Pete is a member of Moonalice
Come See Moonalice!

New 2011 Moonalice Dates for Pete Sears

Pete also plays with The Dave Nelson Band

Dave Nelson Band Site

"THE STORM THAT SWEPT MEXICO"
Pete wrote and recorded the original score
for this new movie, which will air on PBS
in the spring.

There will be a screening at
The Rafael Film Center March 31, at 7:00pm
The filmmakers, Ray Telles and Kenn Rabin
will be there in person
Pete co-produced the traditional music
with Pancho Rodriguez and Los Lobos.
He also produced and recorded a Bach
piece played by classical guitarist
Paul Binkly, and a Bach Cello piece
played by Paul Hale.

Pete will be playing keyboards for Steve Kimock at Sullivan Hall in
New York City on April 06. He will be joined by fellow “Moonalice” band mate
John Molo on drums, and Andy Hess on bass. Moonalice will be opening the show.
CLICK here for Tickets and HERE for More Information


Pete also sometimes plays with Harvey Mandel and the Snake Crew

Harvey Mandel Site

Pete will be playing bass with Harvey Mandel at “Biscuit’s and Blues”
in San Francisco on April 17th. Pete is also playing keyboards on
Harvey’s latest CD release, “Harvey Mandel and the Snake Crew Live”.
CLICK Here for more information

Pinetop Perkins

Blues piano player Pinetop Perkins just passed away at age 97. He was one of the great’s who helped inspire a whole new generation of piano players around the world. Although he is probably most well known for his work with the Muddy Waters band, he also had an extensive career with artists like, Sonny Boy Williamson, Earl Hooker, and BB King amongst others.

Pinetop had his own unique piano style which stands strong alongside such greats as, Big Maceo Merriweather, Otis Span, and Champion Jack Dupree.

Jeannette and I had Pinetop, his manager Pat Morgan, and Blues guitarist Rich Kirch who was John Lee Hookers band leader for many years, over to our house near San Francisco for dinner one night. Pinetop had some wonderful stories, and was of course the perfect gentleman…although you suspected that, like so many of his contemporaries he’d lived hard and raised hell as a young man.

Later in the evening we sat at my piano together and played some four handed boogie, but the video camera sound of course chose that moment to go belly-up…always the same when you really want something to turn out. I at least have a few minutes of silent footage of us playing together…maybe I’ll convert it into black n white and add a flicker like the old time silent movies.

I get the impression that Pinetop lived a full and relatively happy life and he was blessed to be able to play his beloved piano music long into his old age. He also got to experience the recognition he so richly deserved from his musical peers when he won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album, “Joined at the Hip”. The album also featured fellow Muddy Waters vet, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith.

My condolences and heartfelt sympathies go out to his family and close friends, especially his manager and confidant for many years, Patricia Morgan.

Pete Sears, March 22, 2011.

A Note from Pete on Bear's Passing
I'll miss him, he was one of a kind...and had a profound influence on an entire generation. He mixed monitors for the original Jefferson Starship for a while...I once saw him eat the largest plate of oysters I've ever seen, in one sitting. Glad I got to see him when he was last in the USA...we talked a while back about him writing some poetry for a weird "out on the edge" musical/visual art project I'm working on with artist Andreas Nottebohm. He told me he wasn't a poet...I told him everything he said, or did was poetry in an off-beat sort of way. He said he'd come up with something after I sent him the music, which I was about to send him. He was one of lives true characters. I agree with Jeff Tamarkin that it's "Kind of anticlimactic that a car crash would get him", I think he would have lived beyond a hundred. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and close friends on their terrible loss.

Pete had a great time playing with his old band-mates from ZERO
on March 4th & 5th at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.
The event was a benefit for vocalist Judge Murphy who is battling cancer.


Pete enjoyed playing keyboards with his old band-mates from Hot Tuna
at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Dec 4th .
Apart from playing with Jorma, Jack and Michael Falzarano,
he also jammed with Bob Weir, Oteil, and Steve Earl.
It was a sold out show. This was Jorma's 70th Birthday Party!
CLICK HERE for REVIEW, Photos and Video



NORTON BUFFALO
Goodbye Norton....happy trails old friend.


From left, Pete Sears, Mick Gravenites, Norton Buffalo, Doug Kilmer,
Paris Slim, Maria Muldaur and Sammy Hagar jam at Sweetwater Saloon
in Mill Valley in the early 1990s.(photo by John Goddard)



Pete is now on the international Honorary Campaign Cabinet
for "Hospitalito Atitlán", in Santiago, Atitlan, Guatemala.

Updates on Progress (PDF) (9-10-2009)

Hospitalito Atitlán Site











Micky Waller
(September 6, 1941 - May 6, 2008)
A Note From Pete



Martin Fierro
(1942-March 13, 2008),


I am in England at the moment, and have just heard the news that Martinpassed away. I had spoken with him on the phone just before I boarded theplane for London. He had only recently been told he had cancer and he wasgearing up for an intense course of treatment, but sadly it was not enough.Goodbye old friend, compadre. You fought hard, and now you are at rest. Wehad many happy times together on the road with Zero; your musicianship andcrazy sense of humor kept us all on our toes, onstage and off. Yourwonderful music has left the world a better place, and has given many peoplemuch happiness.

Till we meet again.

Pete Sears


Pete Sears

John Cipollina talks about the original Copperhead.
Click HERE to Read
Friday 4th April 1975.
Interview with Pete Frame ZigZag #52, Volume 6 Number 2


A note to Francis Clay: Nov 16, 1923 - January 23, 2008

Signed Bass Auction!! Read about the Winner!
Benefit for Bill Laymon
Click Here for More Info



"I lost a good friend this morning" (Dec. 13, 2007)
Click to read about Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman

Pete and Floyd ?Red Crow? Westerman backstage at the ?Mint? in Los Angeles,
Wednesday, October 10th, the day of the show..the day before he went into hospital.

Pete Sears is collaborating with Andreas Nottbohm
on a Music and Visual Art Project.

Pete Sears Instructional Piano DVD Release Here

Interviews     Links

Goodbye Charlie Deal

A Fond Farewell - Chet Helms

Don Pearson

A note from Pete February 13, 2006: Guatemala

A Note from Pete Sears on Hurricane Relief for Musicians

Pete played at the Sacred Run Benefit Feb. 10, 2006
(click for more info)

Pete Sears and the Dawn Patrol

Pete Sears and the Dawn Patrol
Pete?s interview with Craig Fenton and the Jefferson Airplane book,
?Take me to a Circus Tent?, corrected for facts, and as it was supposed to read.
:
PDF(249K)


The Long Haul is available at
Borders Books,   CD Baby,    the Allman Brothers magazine Hittin' the note,and Altrichter Music.

DONATED MODULUS BASS SIGNED BY BASS PLAYING STARS SUCCESSFULLY AUCTIONED OFF ON EBAY RASING MONEY FOR BILL LAYMON AND H.E.A.R

Photo by Bob Minkin (c)2007

Press Release - January 1, 2008

The eBay auction to help raise funds for Bill Laymon?s medical expenses is over. He has been struggling with Typhus, Bladder Cancer, and other complications for several years.

I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped with the recent eBay auction. I would especially like to thank Anderson Page and all the folks at Modulus Guitar Company for donating the brand new Vintage J bass guitar for the auction. I would, of course, like to thank all the wonderful bass players who went out of their way to sign the instrument and help Billy.

Players who signed the bass were:
Stanley Clark, Phil Lesh, Jack Casady, Carol Kaye, Charlie Haden, Bill Laymon, Kathy Peck, Alphonso Johnson, Pete Sears, Bobby Vega, David Hayes, Larry Graham, Victor Wooten, Robin Sylvester, and Peter Albin.

And a very special thanks to Kathy Peck, and Dave Denny, from the amazing H.E.A.R. Foundation, for overseeing the eBay auction process through their 501 C3 non-profit umbrella. www.hearnet.com Bill and the rest of us give special thanks to James Taylor Jones, and Fran Harris for putting in the winning bid.


As James and Fran came by my house in San Rafael to pick-up the bass guitar, they were also able to donate the $150 shipping fee to Billy.

Anyone wishing to donate money to help with Bill?s considerable medical expenses please go to:www.hearnet.com/auction

When Billy became sick, he didn?t have any form of medical insurance, so his friends in the musical community came to his aid by holding benefits at the Firefighters Postal Club, in Springfield, IL, and Don Quixote?s near Santa Cruz California. Many musicians turned out to help, including Lacy J. Dalton, Tyran Porter, Jim Lewin, Jimmy Jackson, Jim Norris, Tom Irwin, the Groove Daddy?s, and the Helton Brothers. At Don Quixote?s, Billy felt strong enough to sit in and perform with several of the acts, and even closed the evening by leading a set with his old band mates, the ?Gypsy Cowboy Band? joined by Lacy J. Dalton, Mary McCaslin, Ginny Mitchell, Larry Hosford, and me and Barry Sless. David Nelson and band mates, Barry Sless, Mookie Segal, John Molo and me, with production help from Mark Keys, later held a benefit for Billy on November 18th. The show was held at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, California, and came at the end of our Northern California tour. Bill was able to play a fine set of songs that he used to sing with the original David Nelson Band.



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©2003 Welch/Sears All rights reserved. Band Photo courtesy of Geoffrey Wittmer