Hailing from the Fairless Hills suburb of Philadelphia, Mike Pinto's music blends reggae, ska, dub, and Latin rhythms, while keeping true to his roots with the acoustic guitar.

After a well-received acoustic LP, Pinto completed his first full-length album Little District in September 2005 with fellow Philadelphian, producer Tim Sonnefeld. The album completes his musical and lyrical vision by combining a full horn section, organ, heavy bass lines, samples, and hip-hop beats. He followed it up in 2009 with Everything I Got.

He finished recording his newest EP The West is Still Wild in August: A release party happens on Wednesday, November 23, at the House of Blues downtown.

With cover art depicting Ocean Beach, the EP pays homage to San Diego, the city where he’s lived since 2005. “People make the trip from all over the country because they feel their destiny is to reach the west coast,” says Pinto. “As someone who also was drawn to that same appeal, I wanted to capture that.”

Released digitally this week, The West is Still Wild just debuted at number four on the iTunes reggae charts. Guests include drummer Todd Elrod and bassist Matt Brein, formerly of Bargain Music, plus DeLa (Slightly Stoopid), Juan Rios (Seedless), and guitarist Kat, as well as a horn section.

The EP was produced by Lewis Richards and recorded at 17th Street Studios in Costa Mesa, which has also recorded the Dirty Heads, Slightly Stoopid, and Sublime with Rome.

Based in O.B., Pinto has played in over thirty states, doing an average of four shows a week, and live acoustic performances for various college and reggae on-air radio stations.