Edward “Eddie!” Pithey
Edward “Eddie!” Pithey was born on the westside of Indianapolis - the far, FAR westside, as in sunny Southern California. Growing up as the youngest of four, he was surrounded by music. His mother had a 65+ year piano teaching career. She says that as a baby she would have Eddie nap under their grand piano while she was giving lessons to her students [to this day he still believes that is the reason they’re called Baby Grands - Editor’s note: we’ll just keep that a secret].
Naturally, piano was Eddie’s first instrument of study, followed later by clarinet, mandolin, and at the age 13, he began saxophone. It was in hope of joining his two older brothers’ garage band that he took up the instrument. Sadly, the garage band ended before his skills would have allowed the opportunity, but instrument performing was only part of his main musical interest. Songwriting was - and is still to this day - his deepest interest. Whether via piano, mandolin, or guitar, songwriting has kept him tied to music.
After concluding 4½ years performing in the US Marine Corp Band on clarinet and saxophone, Eddie studied at the University of Redlands, from which he received a Bachelor’s of Music degree in Saxophone Performance, along with 2 years of Music Composition study under Dr. Wayne Bohrnstedt. Years of traveling and touring followed, performing on stages across the USA and internationally, as well as off stage as music director for many of the different bands. After visits to 34 countries as a traveling musician he settled in Turkey for an extended period. There he taught guitar and music theory for an international school in Istanbul. Eddie achieved notable success when partnering with Turkish blues/jazz sensation Evrencan Gündüz. You can find many samples of their collaborations on YouTube.
Upon returning to the US, and specifically Indiana, Eddie found himself checking out the weekly blues jam at The Slippery Noodle Inn in downtown Indy. There, Eddie met David "Blackjack Davey" Moore and the rest is history. Eddie's world-class musicianship on the saxophone brings a completely new color to the Rhythm King's overall sound. Being an accomplished songwriter, you can also expect Eddie's contributions to shine through on all future original compositions by the band.
Eddie plays a Selmer Mark VI tenor with a Sugal MB3 mouthpiece. His guitar of choice is the Rainsong OM-1000. He will tell you that there is definitely a huge difference between professional and amateur gear, but his years of performing have taught him that the most important equipment is your own ears. “When it comes to ears, only buy professional,” he jokes, “but in all seriousness, a band’s potential can often be foretold by how well they listen to each other on stage.”