Pete Sears

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Pete Sears (born May 27, 1948) has played keyboards or bass guitar with a large variety of artists, including the classic Rod Stewart albums, Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells a Story, Never a Dull Moment, and Smiler.

[edit] Career

Pete was with the Jefferson Starship from 1974 to 1987 and played in the Jorma Kaukonen Trio with Jorma and Michael Falzarano. He also played with Jorma and Michael along with Jack Casady and Harvey Sorgen in Hot Tuna. Sears performed at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame tribute to John Lee Hooker at Stanford University as one of John's guests. He also wrote a song with Hooker, "Elizabeth", which they performed live together in the studio on Sears' solo L.P. "The Long Haul". In 2001, he played keyboards as a guest of John Lee's in Oroville, California. The show was John Lee Hooker's third to last appearance before he passed away in July 2001. Sears has played with many other artists through the years, including "Copperhead" with John Cipollina, "Zero", "Nick Gravenitas", Jerry Garcia, Steve Kimock Band", Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Leftover Salmon, and Los Lobos. He now plays with the band, "Moonalice".

Pete Sears’s career as a professional musician began in 1964, touring the British Isles with the band, "Sons of Fred". As well as playing classic British T.V. shows such as Ready Steady Go Live, and Thank Your Lucky Stars, the “Sons of Fred” also recorded at E.M.I.’s Abbey Road Studios in London. The records they released are now sought after by collectors.

He went on to play and record with many musical artists’, including the “Fleur De Lys” in 1966, and the psychedelic underground band Sam Gopal Dream which featured guitarist Mick Hutchinson, Sears on bass and Hammond Organ, and the legendary Indian Tabla player, Sam Gopal. Jimi Hendrix once sat in with Sam Gopal Dream at the Speakeasy Club in London.

Sears did quite a bit of session work during the late sixties, including recording piano with the blues band Steamhammer. Steamhammer would back up the legendary Freddy King when he toured the UK. In early 1969, Sears along with Terry Cox of “Pentangle”, Jeff Beck’s drummer Micky Waller, Jimmy Litherland of Coloseum, John Wetton of King Crimson, and Pete York of the Spencer Davis Group, recorded a folk rock album with “Marian Segal” and “Jade”. The album, “Fly on Strange Wings” is considered one of the seminal British folk rock albums of the nineteen sixties and is highly valued by collectors. Around this time Pete Sears teamed up with original Fairport Convention singer, Judy Dyble, and Van Morrison’s “Them” guitarist, Jackie McCauley to form the band “Trader Horn”.

In the summer of 1969, he left Trader Horn just before they began recording and flew to the USA for the first time. While in California, he formed “Silver Metre” with Blue Cheer guitarist Leigh Stephens, drummer Micky Waller and singer Jack Reynolds. The band released one album on the National General Label, produced by FM rock radio pioneer, Tom Donahue. After Silver Metre broke up, Sears joined the original “Stoneground” band in England, later returning to the USA with them to release their first album, also produced by Tom Donahue.

From 1970 through 1974 Sears did a lot of session work, including playing piano and some bass on Rod Stewart's classic early British solo albums, "Gasoline Ally", Every Picture Tells a Story, Never a Dull Moment and Smiler. He also played bass with the Long John Baldry Blues Band on their first tour of the USA, and played bass and keyboards with John Cipollina in the band “Copperhead”.

Sears left Copperhead just before recording their first album to work on Rod Stewart’s Never a Dull Moment album in London, but mainly to join a new band Nicky Hopkins was putting together. Sears went on to co-produce, arrange the music and play on, Kathi McDonald’s “Insane Asylum” album, using guest artists like, Sly Stone, The Pointer Sisters, "Nils Lofgrin", "Neil Schon", Aynsley Dunbar, and the Tower of Power horns. He also co-founded a band called “Sears, Schon, Errico” with Neil Schon and Greg Errico, playing the “Diamond Head Crater Festival” in Hawaii, as well as several California shows. Sears played keyboards and bass with Jefferson Starship from 1974 – 1987. He played on all their albums including their hit, Red Octopus which reached number one on the Billboard charts. Sears wrote the song "Play on Love" with Grace Slick, and penned the only instrumental on the album, "Sandalphon". Jefferson Starships hit single, “Miracles” featured Pete on bass and piano, with his good friend David Freiburg on Hammond B3 organ.

From 1992 - 2001, Sears played keyboards with Jefferson Airplanes Jorma Kaukonen, and Jack Casady, in Hot Tuna. Hot Tuna also included Michael Falzarano, and Harvey Sorgen. Sears also teaches piano at Jorma Kaukonen's, Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp in south eastern Ohio.

Through the years, he has recorded or performed with many other people, including Jerry Garcia, David Nelson, Warren Haynes, Leigh Stephens, Nick Gravenites, Peter Rowan, Steve Cropper, Roy Harper, Nicky Hopkins, Steve Kimock, Zydeco Flames, Ron Wood, Leftover Salmon, Eric McFadden, Betty Davis, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Phil Lesh.

He has also worked live and in the studio and performed with John Lee Hooker, who wrote and recorded a song with Sears, called “Elizabeth”. He has shared the stage with artist like Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers, Los Lobos, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Sam Bush, [Elvis Costello]], Paul Butterfield, Michael Bloomfield, Levon Helm, Grateful Dead, David Crosby, Carlos Santana to name just a few.

Sears solo C.D’s include “Watchfire” with guests Jerry Garcia, Babatunde Olatunji, David Grisman, Mickey Hart, Mimi Farina, and Holly Near. Pete and his wife, writer Jeannette Sears, who wrote the majority of the albums lyrics became involved with human rights issues in Central America during the 1980’s, and led a highly successful radio drive to raise food and clothing for refugees from the civil wars of Guatemala and El Salvador sheltering in the bay area. The formed a non-profit video production company called “Watchfire Productions”, with Mark Adler, Mary McCue Obrian, and Emmy award winning documentary film director Ray Telles, producing a music video about human rights abuses on the Mayas of Guatemala. The project was funded by Jerry Garcia and the Rex Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and Earth Island Institute. Hundreds of free copies of the video were distributed free of charge to human rights organizations around the world, working to help stop the genocide in Central America. It was also aired extensively on the Canadian Much Music TV channel. Sears and singer, songwriter, activist Mimi Farina played many benefits in the San Francisco Bay Area for various Central American related causes.

He once joined bluesman Nick Gravenitas on the back of a flat bed truck, to drive down Market Street in San Francisco, playing the blues in support of nuclear disarmament, and protesting the US backed injustices in Central America. They were joined by a hundred thousand other peace marchers.

"The Long Haul" which includes guests Davey Pattison, Charlie Musselwhite, Levon Helm, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Steve Kimock, Francis Clay, Maria Muldaur, Wavy Gravy, Shanna Morrison, Rich Kirch and John Lee Hooker who co-wrote and performed a song with Pete. The track, “Elizabeth” was the last “live in the studio” band performance with no overdubs that John Lee Hooker was to record before his death in 2001. Pete Sears played keyboards with "The Flying Other Brothers", and is now a full time member of “Moonalice”, along with Barry Sless, Roger McNamee, GE Smith, Ann McNamee and Jim Sanchez. He also flies around the country playing one off gigs with artists like, David Nelson & Friends”, “Zero", and Steve Kimock Band”.