Member Since: 24/10/2007
Band Website: www.janispruitt.com
Band Members: As Bob Dylan says, "Things Have Changed."A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
I enjoyed living in Louisville Kentucky from October of 2000 until this past August 2008 when I moved to Nashville. Things happened so fast the first year that I landed in Louisville! My first gig was opening up for Tim Krekel at Maiers Tavern and the response was so welcoming and reassuring. I then teamed up with Greg Bell, Ken Luchesse and Alex LaBorit to form the band, "JANIS PRUITT & THE MERCY BROTHERS." This was my first band since being a member of "12th GATE", an Atlanta based Rock Band back in the mid 90's. Before that I was a member of "CHICO'S MONKEY FARM," out of my hometown, Rome Georgia. In between all of that I've played solo and also in a duo with my good friend Chris Moorman while I lived in Macon Georgia, for close to seven years. Before that I lived in NASHVILLE where I was very busy as a soloist, performing, writing and recording. My emphasis was always on being the songwriter for others and it wasn't until I moved to Louisville that I was inspired to form a band of my own, performing my own material.
My last full band in Louisville was called, "THE JANIS PRUITT BAND," with Mike Williams, Mike Alger and Reed Davis. I recorded my debut CD, "STREETS OF ROME," in Louisville with Jeff Carpenter in 2004 at Alfresco Place. I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world because I had the help of Tim Krekel on every song. His insight and experience has made "Streets of Rome" a highly acclaimed recording which continues to open doors for me. I must mention my hero Mike Williams who helped me produce "Streets of Rome." He is the gentle force behind the scenes who helped guide me through all the rough spots. We went in to the studio with Mike Alger, Alex LaBorit and special guest Mark Hamilton, who filled in as my guitarist for about a year after the break up of The Mercy Brothers. Believe it or not the CD was recorded with all of us in one room, mostly one takes, as live as we could get to it in a studio setting, capturing that live performance appeal. After the release of "Streets of Rome, we then played every acoustic venue in Louisville during the past few years promoting the CD with Tim dropping in for many of my gigs. Here I also must thank Al Moreschi who invested so much of his time and resources to make this CD come in to fruition. I thank them all!
For the past year in Louisville, during 2008 I've played with the JANIS PRUITT TRIO, which consists of my best friend, Mike Williams, on Bass and my son, John Pruitt, on Congas. I will continue to play with them and hope to bring them to Nashville to perform whenever possible, where I've returned after 18 years to form my newest project, "THE PRUITTS."
AND NOW:
THE PRUITTS, a collaboration with my daughter, Jessica Cristen Pruitt, is going great! This is a collaboration that has been in our hearts to do for over 15 years and now we are walking it out and it feels so "on" and so "right." We've been recording with Todd Lombardo, an incredible player with an ear just like I've been searching for, so I'm thrilled to have found him and hope to feature him in some of our live shows as well. We're excited about delivering a real raw, acoustic but eclectic sound with our recordings and live performances. We will be recording our new CD here in Nashville and are shopping for interested producers at this time. The future is wide open and I haven't been this excited in a long, long time about the creative process of making music!"Streets of Rome" is available through CD Baby, Ear X-tacy in Louisville Kentucky, Barnes and Noble in Rome Georgia and coming soon at Great Escape in Nashville, Tenn. You can also order it through my website at www.janispruitt.com. If you are in Louisville, I suggest you buy it at Ear X-tacy because it is on sale at a discounted price there at this time. We will also have tunes available through our Myspace soon. Please check out "The Pruitts" new Myspace!Thanks and stay tuned for the next chapter!
Influences: Elvis, Beatles, Dylan, Eddy Arnold, Shirley Temple, Jimmie Rodgers, Ricky Nelson, The Everly Brothers, Doc Watson, Roy Clark, Chet Atkins, Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Marc Knophler, The Byrds, Jonathan Edwards, Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Maura O'Connell, The Red Clay Ramblers, Tim O'Brien, Jonell Mosser, Tom Petty and his Band, Janine Knight, Oliver Wood, The Wood Brothers, Tim Krekel, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Mark Germino, John Gorka, Sting, The Kinks, The Pretenders, Cheryl Wheeler, Michael Johnson, Merle Hagard, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parson, The Byrds, John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Sarah Vaughn, Richard Thompson, Teddy Thompson, Linda Rondstat, James Taylor, Alison Kraus, Pat Alger, Don Henry, Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield, Simon and Garfunkel, Buddy Mondlock, Don Henry, New Grass Revival, John Cowan, Neil Young, C,S & Nash and on and on...
Sounds Like: It really sounds like me, thanks to my special friends , Tim Krekel, Mike Williams, and all who helped me in the studio. Just CLICK ON THE CD to check them out!. I love and thank them all!
Record Label: Sunny Heights Publishing
Type of Label: Indie