Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88’s are the torch bearers of a great American musical heritage. Taking  their inspiration from the great  jump n’ boogie outfits and swingin’ little big  bands of the 40’s, they breathe fresh life into the music that gave birth to rock n’ roll. Mitch takes his cue from his jumpin’, n, jivin’, shoutin’ n’ honkin’, pumpin’ n’ poundin’ predecessors, Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, Joe and Jimmie Liggins, Louis Prima, just to name a few. Mitch’s piledrivin’ piano licks and energetic stage persona combine with the Rocket 88’s swingin’ horns, thumpin’ bass, rockin’ guitar, and jungle drums to send a crowd into dancing delight. They are one of the first bands on the West Coast to reach back to an earlier time in American music using humor, style, musicianship, and showmanship to forge their own swinging brand of music, which they coined  rock-a-boogie. Mitch & the 88’s have distilled the essence of jump, swing , boogie woogie, made it their own, and deliver it to the present.

Mitch Woods was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971and began performing as Mitch Woods & His Red Hot Mama, featuring his boogie woogie piano and the sultry voice of  the Red Hot Mama (Susan Savoy) on tunes by Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, and Fats Waller. The band broke up as  Mitch moved to Hawaii to embark on a solo career in the late 70’s. He returned in 1981 to form the first incarnation of the Rocket 88’s with former members of the David Bromberg Band.

Mitch and the 88’s recorded their first of five albums for the Blind Pig label entitled “Steady Date” in 1984. Hailed by Billboard as “a Whitman sampler of American jump, bump, and boogie” it features Lance Dickerson on drums (of Commander Cody fame).

Click HERE to go to Mitch Woods' Website

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