White Witch
Never Dies The Dream
Written by Gina Tutko-Usalis / August 2009
LIFE – full of twists and turns, the very thing music is built on. Just ask “Uncle Jeff” Pittinger – front man of White Witch. A band that has withstood 2 decades does not come easily.They have an array of stories to tell. They have braved the storms together, confronted adversity and survived more hardships than any band they know. After all it is 25 years of comradery and keepin’ the dream alive.
White Witch – a hard rockin’ energetic band was formed in the Fall of 1984 based out of the Williamsport area and to date the band is closing in on 450 live shows, along with many radio and TV appearances. They are an adept original act; however they do throw in a few classic covers from time to time. Influenced by Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper and Frank Zappa, most of the songs are written from real life experiences. An example would be “Games That I Play” which Jeff reveals is about his own life. It’s all REAL.
Jeff Pittinger (lead vocalist) also known as Uncle Jeff, is the original and only lead singer the band has had. Jeff handles all the band affairs from A-Z. He is the self proclaimed “motivator” and declares he is the “North Central Scrutinizer.”
Doug Lehman (lead guitar/backing vocals) lives in West Palm Beach. He is obligated to keep Jeff up-to-date on his activities so Jeff can do the scheduling and planning for the band. Doug is an original member of White Witch. He has written and recorded every guitar track the band has done over these 25 years. Doug also plays classic violin.
Carl Berry (drums/backing vocals) is the original drummer. 
He has written and recorded every drum track to date as well. He also keeps Jeff up-to-date so the plotting and scheduling can be accomplished.
Bret Alexander (bass) has stepped in this year to help out fellow musicians of White Witch. Jeff called Bret and discussed the band’s situation and within minutes Bret agreed to come onboard. 
Is there really anything Bret Alexander doesn’t do in the music scene! Bret seems to be known as the “Vessel” to many of his music colleagues. Does the man EVER sleep??!! According to Uncle Jeff, the band has known Bret for about 24 years or more. “He is a 4 for 1,” says Uncle Jeff. Jeff tells me Bret’s worse habit is coffee so I guess that helps to answer my question.
Jack Death was the original bassist until about 3 years ago. He wrote about 25% of the bands original material. Upon his departure, about 6 months down the road, the band hired Billy Zimmerman. Tragically, after 9 months, Billy came down with a near fatal virus.In a matter of 4 days, Billy went from 100% to 1%. After many months and coming to the realization of it all, the band reluctantly had to decide to replace Billy on bass. Jeff’s first choice was Bret Alexander. The band hopes to one day get Billy Zimmerman back into the mix but until then they are grateful to Bret for helping them out.
I asked Jeff to tell me about the craziest show experience the band has ever had. He said, “It would have to be July 1985. We were opening for Steppenwolf at an outdoor festival. We had 21 Harley’s lined up in front of the stage. One at a time, we kick started each one. As we made our way up the backstage stairs, one of John K’s band members yelled, ‘Hey look everyone its Alice Copper’s clone!’ White Witch took the stage in front of 7,000 people. When we were done playing, there were 7,000 people chanting, White Witch – White Witch – White Witch – for about 20 minutes straight! That was our second show as a band.” I was curious to know over the years, what song has the most special meaning to the band and found that the song “White Witch” has the most meaning because it was Crazy Eddie’s favorite song. Eddie was Jeff’s best friend and bouncer for the band for 25 years. He died two years ago. You want to talk about hardship? Jeff was circling the drain for a couple of weeks there. Now White Witch opens their concerts with that very song. When you go to a White Witch performance, you can expect to hear and see concert caliber lighting and sound. Still full of integrity after chasing the dream for so long, they pack in arena size crowds into area clubs.
White Witch believes they are a much better band than they were 20 years ago. Jeff says, “My voice is beyond compare. I do not know where it came from. A lot of people think I am a bit bizarre, they don’t have an effing clue.” Here’s a little story for you. We did a concert on June 19th which sold out and after the show; the singer of Pan.a.ce.a (Tim Farley) walked right up to me and said, ‘Dude, I have never in my life heard anyone sing Ozzy as good as you!’ Pan.a.ce.a front man continued, ‘seriously Dude – you’re the best.’ I feel that is what sets White Witch apart from the rest. People don’t tell you things like that just to make you feel good. That was the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me. A vocalist rarely ever just does that kind of thing. So to the singer of Pan.a.ce.a – DUDE … you’ve got more class than any singer I have ever met in my entire life (I have met thousands from all walks of life)!! One day heaven will be waiting for you … Spread your wings here on earth!”
As for what is brewing in the future for White Witch – Uncle Jeff tells me he is building a new recording studio. They will be recording new material the week of September 16th with Saturation Acres – Bret Alexander at the helm of the recording and engineering duties. They also have a new video coming out this Fall along with radio, magazine and TV appearances slated from August through December. A new album will be released in early 2010 and 2 cover songs will be released for radio airplay at the regional and national levels. In late Fall, there will be two more concert dates. Uncle Jeff will also be launching a solo career in the future (more news to come on that).
White Witch wants to inspire everyone who gave up on their dream, to bring it back to life again!! Remember your worst enemy is yourself. Your biggest competition is yourself.
For more information:
http://www.myspace.com/whitewitchrocks
http://www.whitewitchrocks.com/
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