Curtis Prince
Gig Seeker Pro

Curtis Prince

Charlottesville, Virginia, United States | SELF

Charlottesville, Virginia, United States | SELF
Band Folk Rock

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Curtis Prince "Wishing for Rhymes""

Curtis Prince is a fine folk-rock singer. These three songs take on a wide range of topics, and Prince takes them all on well.

While "Move On" looks forward to new life vistas, "Pushin Up Daisies" contemplates death -- of all things. Lastly, on "Miles and Years" prince considers time. Every song is something heavy, just like a good folk song. Well done! - Dan MacIntosh Indie-Music.com member


"" Wishing for Rhymes""

Wishing for Rhymes is a compelling disc of great tunes and highly skilled musicianship. It’s most worthy of many spins.

Patrick Norton
Executive Director
Narrows Center for the Arts - Patrick Norton, Executive Director, Narrows Center for the Arts.


""Wishing for Rhymes""

WOW - breath of fresh air

by John Fuller
Been a long time since I heard such great original music. Introspective and powerful lyrics coupled with incredible finger style acoustic guitar pull an album experience together that begs to be listened to from beginning to end non-stop. On top of all this - this guy SHREDS the electric guitar. Two thumbs up and looking forward to hearing more from this great new artist on the scene - John Fuller


"" Wishing for Rhymes""

Beautiful! A must buy!

by RiB111
Soulful, well crafted lyrics and outstanding acoustic and electric guitar combine into one amazing album! Eagerly waiting to hear more from this great new artist! - Rick North


""Wishing for Rhymes""

I love an album that I can listen to completely, without having to skip to the next song. This is one of those! It's because I love the soulful style of playing and singing on this CD! On "Wishing for Rhymes", Curtis' songwriting skills jump out at you and pull you in. The guitar playing, whether it is a sweet acoustic fingerpicked melody or a blazing lead line, is top notch. The electric tones have a classic sound that grab you and make you listen. Favorites for me are, well the whole lot of em! If I had to pick three though, "Miles and Years", "Love Her Ways" and "Move On" might top my list. Everyone should give it a listen! - Mike Williams


Discography

Curtis Prince "Wishing For Rhymes"

All my songs can be streamed at:http://www.americansongspace.com/CurtisPrince

I have been receiving radio airplay at WTJU
http://wtju.radio.virginia.edu/

My song "Miles and Years" is currently holding the #8 position on the Indie-Music folk/rock charts, with "Move On" and Pushin Up Daisies" At #s 21 and 26 respectively.
http://www.indie-music.com/bands/chart.php/pagebreak=20/chart_days=60/genre=Folk+Rock/header_template=logo_chart_header.tpl/row_template=chart_1_row.tpl/footer_template=logo_footer.tpl/pagenum=1/

Photos

Bio

I practically came out of the womb singing. My whole family were musicians, both sides for generations. Coming from Europe and settling both in Alabama and New York, everyone sang, played instruments or at least whistled. They were piano builders, Vaudvillians, producers, directors, and musicians, doing everything from working for CBS to hosting old timey radio shows, to Opera stars, to just family piano playing around the house.

By age six I was playing the harmonica and piano and singing along with Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, C.S.N.&Y., The Beatles, and well, all the popular artists of the time. My sisters had great collections of albums and they are basically where I first got turned on to Rock and Roll. My brother-in-law turned me on to the guitar at nine years old and I took to it quickly, playing along with all the albums and sounding out tunes and solos. Right away I began writing songs...music anyway, and that always seemed to me to be the thing to do. I always say I took guitar lessons from Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. Though I don't even imagine myself to be that kind of maestro, they were definitely my teachers and inspiration.

I started playing in bands in middle school, and singing in the chorus, which I did all the way through high school. I even made regional chorus one year in which I sang a solo.
Eventually, I took guitar lessons from a Berklee Music School grad who became a big influence for me and I decided to attend Berklee. Soon after arriving in Boston I went to see a Dead show in DC and on the way I picked up a hitchhiker that was also on his way to the show. We became fast friends and started a band we named Flat Rabbit. Berklee fell by the wayside as the band picked up steam. I was also playing with a few reggae bands on Cape Cod and filling in with some singer songwriters as accompaniment and sometimes writing hooks for their tunes. These experiences were my first real look at singer/songwriters. Flat Rabbit had a good run in Boston, playing all the original rock clubs at that time, like TT the Bears, The Rat, The Middle East, The Channel, The Boat House on the South Shore, and a bunch of other clubs I just can't remember. Eventually the band broke up and I started writing and doing a lot more playing with a singer/songwriter named Stack Kenny.

One night I got a call at 1:30 A.M. from a guy named T- Mo who informed me he was the bass player for the blues legend Eddie Kirkland. He said he had heard about me and asked me to go on the road with Eddie. After some investigation I did. The gig turned out to be short lived but was an awesome experience and one that I carried away a lot of knowledge and inspiration from.
Because I was tired of all the cover music being played in the area and the difficulty with being an original artist, I moved to Austin, Texas. Austin turned out to be a major turning point for me, as I was exposed to an immense amount of original music. I had never seen so many original artists chasing their dream with so much fervor. It was so inspiring. I put together a band and began playing gigs as a sit in guitarist with another Austin-based band. Unfortunately, I had to leave Austin after only six months, just as things were getting going, but always carried with me that inspiration and drive to find a voice in the original music scene.

I ended up in St. Augustine Fl. where, although there was a large cover music scene, there was also a great bunch of players that were always willing to play and share. This is where the next big turning point happened: open tunings. I had been exposed to them in Austin briefly but really found a new inspiring aspect to them in St. Augustine: writing. Songs just seemed to write themselves in open tunings and a whole world of possibilities opened up for me.

After nine years in St. Augustine I had to go back to Virginia to help care for my Pop, and over the next few years, I would enter the darkest time in my life. If it wasn't for my One Love I may not have made it. Shortly after arriving in Virginia, my Pop died, followed by a string of events that really, well, sucked. Then the worst thing happened, my dog and best friend, Sam, died. That was the most tragic thing in my life and something that has pushed me to probe the depths of my soul...looking for rhymes. After a lengthy time of mourning and battling some weird sickness, I began to come around and find myself again.

That was the darkest time I’ve experienced, and as it happens sometimes, it has led to some of the best things I've ever done for myself and others. Out of that darkness came "Wishing For Rhymes” which is, I think, my best music yet and has left me with something that has clearly changed my life forever.

So here I am in the present with "Wishing For Rhymes" behind me...and still in front of me, along with a wonderful well of inspiration and experience to draw from for years of song writing to come.

Thanks. Peace and Love.