Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s and Special Guests Todd Morgan and The Emblems February 24, 2012

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 pile drivin’ 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.

A young band from Sacramento, Todd Morgan & the Emblems perform their original Pop/Rock songs along with many from the 50's and onward, performing them in a style, quality and manner that projects a youthful energy and a musical maturity at the same time.