Mike Pinto Band

It’s tough to go wrong with a song that starts out with some solid whistling, as did “The Cool And The Deadly.” The tune begins with some reggae strumming and then leads into a more spacey guitar sound. This particular track, as well as the rest of the album continually threw me for a loop, showing off the creativity and fearlessness of Mike Pinto and his band, in giving the listener something they wouldn’t expect.

This unpredictability appeared to be the theme for the album. For instance, “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now,” the first track, kicks things off with special guests DeLa from Slightly Stoopid on saxophone and Juan Rios from Seedless on keys. The song is broken up by smooth saxophone solos, and the tempo is changed up and transitions to the point that it feels like a new song entirely. Words roll off the tongue at times, reminiscent of Slightly Stoopid’s vocals, and become quicker and more harsh sounding at other times.

I honestly question whether or not Pinto has some schizophrenic qualities. However, I do not question his ability to take a string of seemingly random sounds and tie them together into one song with gliding transitions. It could be the fact that this is the first full album that the Mike Pinto Band has created together or maybe there is some truth to my schizophrenia theory. Whatever the case, the band makes the collage of sounds work.

The story of systematic chaos was the same from one song to the next. The second song, the title track, “The West Is Still Wild,” takes you into a completely different genre, still containing some characteristic rock/reggae feel but now throwing in a ska/punk sound. This track gives the listener a much more raw, gritty, and aggressive version of Pinto.

In his lyrics, he also demonstrates his aggressive side in “Everything I Got,” which is a new version from the title track of his 2009 solo album. Perhaps the words “Everything I got,” have more meaning to Pinto now, because they seem to explode from him with such conviction that it would be difficult not to believe him.

Although I was pleasantly surprised by the album as a whole, there were times that I was not on board. His love song, “Turn You On,” was a ringing example of this. The lyrics were far too simple, such as “I just wanna please you, that is why I wrote this song…” The song goes on and on without any clever methods of getting his words out there. With someone who has demonstrated a fair amount of creativity and versatility, it’s difficult to hear him get straight to the point and basically just say that he wants to have sex with someone. Throughout history, these words have been said many times and because of this, some originality is required to make it sound fresh.

That being said, the pros far out weigh the cons in this album. The Mike Pinto Band shows that they are not afraid to explore new boundaries in their music. They reach into a bag of tricks and give the audience a chaotic, flowing collection of music spanning various genres in the album, “The West Is Still Wild.” I recommend checking it out - Mountain Weekly News

The mainstream, excitement driven nightlife of downtown Scottsdale, AZ, was taken hold by The Mike Pinto Band and solo-artist Josh Heinrichs. Lyrically inspired and acoustically driven, the Martini Ranch nightclub turned into more of a campfire with the storytelling musical style.

Sandwiched in between two local showcase acts The Hourglass Cats and Catfish Mustache, Mike Pinto’s main support, Josh Heinrichs, brought fans in from the street with his voice.

Although Heinrichs only has his six-string acoustic guitar and his pipes, each song has the depth of a full band. His voice captured the heart of true love in his new songs “Sunday Afternoon” and “So Far From Home” featured on his recent EP Satisfied. With a responsive crowd swaying with his guitar pick, the trio from The Mike Pinto Band (Mike Pinto-Guitar, Todd Elrod-Drums and Matt Brein-Bass) joined Heinrichs on stage, thickening the soundwaves in the Scottsdale air.

With Heinrichs and Pinto’s fall tour appropriately dubbed “Satisfied”, as their performance on stage was in full swing, the nightclub crowd shared the same emotion. The talent on stage was rewarded with high praise.

As Heinrichs stepped off the riser, Mike Pinto led on a quintet, adding Max O’Leary (keyboard/trumpet) and Josh Molle on trombone.

After touring as a solo artist over the years, there is no doubt Pinto’s music is elevated with the full band support. Yet, his guitar licks and solos are still present, he electrifies the crowd with each passing song.

The campfire atmosphere of Heinrichs set was no more. Mike Pinto brought out the fast paced ska, the snare popping reggae, and gave the crowd a few rambunctious ballads to move with. After releasing his EP The West Is Still Wild on September 6th, it was only appropriate to circle the wagons and head home for the final dates in California.

Even after being on the road for over six weeks, Mike Pinto sounded like he was fresh out of the studio and ready to start the tour, not begin to wrap up the final leg. The energy peaked as the band belted out their self-titled EP track. As the tour rolled on, each west coast city has properly proclaimed their town as the wildest and I am sure, remaining “still wild”. In a once mellow nightclub, Martini Ranch turned into Woodstock, at least in the crowd.

But Mike Pinto has flexibility within his music. All in one song, the band can perform rock, reggae, blues, ska, and acoustic ballads, all suitable for a perfect barrel ride. Although on this particular Friday night, the southwest was treated to an ocean front soundtrack hundreds of miles from the shore.

The fans even joined in marching on with Mike Pinto’s set. Following the first chords of “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” the fans erupted! Singing word for word the chorus, Pinto and the crowd shared a moment of smiles as the horns exchanged solos captivating the fans.

From the horns to the keys, and firmly based on the deep grooves and snapping beats, Mike Pinto brings an experience with each song. He is a storyteller with his sound, and with four band members backing him, The Mike Pinto Band adds even more detail and description to an ongoing musical novel.

With the music going on until early Saturday morning, Pinto and Heinrichs closed out their performance with the song “Cool and Deadly”. With a few waves, a gently bow, and more than a few smiles, the lights on stage went black.

After each stop on tour, the locals announced their city as “still wild, and better than ever”. It will only be a matter of time before Mike Pinto is on the road again and looking to recall another memorable show.
- The Pier

For the last eight years, Mike Pinto has crafted an exceptional style of songwriting, with truly unique rhymes that raise the bar in today’s music. Pinto's sound blends Reggae, Ska, Surf, and even Latin rhythms, but it’s his distinct voice and seamless storytelling that has brought him success in the U.S. and abroad. With his first full-length album, Little District (2005), Mike combined his lyrical vision with full horn sections, organs, heavy bass lines, samples, and hip-hop beats.
With the release of his debut album, Mike began his attack of the Philadelphia music scene as a solo artist. By 2006, immediate underground success allowed him to expand, playing clubs, colleges, radio stations and festivals throughout the East Coast. Mike then tried his luck westward, with two nation-wide solo acoustic tours playing in 20 US Cities.
After the second tour, Mike Pinto decided to relocate to Ocean Beach, San Diego, where he immersed himself in the thriving SoCal music scene. He assembled a band to help fully conceptualize his work and continued writing what would soon become his self-titled second album. Over this time, he played upwards of 150 shows, and gained experience as he promoted not only his own shows but also those of other local musicians throughout Southern California. Horn players from the band Slightly Stoopid and John Brown’s Body have backed his act. His single “One More Time” was also featured on San Diego Sound Scope, a compilation of which 20,000 copies were produced and distributed by Insomnia Radio in an effort to encourage tourism in the San Diego area.
Mike’s music quickly traveled out of the states throughout Japan, Guam, and Hawaii. Mike became part of a compilation in Japan for One Big Family Records. He was flown out to Guam, where he played on three radio stations and sold out two shows. Recently, he visited Oahu, the Big Island and Maui, packing small clubs which he promoted on local radio stations.
In November of 2007, Mike Pinto released his self-titled album, collaborating with legendary drummer Chuck Treece (G Love, Bad Brains, McRad). The new album was featured on Itunes reggae page and CdBaby, and has started a cult following worldwide. With over 1000 myspace hits a day, the sophomore disc is already proof that the first album was no fluke, and that it won’t be long before Mike Pinto emerges from today’s underground music scene. - Fearless Networks

With two US tours under his belt and appearances on both national and international radio stations, singer/songwriter Mike Pinto is poised to break out with his self-titled sophomore album. Splitting his time between his native Philadelphia and San Diego has allowed Pinto to build fan bases on both sides of the country. His blend of ska and reggae influences combined with his knack for telling a good story have kept fans coming back for more and have helped him to earn several notable opening spots including The English Beat and HR of Bad Brains.

In 2006, following his second US tour, Pinto decided to relocate to the Ocean Beach area of San Diego where immersed himself in the Southern California music scene. During this time he played over 150 shows and continued writing songs for his second album. Pinto also found a demand for his music outside of the continental US, playing several shows in Hawaii and Guam and was a part of a compilation in Japan for One Big Family Records.

Mike Pinto is loaded with twelve tracks that run the gamut from the reggae/rocker “Full Speed” to the organ-laced “Addictions” to the laid back, acoustic tune “Bringin It.’ The album was produced by Pinto and skate punk legend/studio musician Chuck Treece (McRad, G. Love, Bad Brains) who also plays bass and drums on the record..” If the album’s likely first single, “Backburner” is any indication of things to come for Mike Pinto, the forecast is looking good as the song has already received airplay in Hawaii and is sure to help Pinto’s sophomore release climb up the CDbaby.com charts as his debut release, Little District did. For more information on Mike Pinto visit www.myspace.com/littledistrict. - Bucks County Courier Times