Pete Sears

Pete Sears In a career spanning more than four 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.

Sears played piano on the Rod Stewart albums Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells a Story, Never a Dull Moment, and Smiler. He also played bass on Rod Stewart's versions of "Cut Across Shorty" (from Gasoline Alley) and "Rather Go Blind" (from Never a Dull Moment). During this period, Sears toured the US with Long John Baldry blues band, and played with John Cipollina in Copperhead.

Sears was with Jefferson Starship from 1974 to 1987, and went on to play in the Jorma Kaukonen Trio with Kaukonen and Michael Falzarano. He also played with Kaukonen and Falzarano along with Jack Casady and Harvey Sorgen in Hot Tuna.

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. In 2001, he played keyboards as a guest of Hooker's in Oroville, California, shortly before he died in July 2001.

Sears has played with many other artists through the years, including Leigh Stephens and Micky Waller in Silver Metre. Long John Baldry in 1971, the original "Copperhead" with John Cipollina, "Zero", "Nick Gravenitas", Jerry Garcia, the Steve Kimock Band", Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Leftover Salmon, and Los Lobos. He now plays with the band Moonalice.