MIKE ZITO Source: Pasadena Weekly Date: 05/2008 Writer: Bliss

MIKE ZITO, Today (Eclecto Groove):
Gritty-voiced Texas singer/guitarist Zito, nominally a blues artist, really writes and plays rock with a slick blues feel, here given considerable polish by co-producer David Z and an LA crew of go-to heavyweights (drummer/co-producer Tony Braunagel, bassist Hutch Hutchinson, keyboardist Benmont Tench, horn players Darrell Leonard and Joe Sublett, singer Teresa James) whose combined credits include stints backing Prince, Bonnie Raitt, the Neville Brothers and Tom Petty. Zito’s guitar playing’s gutsy without being too showy, especially when echoing his forlorn vocal on “Slow It Down,” and he’s got a way with a groove, whether he’s chuckling over deal-makers and transvestites (“Hollywood”), sassing an errant lover (“Deep Down in Love”) or retooling Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” as a slow, seductive promise. At the Mint in LA Tuesday, May 27, and Genghis Cohen in Hollywood Wednesday.
www.mikezito.com