My Journey Shawn Pittman

• 1 Until The Time Is Right 05:07
• 2 Damage Is Done 03:13
• 3 Add It Up 04:20
• 4 Heartbreak in East Dallas 03:22
• 5 Blame It On Me 04:00
• 6 Tabletop 02:48
• 7 Low No More 04:07
• 8 Countin' Them Days 03:23
• 9 My Journey 06:54
• 10 Somebody Gonna Loose Somebody Gonna Win 03:33
• 11 That's What Love Will Make You Do 04:00
• Total Runtime 44:47

Info for My Journey

Although often closely associated with the Lone Star State since settling in Dallas, Texas in the early 90's, singer/guitarist Shawn Pittman is actually from Oklahoma. For decades, Pittman has played with and for musicians such as Sam Myers, The Texas Blues Guitar Summit (with Anson Funderburgh and Mike Morgan), Double Trouble, Susan Tedeschi, The Moeller Brothers and many others, but has also set several milestones with his own highly acclaimed albums. Shawn Pittman talks about his musical journeys: ‘Since the release of my first album in 1998, I've been on a road with many twists and turns and some interesting stops along the way. On this journey you meet people along the way who can see something in you that you might not be able to see yourself. I have been fortunate to meet many such people who have encouraged me to continue using the gift God has given me. Erkan Ozdemir is one of those people. He is a great bass player and has raised some great young men and musicians, Kenan and Levent. This is the second time we've teamed up for a record. At Hansahaus Studios in Bonn we worked with the great sound engineer Klaus Genuit (who also happens to have a great coffee bar in the studio). We had the pleasure of using the Texas Horns (Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff and John Mills) for ‘Blame it on Me’. Roel Spanjers contributed great piano and accordion work on ‘Heartbreak in East Dallas’. Simon Oslender contributed fantastic organ work on several tracks. I think this album might be my favourite of them all!

"Since releasing my first album in 1998, I have been on a road with many twists and turns and some interesting stops along the way. Like the title song of this album ‘My Journey’ reveals, “…if I played on the streets, or on the biggest stage…” I think of high points like getting a standing ovation and an encore as the opening act at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Opening up for B.B. King for two nights in Houston at The House of Blues. Playing the Chicago Blues Festival and having hundreds of people standing in line for an autographed CD. Playing with the Muddy Waters band at Antone’s in Austin and doing a duo with James Cotton. Being a guest front man with Double Trouble in Minneapolis and many more special moments. There were also gigs where I played for tips on the street (mainly 6th street in Austin) and played at a shark auction on a pier in Bordeaux (the auctioneer would interrupt the song and speak in very fast French!). I played 3 nights a week on the Riverwalk in San Antonio for people throwing wadded up napkins at me and yelling “Play something we’ve heard!”

During this journey you meet people along the way that can see something in you that maybe you can’t even see yourself. I have been fortunate enough to meet many people like that that have encouraged me to continue to use the gift that God gave me. Erkan Ozdemir is one of those people. We started doing tours together around 2011 and I have had the privilege of sharing the band stand with him many times in Europe and even in the USA. He is a great bass player and has raised up some amazing young men as well as musicians, Kenan and Levent. You may know them as the Ozdemirs. I am kind of like the “American cousin” to them as I have seen them grow up and felt like family. This is the second time we have teamed up on a record. The first was ‘Make it Right’ with Levent on drums and Erkan on bass. We have a great chemistry live and in the studio.

Hansahaus Studios in Bonn, Germany is where we worked with a great engineer Klaus Genuit (who also happens to have a great coffee bar in the studio). All of these songs I have written in the last two years aside from the one Little Milton cover ‘That’s What Love Will Make You Do’ that I have been playing for decades at live shows. ‘Somebody’s Gonna Lose, Somebody’s Gonna Win’ written by Lewis Dickson, is my first recording of that song with a band. We had the pleasure of using The Texas Horns (Mark ‘Kaz’ Kazanoff and John Mills) on ‘Blame it on Me’. Roel Spanjers added some great piano work and accordion on ‘Heartbreak in East Dallas’. Simon Oslender added some fantastic organ work on several tracks.

I think this album might just be my favorite one of them all! Hope you enjoy!" (Shawn Pittman October 2024)

Shawn Pittman, guitar, vocals
Erkan Özdemir, bass
Levent Özdemir, drums, background vocals
Simon Oslender, Hammond organ (tracks 1, 6, 8, 9, 11)
Roel Spanjers, piano, accordion (tracks 3, 4, 5)
The Texas Horns (track 5)
Mark ´Kaz´Kazanoff, tenor saxophone & horn arrangement
John Mills, baritone saxophone

Shawn Pittman
grew up with music all around him. His grandmother loved to play the boogie-woogie piano at family gatherings. Shawn's mother must have seen something in him before he discovered what would be his life's passion, his mother signed him up to take piano lessons at a young age. It wasn't long until young Shawn was sneaking into his older brother's room to play on his drum kit. By age fourteen, Shawn had a guitar in his hands. His discovery of Lightin Hopkins and Muddy Waters set the stage for Shawn's musical journey.

He was born into his native roots of the Choctaw nation in Talihina, Oklahoma. Pittman later found his musical roots in Texas Blues when he moved to the state at the age of seventeen to attend the Booker T. Washington High School of the Performing Arts in Dallas. He expanded his music education courtesy of his uncle who would take him to local jams around town. This is how Shawn first met and learned from musicians like Hashbrown, Sam Myers, Mike Morgan, Jim Suhler, Tutu Jones, and many others.

Pittman recorded his first album in 1996. That album, Burnin' Up, was released on Cannonball Records the following year. Throughout his career, Shawn has released 15 albums of original songs and a few covers featuring some of his favorite influences. As a songwriter and performer, Shawn is constantly composing and releasing new material.

Shawn begin his musical journey sharing the stage with local musicians in Dallas nightclubs and graduating to touring in the U.S and Europe. He has shared the stage with people such as Sugar Ray Rayford, Shamekia Copeland, Susan Tedeschi, Hubert Sumlin, Joe Louis Walker, Kim Wilson, James Cotton, Pine Top Perkins, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Kidd Ramos, Kirk Fletcher, Lou Ann Barton, Tab Benoit, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and many others.

When asked who his favorite person to open for, Pittman replied, "It was awesome opening for B.B. King, it was a dream come true". Shawn went on to share, "The weeks before opening for B.B. I thought about what question I would ask him, if I got the chance. Well I did get that change, so I asked him his secret for longevity." B.B. King answered Shawn by saying, "Treat people how you want to be treated, and remember everybody has a boss."

In Spring 2022, Pittman toured Europe with Anson Funderburgh and Mike Morgan as part of the Texas Blues Guitar Summit. The power group continues to perform shows in the U.S. and abroad.

Shawn's latest album “Hard Road,” was released in Fall of 2022. It was recorded as a live in-studio album in Austin, Texas with his current touring trio. The album and live show present a unique sound of a traditional trio mingled with the unexpected two guitar and drums presentation on selected tracks. Don't worry this isn't a three-piece band asking for more depth; this is a trio demanding a double take. Shawn's fiery guitar solos and soulful vocals are backed by the intense groove of vintage bass and drums. This house-rockin' trio leaves audiences mesmerized and wanting more. ...

This album contains no booklet.