High Tide Biography

The group High Tide was formed in 1982 by a group of musicians from the Greenville, South Carolina area. In the beginning, the main focus was the three man vocal team backed by four musicians. Early on, the group became well know for their Beach Music and ability to get people up out of their seats and moving with the music. Throughout the years as new members joined the group, the band broadened its horizons and became more diverse with a wider range of music. With the large popularity of the band, came the decision to incorporate their own original music, after extensive studio time, the results were the first High Tide release, which was a combination of original and pre-recorded songs. Sales of the release were way beyond the band’s expectations and left the fans wanting more.

The current High Tide repertoire ranges from Top 40 (Pop, rock, rap) to oldies (Funk, beach, classic rock, and R&B). High Tide has always been a road band, but for the last eight years has been a house band. A decision was made recently to go back on the road. The band specializes in Weddings, Parties, Concerts, and Clubs. In the last eight year, the band has spent $100,000 in a top notch sound system and stage instruments to give the fans top quality sound. The band has also chosen their repertoire very wisely, to specialize in such a broad spectrum of functions. People at weddings are amazed when JT and Mills sing the standard love-song ballads. High Tide’s strong points are high energy dance music, textured with Ballads, beach, and classic rock.

The current High Tide lineup:

Joseph Y Ballew – Joseph is the latest addition to High Tide back in 1998. He is an accomplished guitarist/singer songwriter whos aggressive playing and singing always captivates his audience. Vocally, mostly singing upper register Rock, dance, and ballads. His other duties also include, Front of House Engineer, keyboards, programming and tech support. Joseph was a member in the following bands (Quest, Angelhart, Audio, Hot Cargo, and the Royal Scottsmen) and also performed with (Steppenwolf, Stillwater, The Monkeys, Climax, The Clovers, and Ronnie McDowell. Joseph also produced, mixed, and mastered High Tide's latest CD Versatility.

Eddie Hipps – Eddie is the bass guitarist that is so talented that he received a full scholarship to the Univerisity of Berkely at age 16. His other duties also include vocals, monitor engineer, and equipment tech. Eddie has performed with Tanya Tucker, Rare Earth, Leon Russel, Percy Sledge, and Clifford Curry. Eddie has also recorded one CD with Trade Mark and the first High Tide CD.

Mills Owens – Mills is an extremely talented singer/songwriter and keyboardist. His vocal range is an impressive four octives. He captivates everyone with his incredible voice and fat keyboard tones. He also plays the trombone, bass guitar and is an accomplished song writer. His other duties include, programming and treasurer. Mills has performed with Clifford Curry, Maurice Williams, Percy Sledge, Peabo Bryson, and Trade Mark. Mills wrote five songs on the first High Tide CD. The most notable was  the High Tide original "I wanna be at the beach," and "Hey Cutie". They remained on top of the beach charts for 6 months.

James Tarrent – JT is the lead singer for High Tide and the last original member of the group. When JT performs, its is truly magic. He has the ability to hold a crowd in the palm of his hands. He is a proven crowd pleaser. Once you see him in action, you will never forget him. He has an extremely magnetic personality and a very strong performer. He can sing perfect renditions from "Wonderful World" to "Disco Inferno". As far as JT, who hasn’t he played with?