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mitchwoods.com Mitch Woods & his Rocket 88's
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MITCH WOODS AND HIS ROCKET 88’S
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 vanishing brand
of 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. Call it Neauveau Swing or whatever , 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, including John Firmin on sax, now
leading his own swingin’ big band - The Johnny Nocturne Band.
·Mitch
and the 88’s recorded their first of four 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).
·Their
second release,”Mr. Boogie’s Back In Town” (1988) features Danny
Caron on guitar who has since gone on to become blues legend Charles Brown’s
musical director.
·Mitch’s
third release “Solid Gold Caddilac” (1991) features a stellar
lineup of special guests, including Charlie Musselwhite, The Roomful of
Blues Horns, and Ronnie Earl. The Washington Post goes on to say about this
swingin’ album: “Woods is a rising figure in the boogie-woogie and jump
blues revival”.
·On
their fourth release,”Shakin the Shack”(1993) Woods and the 88’s combine the elements of jump/swing with New Orleans inspiration on 11 original tunes of which
Relix Magazine says: “If Shakin’ The Shack doesn’t get your
toes tapping, shoulders swaying, fingers snapping and hips gyrating, it’s
time for resuscitation!”
·Mitch’s
solo project “Keeper Of The Flame” (1996) on Viceroy/Lightyear
distributed worldwide through WEA is Mitch’s tribute to the blues masters
that inspired his career. On it he plays and sings duets with John Lee
Hooker, James Cotton, Johnnie Johnson (Chuck Berry), Earl King, and Lee Allen
(Fats Domino). Hooker enjoyed these sessions so much that he asked Woods
to join him in his own recording “Boom Boom” (Pointblank/Charisma).