discography

Solo

• The Deepest Dark (2009)

Madonna

• American Life (2003)
• Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005)
• I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2006)
• Confessions Tour (Live) (2007)
• Hey You (single) (2007)
• Hard Candy (2008)
• It’s So Cool (2009) (Celebration Bonus Track)

Prong

• Scorpio Rising (2003)
• Power of the Damager (2007)
• Power of the Damn Mixxxer (2009)

Myra Mains

• Condition (1996)
• Buried (1999)

Other Artists

• Melanie C – Reason (2003)
• Sophie Ellis Bextor – Shoot From the Hip (2003)
• Run Run Run – Endless Winter (2006)
• Run Run Run – Good Company EP (2007)
• Jes – Disconnect (2007)
• Nicki Richards – Nicki (2008)

Notes

Monte Pittman: The Texas Trail to Prong and Madonna Prong at Twisted Talent Concert

External Links

Monte Pittman on MySpace Monte Pittman on Twitter Monte Pittman on Facebook