The Guitar Player's Resource
As a guitar teacher in San Jose, California who decided to do instrumentals because of the lack of great singers to work with, Russ Pettit has released his CD entitled The Endless Journey. The album impresses upon first listen because you can hear the confidence in his playing as he rocks hard over the eleven tracks. Weaned on guitarists such as Jeff Beck, Robben Ford and Mike Stern, Pettit skillfully takes their influences and puts his own stamp on the rock and fusion music heard on the CD. You can hear that, unlike a lot of his peers, Pettit takes phrasing and melodic interest very seriously, and the results are ultimately very satisfying. You won't hear those long lines that start great and end clumsily or poorly here; Pettit finishes what he starts. A solid recommendation for the music on The Endless Journey. Russ Pettit was originally profiled in the February-March, 2007 edition of The Undiscovered.
Coming from a rock and roll background (Stones, Chuck Berry, Who, Zeppelin), it was Randy Rhoads and the music of Black Sabbath that convinced Russ to start playing guitar. At the age of 20 he was practicing up to 8 hours per day, and even had the opportunity to study with Joe Satriani. Now, Russ has been a performer and guitar instructor for over 15 years. He has played and studied in a variety of styles including jazz, blues, reggae, Latin, classical and folk. Russ' compositional style is marked by a focus on melody, because as he says, "I feel that a strong melody gives a song longevity and helps it to transcend generations." His CD represents a culmination of everything he has learned.
Pettit is currently organizing a band to support The Endless Journey in 2007, and will also be hosting clinics for Hamer Guitars.
Russ Pettit
United States
Web site: www.russpettit.com