Pete Sears
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Pete Sears | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Peter Roy Sears |
Born | 27 May 1948 |
Origin | Bromley, Kent, England |
Genres | |
Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 1960s–present |
Member of | Moonalice |
Formerly of |
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Website | petesears |
Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues. He usually plays bass, keyboards, or both in bands.[3]
Overview
Pete Sears played on the
Sears joined the band
Sears has played with many other musicians through the years, including
Sears has also written and recorded the original score for many documentary films, including the award-winning "The Fight in the Fields" –
Career
Sears was born in Bromley, Kent.[citation needed] His career as a professional musician began in 1964, touring the United Kingdom with the band Sons of Fred. As well as playing British television shows such as Ready Steady Go and Thank Your Lucky Stars, Sons of Fred also recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London.[citation needed]
Pete Sears went on to play and record with many musical artists, including
Sears was a session musician during the late 1960s, including recording piano with the blues band
In the summer of 1969, Sears left Trader Horne just before they began recording. Blue Cheer guitarist
Stoneground manager Tom Donahue recruited Sears in London,[9] during their Medicine Ball Caravan (1970) European tour[10] later returning to the Marin County with them to record their first album, also produced by Tom Donahue.
From 1970 through 1974, Sears returned to session work, including playing on Stewart's early British solo albums: Gasoline Alley,[4] Every Picture Tells a Story including the hit singles "Maggie May" and "Reason To Believe", Never a Dull Moment,[4] and Smiler. In addition to playing for Stewart, he composed the brief instrumental "Lochinvar" on the Smiler album.[11]
He also played bass with the Long John Baldry Blues Band on their first tour of the United States 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
Sears spent two weeks recording with Ike Turner at Ike's studio, Bolic Sound in Los Angeles. Tina Turner was there one night and recorded vocals on some of the tracks they had recorded, including a version of George Harrison's song "Something" on which Turner changed the "she" to "he".[citation needed]
With Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna
In 1974, Sears joined
In the early 1990s, Sears played keyboards with San Francisco-based psychedelic, jazz, rock band ZERO. Pete has sat in with ZERO as recently as 2013.[citation needed]
From 1992 to 2001, Sears played keyboards with Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady in Hot Tuna. The band also included Michael Falzarano and Harvey Sorgen. They would sometimes tour as "The Jorma Kaukonen Trio" with Sears playing bass on the keyboards with his left hand. Sears sometimes teaches piano at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch guitar Camp in south eastern Ohio. In 2011, Hot Tuna flew Sears out to New York City to perform at Jorma Kaukonen's 70th birthday bash at the Beacon Theatre. As well as his Tuna bandmates, Sears played that night with Bob Weir, Steve Earle, and Oteil Burbridge.[citation needed]
Other collaborations
Through the years, he has recorded or performed with many other people, including
He has also worked live and in the studio and performed with
Sears' solo CDs include Watchfire
In 1988, a group of citizens from the Soviet Union marched across the US as a show of support for peace and the end of the Cold War between the two countries. On 16 July 1988, a concert was held in the Band Shell in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, organised by Ron Frazier and Bill McCarthy, who had hosted a previous event for the marchers in Los Angeles. Sears was asked to provide and organise the music for the event, so he invited his current band, ZERO, along with other musician friends including Jerry Garcia, whose band the Grateful Dead were performing later that night at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. Several Soviet rock bands, folk singers, and poets from the march also performed as well as two Tibetan drummers. Speeches were also held.[12]
Sears was one of a very small group of Bay-area musicians invited to audition for the Grateful Dead's keyboard position in the summer of 1990 following the death of Brent Mydland; the chair was eventually given to Vince Welnick from The Tubes.[13]
Sears performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tribute to John Lee Hooker at Stanford University as one of Hooker's guests. He also wrote a song with Hooker, "Elizabeth", which they performed live together in the studio on Sears' solo album The Long Haul.[14] 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 July 2001. "The Long Haul" includes guests Davey Pattison, Charlie Musselwhite, Levon Helm, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Steve Kimock, Francis Clay, Nick Gravenites, Maria Muldaur, Wavy Gravy, Shana Morrison and Rich Kirch.
Pete Sears currently performs with
Jeannette Sears
Pete and his wife Jeannette met in 1971 and began their relationship as a songwriting team. They married in 1975 in Mill Valley, California.
They became active with numerous Central American relief organisations through the '80s, working on benefits and immediate relief to refugees. In the late 1980s they spearheaded a radio drive in the San Francisco Bay area to raise food and clothing for refugees fleeing the ravages of civil war in Guatemala and El Salvador. In 1988, the California Institute of Integral Studies gave them an award for humanitarian work in the Bay area. Her passion for social justice shows up in her first novel, A Light Rain of Grace.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Discography
Pete Sears appears on the following albums:[3]
- Solo albums
- with Sons of Fred
- "Sweet Love" 1964
- "I'll Be There" 1964
- "I, I, I Want Your Lovin'" 1965
- "She Only Wants a Friend" 1965
- "Baby What You Want Me to Do" 1966
- "You Told Me" 1966
- with Les Fleur de Lys
- "Circles" 1966
- with Sam Gopal Dream 1967
- 1967 recordings for Screen Gems, previously unreleased
- with Steamhammer
- Steamhammer (1969)
- with Jade (UK band)
- "Fly on Strangewings" 1970
- with Silver Metre
- "Silver Metre" 1970
- with Stoneground
- Stoneground (1971)
- Family Album (1971)
- with Rod Stewart
- Gasoline Alley (1970)
- Every Picture Tells a Story (1971)
- Never a Dull Moment (1972)
- Smiler (1974)
- with Jefferson Starship
- Dragon Fly (1974)
- Red Octopus (1975)
- Spitfire (1976)
- Earth (1978)[15]
- Freedom at Point Zero (1979)
- Modern Times (1981)
- Winds of Change (1982)
- Nuclear Furniture (1984)
- with Starship
- Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985)
- No Protection (1987), uncredited
- with Hot Tuna
- Live at Sweetwater (1992)
- Live at Sweetwater Two (1993)
- Live in Japan (1997)
- And Furthurmore... (1999)
- with Jorma Kaukonen
- Too Many Years (1998)
- Jorma Kaukonen Trio Live (2000)
- Guest Appearances
- Papa John Creach (by Papa John Creach) (1971)
- Betty Davis (by Betty Davis) (1973)
- Manhole (by Grace Slick) (1973)
- Insane Asylum (by Kathi McDonald) (1974)
- Tiger Rose (by Robert Hunter) (1975)
- Solid Silver (by Quicksilver Messenger Service) (1975)
- Blue Star (by Nick Gravenites) (1980)
- The Doubtful Handshake (by Terry & the Pirates) (1980)
- The Usual Suspects (by The Usual Suspects) (1981)
- Rising of the Moon(by Terry & the Pirates) (1982)
- Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (by Paul Kantner) (1983)
- Zero) (1994)
- Mecca (by Memphis Pilgrims) (1996)
- Kak (by Kak) (1999 re-release)
- Love Will See You Through (by Phil Lesh) (1999)
- Live at the Chi Chi Club (by Marc Benno) (2005)
- We Are All One (by Michael Falzarano) (2008)
- I Got Blues for Ya (by Michael Falzarano) (2014)
- A Kaleidoscope Christmas (by Michael Falzarano) (2020)
References
- ^ Rotter, Joshua (15 April 2022). "Rock legend Pete Sears of Moonalice on Jimi, Grace, Jerry, and hitting that psychedelic groove". 48 hills. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ a b Pete. "About". PETE SEARS. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ AllMusic. Accessed 14 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Selvin, Joel. (8 October 2001). "Starship Veteran Back On Course: Keyboardist's New CD Features All-Star Support". San Francisco Chronicle. Accessed 3 March 2011.
- ^ Pete Sears on Xtreme Musician. Accessed 14 March 2011.
- ^ Skidmore, Mick. (20 February 2002). "Pete Sears: In It for the Long Haul", jambands.com. Accessed 14 March 2011.
- ^ Eyries, Patrice, David Edwards and Mike Callahan. (21 October 2005). National General Album Discography. Both Sides Now Publications. Accessed on 1 May 2014.
- ^ Sears, Pete (18 April 2012). "1969-70 "Silver Metre" Fillmore West, San Francisco". Facebook. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
"Silver Metre" was the third pro band I was a member of. In the summer of 1969 I showed up in Venice Beach, Los Angeles after flying from London to take Leigh (I had met him there) up on his offer to put me up if I ever made it to the USA. We then got a band together called "Silver Metre". We were managed by Tom Donahue of KSAN FM radio fame, and released an album on National General Records. The record was recorded at Trident Studios in London.
- ^
Planer, Lindsay. "Stoneground – Review". Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^
Sippel, John (3 July 1971). "Weintraub's 'Ball' to Roll at L.A. Theater; Rock Artists' Odyssey". ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Rod Stewart – Lochinvar, retrieved 1 March 2022
- ^ "Jerry Garcia with Zero Golden Gate Park 1988 THINK". www.phutube.com. 29 January 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ San Francisco Chronicle, June 30, 2006: "Vince Welnick lived the dream, playing music with the Grateful Dead..." Joel Selvin
- ^ Metzger, John. The Long Haul album review, The Music Box, July 2002. Accessed 14 March 2011.
- ^ Marsh, Dave. (4 May 1978). Earth album review, Rolling Stone. Accessed 3 March 2011.
External links
- Pete Sears official website
- Pete Sears discography at Discogs