Chris Pitman
Encyclopedia
Chris Pitman is an American musician best known for his involvement with hard rock
band Guns N' Roses
. A multi-instrumentalist
, Pitman is known to play keyboard
s, guitar
and drums
, in addition to his role as a lead
or backing vocalist
. Pitman currently fronts alternative rock
band SexTapes and performs with Guns N' Roses, and previously worked with such bands as Lusk, Replicants
and Tool
.
Pitman studied at the Art Institute of Kansas City
and the University of Missouri
. In 1993, Pitman worked with the controversial artist Les Levine. The following year, Pitman worked with Dr. Dre
in Dre's home studio. He also joined Tool
on tour and played synth on Tool's album Ænima
. In 1995, he appeared on the album Bourgeois Kitten by Blinker the Star
.
Pitman was co-founder of Los Angeles
-based art coalition 'Priory of the North,' which focuses on conceptual/public
art and works primarily with oil painting, lithography, oils, and metal. His Land/Environment projects have been onsite in various Midwest regional farmland sites in Lafayette County and Johnson County, Missouri. His Rio de Janeiro site-specific work titled "Mind/Land" has been delayed until permits and visas for such materials can be imported. This work has been in progress since 2003.
. On the record Pitman plays mostly keyboards and sub-bass
as well as programming and background vocals, he plays a 12-string guitar on "If The World" and a Mellotron
on "There Was A Time". He also co-wrote the songs "If The World" and "Madagascar" alongside frontman Axl Rose
; it has also been confirmed that he and the band's other keyboardist Dizzy Reed
are the songwriters and composers of the unreleased performed live track "Silkworms" which Pitman confirmed is just a demo that didn't make the cut on the album. Pitman has performed live with Guns N' Roses since their comeback concert in January 2001 and alongside Tommy Stinson
, he has been one of the longest members to remain, longer than former members Steven Adler
, Izzy Stradlin
, Gilby Clarke
and Slash
.
and electronic work for Arturia software synthesizer
s, A Designs Audio [Peter Montessi], Waves Plugins, Waldorf Synthesizers, Apple's Logic Audio, Digidesign Plugins, Moog Synthesizers, Celemony's Melodyne, Ableton Live, Roland USA, Korg Music, Serge Synthesis [SMS], PlanB Synthesis [Peter Grenader], [Axel Hartmann] Neuron Synthesis, and Symbolic Sounds Kyma, Mandala Drums, Steven Slate Drums, Native Instruments.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
. A multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, Pitman is known to play keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, in addition to his role as a lead
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
or backing vocalist
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
. Pitman currently fronts alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band SexTapes and performs with Guns N' Roses, and previously worked with such bands as Lusk, Replicants
Replicants (band)
Replicants was a four-piece band, consisting of Ken Andrews, Paul D'Amour, Greg Edwards, and Chris Pitman, which has been on hiatus since 1996. The group has only released one album, a self-titled cover album, in 1995...
and Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
.
Pitman studied at the Art Institute of Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
. In 1993, Pitman worked with the controversial artist Les Levine. The following year, Pitman worked with Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
in Dre's home studio. He also joined Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
on tour and played synth on Tool's album Ænima
Ænima
Ænima is the second studio album by American rock band Tool. The album was released on September 17, 1996 in vinyl format and on October 1, 1996 in Compact Disc format. The album was recorded and cut at Ocean Way, Hollywood, California and The Hook, North Hollywood, California from 1995 to 1996...
. In 1995, he appeared on the album Bourgeois Kitten by Blinker the Star
Blinker the Star
Blinker the Star is a Canadian indie rock band, originally from Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. Band leader Jordon Zadorozny is known for having cowritten songs with Courtney Love...
.
Pitman was co-founder of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based art coalition 'Priory of the North,' which focuses on conceptual/public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
art and works primarily with oil painting, lithography, oils, and metal. His Land/Environment projects have been onsite in various Midwest regional farmland sites in Lafayette County and Johnson County, Missouri. His Rio de Janeiro site-specific work titled "Mind/Land" has been delayed until permits and visas for such materials can be imported. This work has been in progress since 2003.
Guns N' Roses
In early 1998, Pitman joined Guns N' Roses as the band's second keyboardist and second bass player as well as performing backing vocals; he helped the band make a complete finalized new lineup. He has been a member of Guns N' Roses ever since and was featured on keyboards on the non-album single "Oh My God" in 1999 and on every song on the long-delayed sixth studio album Chinese DemocracyChinese Democracy
Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" , released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio...
. On the record Pitman plays mostly keyboards and sub-bass
Sub-bass
Sub-bass is a term used to describe audible sounds below 90 Hz and extending downward to include the lowest frequency humans can hear, typically 20 Hz. Sound systems often feature one or more subwoofer loudspeakers that are dedicated solely to amplifying sounds in the sub-bass range...
as well as programming and background vocals, he plays a 12-string guitar on "If The World" and a Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
on "There Was A Time". He also co-wrote the songs "If The World" and "Madagascar" alongside frontman Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
; it has also been confirmed that he and the band's other keyboardist Dizzy Reed
Dizzy Reed
Dizzy Reed is a contemporary rock musician, and occasional actor. He is best known for his tenure as the keyboardist & pianist for the rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has played, toured and recorded since 1990...
are the songwriters and composers of the unreleased performed live track "Silkworms" which Pitman confirmed is just a demo that didn't make the cut on the album. Pitman has performed live with Guns N' Roses since their comeback concert in January 2001 and alongside Tommy Stinson
Tommy Stinson
Thomas "Tommy" Eugene Stinson is an American musician best known for his work as the bassist for The Replacements and Guns N' Roses as well as the post-Replacements groups Bash & Pop, where he performed guitar duties, and Perfect...
, he has been one of the longest members to remain, longer than former members Steven Adler
Steven Adler
Steven Adler is an American musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s...
, Izzy Stradlin
Izzy Stradlin
Jeffrey Dean Isbell , known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of its fame in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band Izzy...
, Gilby Clarke
Gilby Clarke
Gilbert "Gilby" Clarke is an American guitarist and record producer best known for a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour...
and Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
.
Musical collaborations
Chris Pitman has collaborated with a number of well-known acts, as well as founding a number of experimental projects.- XR4 - Vocals, electronics in 1982.
- ReplicantsReplicants (band)Replicants was a four-piece band, consisting of Ken Andrews, Paul D'Amour, Greg Edwards, and Chris Pitman, which has been on hiatus since 1996. The group has only released one album, a self-titled cover album, in 1995...
(BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
/Zoo) - Record of cover material by Pitman, Ken AndrewsKen AndrewsKen Andrews is an American musician and producer, based out of Los Angeles, California.Andrews was born in Seattle, Washington, and attended film school in Los Angeles before his band Failure received a record deal from Slash Records.He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and...
, Greg Edwards, and Paul D'amour. - ZAUMZAUMZaum was an electronica project band that includes Tool drummer Danny Carey, along with Tool associates Chris Pitman, Vince DeFranco, and Marko Fox.The official Tool newsletter of April 2000 had the following to say the about the project:...
- guitar, electronics, and lead vocals with Danny Carey of Tool, and Marko Fox of SexTapesTM. - ToolTool (band)Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
(BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
/Zoo) - In 1994/95, Pitman toured with them and, in 1996, played synths on the song "Third Eye". - FailureFailure (band)Failure was an American rock band that was active from 1990 to 1997, during which they recorded and released three critically acclaimed albums...
- Contributed sound effects and sound mixing. - LuskLusk (band)Lusk was a short-lived psychedelic rock "supergroup" featuring members from Tool, Replicants, Failure and Medicine.-History:The band formed when bassist Paul D'Amour, having recently departed from Tool, and keyboardist Chris Pitman got together. Greg Edwards and Brad Laner joined them shortly...
(BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
/Zoo) - Recording, production, mixing, mastering, lead vocals, multi-instrumentation in this Grammy-nominated band in 1996-97. - Sony Panic (DogFight) - Guitar and live software management with this L.A. experimental/improvisational band in 1997.
- Blinker the StarBlinker the StarBlinker the Star is a Canadian indie rock band, originally from Pembroke, Ontario, Canada. Band leader Jordon Zadorozny is known for having cowritten songs with Courtney Love...
(A&MA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
& DreamworksDreamWorksDreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
) - Contributed keyboards to the song "Kween Kat" of the album Bourgeois Kitten in 1996. Co-wrote the single "Below the Sliding Doors" in 1998. - Savvy Soviets - Production/collaboration in Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
in 2003. - Electric CompanyElectric companyElectric company can mean:*Electrical power industry*Electric Company *The Electric Company *The Electric Company...
(Tigerbeat6) - Synthesizer on the album Creative PlaythingsCreative PlaythingsCreative Playthings was an educational toy store and catalogue that was established by Frank and Theresa Caplan in 1945. The goal of Creative Playthings was to provide simple and beautifully designed toys to promote a child’s creativity and imagination....
. Played live with this Brad Laner electronic music project in 2004. - The Source of Uncertainty - Recording with Danny CareyDanny CareyDaniel Edwin "Danny" Carey is an American drummer best known for his work in American Grammy Award-winning rock band Tool...
and others in 2008. - SexTapesTM - Working with Kelly Wheeler, Marko Fox, and Ryan Brown starting in 2006.
- Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
- In 1998, Pitman joined this hard rock band as songwriter, co-producer, and instrumentalist.
Workshop projects
Pitman has also done sound designSound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
and electronic work for Arturia software synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s, A Designs Audio [Peter Montessi], Waves Plugins, Waldorf Synthesizers, Apple's Logic Audio, Digidesign Plugins, Moog Synthesizers, Celemony's Melodyne, Ableton Live, Roland USA, Korg Music, Serge Synthesis [SMS], PlanB Synthesis [Peter Grenader], [Axel Hartmann] Neuron Synthesis, and Symbolic Sounds Kyma, Mandala Drums, Steven Slate Drums, Native Instruments.
Current status
- SexTapesTM: On ToneRiot Records 2008. Lead Vocals, multi-instrumentalistMulti-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, with Kelly Wheeler (Guitars), Marko Fox (Bass), Ryan Brown (Drums) recorded at The Pass Studios (Hollywood).
- Source of Uncertainty: Recording in 2007 - with Danny Carey (multi-instrumental). An Experimental project involving only pre-1960s devices.
- Nowhere Man (Single) feat. Chris Pitman: On Rick Devin's Old School - 2" CD, Red Cloud Records Records 2011. Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, with Rick Devin (Lead Vocals, Back-Vocals, Guitars, Bass), Chet McCracken (Drums), recorded at Stray Horse Studios (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).