Barry Wofsy Heart of Rock & Roll Series: Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band

Comprised of some of the top musicians in the Bay Area, Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band delivers an evening of danceable classic rock, blues, funk, R&B and more. The band treats its audiences to original arrangements of tunes by artists as diverse as Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, The Meters, Bob Dylan, Joe Jackson, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Bruce Hornsby, Van Morrison, Elton John, Traffic, and many more.

Hailed as one of the Bay Area's tightest bands for more than 25 years, Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band promises an evening of musical celebration guaranteed to leave your toes tapping and your face smiling long after the last note has faded.

Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band:
Mitch Stein (Keyboards, Vocals)
Miz Dee (Vocals)
Bob Coons (Guitar/Vocals)
Michael White (Bass)
Billy Johnson (Drums)
Bobby Strickland (Sax)

Mitch Stein Bio

Mitch Stein is one of the West Coast's most in-demand keyboardists. He has played piano since the age of 4, is both classically trained and formally trained in Jazz at the Berklee College Of Music, and has performed and/or recorded with such jazz, blues, rock and funk greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul McCandless, Frank Morgan, Jaco Pastorius, Bob Weir, David Grisman, Narada Michael Walden, Norton Buffalo, George Porter Jr., Mike Clark, Charles Neville, Jim Keltner, Derek Trucks, Joaquin Lievano, Peter Cetera, Gary Burton, Phil Lesh, Leland Sklar, Scott Page, Betty Carter, Johnny Nitro, Freddie Hubbard, Karl Denson, Joan Osborne, Jon Anderson, Steve Kujala, Bernard Purdie, Larry Braggs, Wendell Brunious, Luther Tucker, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, The Headhunters, Dave Malone, Camile Baudoin, Reggie Scanlan, Max Weinberg, The Greyboy Allstars, John Entwistle, John Lee Hooker, Little Jimmy Scott, Buddy Rich, Les Claypool, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Tootie Heath, Melvin Seals, Zero, John Heard, Mickey Hart, Fred Staehle, Rob Wasserman, Donna Jean Godcheaux, Peter Albin, Peter Rowan, Dark Star Orchestra, Bill Kreutzmann, Papa Mali, Harvey Mandel, Al Foster, Jerry Jumonville, Von and Chico Freeman, Steve Rodby, Papa John Creach, and many others.

In addition to his decades-long role in Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band and Stein/Saunders/Vitt (featuring bassist Tony Saunders and drummer Bill Vitt), Mitch is one of the founding members of — and keyboardist for — the acclaimed Grateful Dead tribute CRYPTICAL, and is a recurring member in Stu Allen & Mars Hotel. In early 2012, Mitch joined together Dave Malone, Camile Baudoin and Reggie Scanlan from The New Orleans Radiators plus drummer Eric Bolivar (Anders Osborne, Pimps Of Joytime), to form GATORATORS, who still perform together throughout the year. One of Mitch's more memorable gigs was when he was hired to perform solo jazz piano at Mick Jagger's daughter Karis' wedding, and another was when his trio played at a private birthday party Mick threw for Jerry Hall the following day. Mitch composed, produced and performed the score for several best-selling SuperNintendo video games including Taz-Mania and Clay Fighter, and was the exclusive composer of DeadRingers, officially licensed classic Grateful Dead ringtones for cell phones.

Mitch is also a veteran feature film producer (he goes by "Mitchell" in the film world), and has produced or been on the production team for projects for LucasArts, Commercial Pictures, Walt Disney Productions, New World Pictures, American Playhouse, (c)olossal Pictures, Nintendo, InterPlay, Electronic Arts, SunSoft, U.S. Gold, and others. Mitch produced two Sundance Film Festival Official Selections (Dream With the Fishes starring David Arquette and Cathy Moriarty, and Christmas in the Clouds starring Graham Greene and M. Emmet Walsh) that both received worldwide theatrical and home video distribution. Oprah Winfrey called Christmas in the Clouds her "must-see" holiday film (the film is now available on iTunes). Mitch also coproduced The Earth Will Swallow You, a feature-length documentary/performance film about — and starring — the popular rock band Widespread Panic. His current active productions include a Grateful Dead reference app for iOS and Android, a 3-D feature film/videogame project based upon a novel to which he acquired the rights, a featurelength documentary about James Brown's band, and a music-based reality television series.

Miz Dee Bio

In addition to her decades-long work with the All-Star Band, powerhouse vocalist Miz Dee’s resume includes national and international performances and recording sessions with artists including Jeff Tamilier, Prairie Prince, Bobby Vega, Elvin Bishop, the Johnny Otis Orchestra and others, and is internationally renowned through her performances at numerous jazz festivals in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Brussels and more. Here in the U.S., she has performed at the Monterey Jazz, Monterey Pop AND Monterey Blues Festivals.

Miz Dee has opened for James Brown, Steven Stills and other significant artists, and locally, opened for The Funky Meters at the Fillmore. She’s even performed at Mount Rushmore!

Bob Coons Bio

Guitarist Bob Coons has a unique guitar style that’s at home in many different musical settings. He has toured, performed and/or recorded with Melvin Seals & JGB, Timex Social Club, Chad Hollister Band, Country Joe McDonald, Sam Andrew, Bobbie “Spider” Webb and more. Bob sang for years in the San Francisco Opera alongside such notable stars as Placido Domingo, Beverly Sills and Dame Joan Sutherland, and was a featured vocalist in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Bob studied guitar with both Calvin Simmons and Joe Satriani, and his prowess on the fretboard has been a cornerstone of Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band since the band’s beginning.

Michael White Bio

Celebrated bassist Michael White is the newest member of the All-Star Band, although he and Mitch have performed together in many different settings over the past 20 years or so (including most recently with drummer Max Weinberg). Michael’s repertoire is extensive, and he brings a melodic and deep harmonic platform for the All-Star Band’s sonic adventures. Michael has toured with many favorite local and international artists including the Doobie Brothers, Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody, Peter Rowan, Tim Goodman, Jim Chappell, Pablo Cruise, The Malone Bros – (Dave from The Radiators/Tommy from The Subdudes) and more. Michael is featured on many recordings including Feelin’ Alright by New Riders Of The Purple Sage, NRPS on Relix, Liberty and Columbia by Robert Hunter, numerous recordings with Jim Chappell, and more. Michael is an official endorser for GHS Strings and Modulus Basses.

Billy Johnson Bio

Billy Johnson was born in Philadelphia, and was the beneficiary of the mentoring of fine players like Gerry Brown and Cornell Rochester. He spent a lot of time traveling back and forth between Philly and New York, including gigs with guitarist Kevin Eubanks and his brother, trombonist Robin Eubanks. It's easy to see why guitarist Carlos Santana enlisted Billy on three different occasions to man the traps for tours and albums. He did his first tour with Santana in 1990 and 1991, and then rejoined the band in the summer of 1994 for about two-and-a-half years. Johnson performed on Santana's Milagro album in 1992, and on the Brothers record featuring Carlos and Jorge Santana. He plays the opening cut on Santana's smash album Supernatural, and provided a hot rhythmic bedrock for others - a steady pulse on “Put Your Lights On”, the powerful tom work on “Migra”, some slinky funk on “Love Of My Life”, the upbeat Latin-infused rock on “Maria Maria”, and Santana’s mega-hit “Smooth”.

Billy played on four albums with Frankie Beverly and Maze: Joy and Pain, Live In New Orleans, We Are One, and Back To Basics. Billy has also been performing with contemporary jazz guitarist Joyce Cooling since late in '96 (and is featured on her CD Keeping Cool), and in addition to his decades-long tenure as the percussive foundation of Mitch Stein & All-Star Band, he plays with the Bay Area pop band Pablo Cruise when time permits.

Bobby Strickland Bio

Bobby Strickland is a woodwind multi-instrumentalist with emphasis on saxophones, flute and oboe. A Bay Area native, Bobby entered the professional world of music in 1985. His position with The Big Chill, which was an offshoot of the Bay Area band The Tubes, led to an invitation to play with Todd Rundgren, with whom he still performs and records to this day. In addition to his work with Todd and Mitch Stein & His All-Star Band, Bobby has played, recorded or toured with The Band, Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead, Vince Welnick and The Missing Man Formation, Second Sight, Jill Sobule, Daryl Hall, The Sandals, The Tubes, Harvey Mandel, Dick Dale, Joe Walsh, The Eliminators, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Neal Schon, Ross Valory, Henry Kaiser, producer Steven Hague, The Plastic Fauxno Band many more. His father, Bob “Benny” Strickland, was a professional trumpet player in the 1930’s, and recorded with Bob Wells and the Texas Playboys.