HISTORY OF SHERRY PRUITT:
Sherry was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. God blessed her with a strong, powerful, and original voice, and she continues to give thanks. She has been praising Him publicly, through His gift, since the age of six -- when her rendition of "His Eyes Are On The Sparrow" at church touched many souls.
At one time called "Little Sherry Jackson", Sherry participated in her elementary, junior high, and high school choirs. She received many awards for her originality. Sherry's musical and professional inspiration comes from Mahalia Jackson, Koko Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Dinah Washington, Gladys Knight, and many more.
In 1974 Sherry moved to California to pursue a career as a singer, recording artist, actress, and writer. She took vocal coaching from Ronnie Hasley and Evangeline Seward, and vocal techniques coaching from Bill Collier so that she could continue her odyssey through music and share her love for it all over the world.
Sherry has performed in many theaters from New York to Los Angeles. She has also performed in Las Vegas and in various clubs from Los Angeles to San Diego County, to Boston. In addition, Sherry has toured internationally traveling to Tahiti, Paris, South Africa, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East.
Currently, Sherry is doing session work and also working with The Bomb Squad Band, The Billy Haynes Band, and The Blues Project Band. Sherry loves being on stage, and has a powerful delivery and an infectious personality that makes people smile and dance their cares away.
HISTORY OF MAKOTO MIYASHITA:
I was born in Japan in a small town on the Japan Sea. When, as a junior high school student, I first heard Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton in Cream, and Jeff Beck, I was blown away. I was inspired to form a cover band with my classmates. When I read my guitar heroes' interviews in music magazines, I learned that they were influenced by the great blues "Kings": B.B., Freddy, and Albert, as well as by Muddy Waters. So I bought these albums, and that's how I learned about the blues. My first blues album was B.B. King's Live in Cook County Jail. I hadn't heard anything like it, and I was hooked. I bought more and more blues records. I was most influenced (and still am) by Albert King.
In high school, I made a blues cover band and entered Yamaha's music contest. We won and were played on local radio. As a high school junior, I was asked to play with a band at a local dance club - that was the start of my professional music career. That gig introduced me to other kinds of music, like jazz and R&B.
At eighteen I moved to Kyoto, which had the hottest blues scene in Japan at the time. After a year, I moved to Tokyo, though, because that was the center of Japan's music world. I played in club bands and went to jazz school. A famous jazz and session drummer invited me into his band, and I played with him for many years, performing on tv, recording, and touring. Because of this early break, I met, played, recorded, and toured with many famous Japanese recording artists. All the time, I deepened my appreciation for the blues, which I continue to believe is the root of all contemporary music.
In 1994 I moved to Hawaii, where I was happy to put session work on a back burner and concentrate on playing live in a number of blues bands - though I did have the great opportunity to play live with Pauline Wilson when she performed in Honolulu.
In 1996, I moved to Los Angeles, where I live now. While playing in clubs and at sessions, I was always on the lookout for a blues singer with whom I could create original songs. I met Sherry Pruitt at an open-mike event at a local club. I immediately recognized her great talent, and, just as important, I found out she was a great, generous lady - a combination hard to find. We hit it off and decided to write and record our album "Big City Blues" together. I didn't want to make the album just as a guitarist, but as a producer focused on showcasing Sherry's vocal talent, as well as my many blues influences. We finished the album last year. We're very proud of it -- it won the Southern California Blues Society's Best Self-Produced Album this year.
Read more...