YouTube sensation and aspiring musician Jason Pitts to perform in Fowler out Loud series
Jason Pitts is known for his guitar stylings, poetic lyrics and catchy melodies. On Thursday night, the first-year undeclared student will perform as part of the Fowler Out Loud concert series.
Fowler Out Loud
Thursday, 6 p.m.
Fowler Museum, FREE
By Justina Coelho
May 30, 2012 2:18 a.m.
During his senior year at Santa Monica High School, Jason Pitts asked a girl to prom by serenading her on the acoustic guitar in the middle of third period, complete with back-up singers and someone playing the shaker.
Pitts, a first-year undeclared student, uploaded the video to YouTube on Sunday night, and by Monday morning it had more than 20,000 views.
By Tuesday, it was up to 100,000 hits, and on Thursday morning, Pitts was performing his song on “Good Morning America” in front of 6 million live viewers.
“It was such an original idea,” said second-year global studies student Kristi Collura after watching the video. “I wish I was asked to prom in such a cute way.”
Over the next few days, Pitts’ story made it to the front page of CNN, Yahoo!, AOL and MSN, and the story also hit the pages of newspapers and tabloids in New Zealand, Scandinavia, Japan, Italy and Korea as his “Prom Song” became known around the globe.
“It was a huge whirlwind of fame,” Pitts said.
“I was considered a viral YouTube sensation.”
Thursday, Pitts will perform his original songs as part of the Fowler Museum’s musical series, Fowler Out Loud ““ a program that started in 2002 by director Marla Berns.
Singer and songwriter Sara Bareilles performed during the first year of Fowler Out Loud, and Pitts, who began his musical career at age 4 when he learned to play classical piano, may be the next rising star.
Along with his national television debut, Pitts’ musical repertoire includes performances at the House of Blues and Key Club in Hollywood.
He has also performed with musical legends Jackson Browne and Billy Idol and, most recently, performed at the Playboy Mansion alongside Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.
Along with the piano, Pitts has mastered the harmonica, the ukulele, the drums and his main instrument, the acoustic guitar.
“I combine the style of James Taylor style finger picking with the pop genre of Jason Mraz or John Mayer, so I have more intricate guitar parts for pop songs,” Pitts said.
Many of Pitts’ original songs were inspired by people, particularly by girls.
Although only a first-year, Pitts has already written songs about girls he’s met in college, such as one of his newest songs, “Star Struck,” which he will be debuting at the Fowler.
“I’m most satisfied with playing music when people say they felt something during a song, whether it’s happy or sad, and if they remember any lyrics ““ that’s the biggest compliment,” Pitts said.
Pitts said he is actively pursuing a career in music.
His album has continued to sell on iTunes every week since it was released in 2011, and his guitar playing will be featured in an independent movie, “The Dynamiter,” which will be released this summer in New York.
He said he would like to get his foot in the door of the music industry as a song writer for major artists such as Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber.
“I’m not the most comfortable with my voice yet, so that’s why I like to write songs for others,” Pitts said.
Pitts’ performance at the Fowler includes 10 original songs and two covers.
The show will also include a collaborative embroidery made by students at the UCLA Arts Party with artist Jenny Hart that will be displayed as the stage backdrop.
As always, the galleries will be open for audience members to explore the Fowler’s exhibits of cultural heritage and world art ““ elements that third-year ethnomusicology student and Fowler Out Loud Coordinator Jazmin Morales said are so important to building well-rounded values.
“Music is essentially just another embodiment of cultural art,” Morales said. “In the gallery you can see what it looks like and (with Fowler Out Loud) you can hear what it sounds like.”
