Jon Itkin profile picture

Jon Itkin

Big Gold Guitar In The Sky ...now available

About Me

BUY 'BIG GOLD GUITAR IN THE SKY' FROM ITUNES .
BUY 'OREGON' FROM ITUNES .
"Itkin deftly swings, trucks and soothes. He's far from the first singer-songwriter/roots-rocker whose songs pray to Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Jay Farrar. Not all prayers are answered with such promise."
-Rick Cornell, No Depression
“…one of the finest alt.country discs to emerge in 2007. You'd swear Portland, Oregon wunderkind Jon Itkin is decades older than his twenty-four years…”
-www.cheezeball.net
“Cut from varying parts Guthrie, Cash and Marty Robbins…”
-The Spokane Inlander
“The warm baritone [Jon] showcases on his latest CD…has an unpolished quality that works wonders for his confessional lyrics, giving them an even richer sense of honesty.”
-The Oregonian
“…his songs arrive without an expiration date…his agility with language shines…”
-The Eugene Register-Guard
“Every rockin' track on Gold Guitar really is pure gold; soulfully executed, lyrically stunning and punctuated with just the right amount of instrumental flair.”
-The Eugene Weekly
“…as lonesome and big sky beautiful as a McMurtry novel.”
-City Paper –Rochester, NY
“Combining the working-class vocabulary of Bruce Springsteen and the troubadour’s twang of Townes Van Zandt.”
-The Portland Tribune
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Jon Itkin is a 25-year old guitar playing songwriter currently based in New York City. He has two records out, Oregon and Big Gold Guitar in the Sky, both released while Jon lived in Oregon. A third album, currently untitled, is in the works.
Jon plays both solo and with a band, touching on sounds, styles and motifs established by classic American artists such as The Band, Townes Van Zandt, and Willie Nelson.
A student of books and writing, Jon brings a strong literary flavor to his music, leaning heavy on literal narrative to drive his lyric writing.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/10/2006
Band Website: jonitkin.com
Band Members:

Jon Itkin (acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, vocals)

New York Band: John David Hahs: Drums, Ben Sparks: Bass. Special Guests: Jeff Lampert, Pedal Steel & Luke Cissell, Fiddle and Mandolin

Some Like-Minded Souls (Portland band): Paul Prato (electric and upright bass), Al Bay (drums), Pat Munson (electric and steel guitars), Rich Landar (keys, accordian)
Influences: Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Band, the Stones, Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons, Wilco, Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, Beck, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson. John Lennon, Geore Harrison, Howlin Wolf, Skip James, Lefty Frizzell, Ry Cooder, B.J. Shaver, Townes Van Zandt, Richard Thompson, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Doug Sahm, Otis Redding, Son Volt, Gillian Welch, Jimmie Rogers, Tom T Hall, Roger Miller, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Richmond Fontaine, Emmylou Harris, T Bone Burnett, Neil Young, William Faulkner, Charles Bukowski, Raymond Carver, Robert Johnson, Guy Clark, John Prine, Waylon Jennings, Michael Bloomfield, Kris Kristofferson, James Burton, Clarence White, Roy Nichols, Ray Buchanan, Al Green, Steve Cropper, Stax Soul, Norman Blake, Fred McDowell...

And too many more to list.
Sounds Like: Nebraska-era Springsteen, Beck and Johnny Cash having a guitar pull at Armadillo World Headquarters.
Record Label: I'm my own damn record label
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Affordable music for affordable people.

Hey allI just thought I'd let you know you can now buy my entire catalogue as MP3's for a miniscule 11 dollars!!!That's right. In honor of the recession, just hit the links below and you can get Big ...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:16:00 PST

Got some of that No Depression Ink!!

I couldn't be happier about this. My favorite magazine in the world used some of their hallowed column inches on me. No Depression doesn't put its content online, so here's a reproduction of the mag...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 04:05:00 PST

Burning up the charts like tinder soaked in kersosene

Hey everybodyI'd like to take a moment to point out that my record, Big Gold Guitar in the Sky is getting a bunch of airiplay! And I didn't even pay somebody $2,000. Hit the links below to see the ...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 07:24:00 PST

More Press

Here's a couple nice things that have been said recently. this one's from www.cheezeball.net, one of the orneriest and pickiest review sites I've seen.  And one of the best. Desipte its dubious t...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 10:57:00 PST

Reviews: The Oregonian, The Register-Guard

The Oregonian article is part of a larger piece about three Portland albums see it here   Hidden pearls of talent Friday, March 30, 2007 BOB HAM With the sheer volume of music being released ...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:32:00 PST

Reviews of 'Big Gold Guitar...' Eugene Weekly, Willamette Week

Here's a couple reviews of my record that came out in the last couple weeks. More are on the way... Eugene Weekly see it here.Local Boy Does GoodJon Itkin's new album, Big Gold Guitar in the Sky, sh...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:49:00 PST

Big Gold Guitar in the Sky is now available on itunes...

Oh yes.  for those who don't care to be troubled by shrinkwrap, you can download my new record (and oregon, too) from itunes.  just click the link in the 'bio' section of my page. many thank...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Wed, 21 Mar 2007 01:31:00 PST

Willamette Week Profile

Willamette Week, Portland's Pulitzer Prize-winning weekly, did in fact run a profile on me this week. Check it out here:Willamette Week ProfileAnd here's the text for those too lazy to click.Natural ...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:45:00 PST

one of my songs is featured on willy week's localcut.com

that's right. willamette week was kind enough to make "My Work is Never Done," from my album Oregon the "song of the day" on localcut, their portland music website. and the word is they might run a ...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 03:58:00 PST

Unmastered rough mixes from Big Gold Guitar in the Sky are now up

That pretty much says it. For a limited time, you all can get a little preview of Big Gold Guitar In The Sky. Just listen to the songs on my myspace page. They're unmastered rough mixes, so they'll...
Posted by Jon Itkin on Sun, 24 Dec 2006 09:37:00 PST