The Stan Erhart Band | BIO
By way of Kansas City & Chicago to San Francisco ...

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Stan Erhart ...

Stan's roots go back to the Kansas family farm, where tractors, country guitars and his dad's harmonica were the everyday background. As a kid, he first picked up his brother's baritone horn, followed by guitar and vocals, later earning a music degree in classical flute. Moving to Chicago opened up regular club work and allowed him to develop his own brand of R&B, Rock 'n' Blues and Soul Jazz. After relocating to San Francisco, he formed one of the region's hardest working groups, playing clubs & events all over the Bay Area.

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The Stan Erhart Band ...

A fun and funky mix of some of the finest musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area. This group throws down the jams, covering various styles, plus their own well crafted originals. Tunes and genres are mixed and stirred to create the band's signature danceable 'stew'. Delivering tight energetic arrangements with punchy vocals is what they do best. The Band Dishes up Great Big Plates of Roots Rockin' Music ... With a Little of Everything on the Side.

Quick Reviews ...

"Stan Erhart has a great voice, and really knows how to use tone and voicing on guitar." -John Orr, SJ Mercury
"Stan has a great voice for a white guy!" -Dorothy Hill, Music Critic, Former TGGBS President
"Stan has one of the finest voices in blues and is very skilled with the guitar." -James Fox, Radio Host
"Soulful vocals ... scalding guitar!" -Peter 'Blewzzman' Lauro, Blues Editor, Mary4Music.com

Collaborations ...

Stan performed for several years with The Metro Fountain All-Stars, a large, multi-talented group brought together by Ted Gehrke (Metro Fest founder), and led by guitarist/vocalist JC Smith. The group released a CD, performed repeatedly at San Jose's Fountain Blues & Brews Fest, sold out the Villa Montalvo Carriage House (Saratoga, CA), and closed out the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest Blues Stage. The All-Stars have included the following great players and singers (alphabetically by last name): Ron E Beck, Kaye Bohler, Maxx Cabello Jr, Chris Cain, Noel Catura, Little John Chrisley, Taylor P Collins, Stan Erhart, Mark Fenichel, John Garcia, Andy Just, Aki Kumar, Richard Palmer, Lara Price, Gary Smith, JC Smith, Endre Tarczy, and Ron Thompson.

image Stan has hosted a number of Metro Fest 'Before & After Parties' at San Jose venues such as the Fairmont, the Radisson Plaza Hotel, and the Clarion Hotel. These events attract some of the best bay area blues players, and have included jams with Guitar Shorty, members of a Roomful of Blues, and many other festival touring acts.


Working with creative musicians is its own reward, and Stan is always up for it. He enjoys a long collaboration with Michael Warren (Bassist for Merl Saunders, Leo Nocentelli, Harvey Mandel & others), and he recently released a collection of originals and roots cover tunes recorded at Garth Webber's Red Rooster Studio in Berkeley, CA. The CD features Stan on lead vocals & guitar, Michael Warren on bass, Randy Hayes on drums & backing vocals, Nancy Wright on tenor sax, Mike Emerson on keyboards, and Garth Webber's killer guitar on two tracks.

Since moving to the SF Bay Area, Stan's played thousands of gigs, hosted numerous kick ass jam sessions (including the Coastside Jam near Half Moon Bay, CA, which is one of the oldest jams in the Bay Area), has backed a multitude of musicians & singers, and continues to produce fun blow out events -- such as the long running Vets To Vets Blues Festival in Princeton by the Sea, CA. Stan was one of a long line of accomplished guitar players providing support for harp master Little John Chrisley. He was the musical director for power house vocalist Marla Goody's 'Good-N-Plenty' Band. He's produced demos for aspiring songwriters, and recorded and performed with stellar bands such as Risk! (Chicago), Eddie O'Neale (Michigan & Chicago), Lost Luggage (Chicago), and Dean Leto & My Blue Soul (SF Bay Area). He's produced/co-produced shows at iconic San Francisco venues such as Slim's and the Great American Music Hall, and he's helped with numerous musician benefits. It's been a good road so far, and there's a lot of traveling left to do.


Stan Erhart Band Lineups ...
Hiring great musicians makes for excellent fun. Below are some of the regulars.

Michael Warren, Bass (Leo Nocentelli [Funky Meters], Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, Harvey Mandel)
Pat T, Bass (US Navy Band, Pop Fiction)
Marc Levine, Bass (Barry Manilow, Johnny Rivers, Pride & Joy)
Steve Evans, Bass (Chris Cain, Elvin Bishop, Etta James, Roy Rogers)
Gary Rosen, Bass (Ron Thompson, Mark Hummel, Amy Lou & The Wild Ones)

Randy Hayes, Drums (Coco Montoya, Chris Cain, Jon Wedemeyer, David Martin's House Party)
Robi Bean, Drums (Chuck Prophet, Steve Freund, Steve Lucky)
Dennis Dove, Drums (John Lee Hooker, Mike Schermer, Lara Price)
Damon Hope, Drums (Merl Saunders, Maria Muldaur)
Jackie Enx, Drums (Rhino Bucket, Chris Cobb)

Nancy Wright, Sax (John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Lonnie Mack)
Noel Catura, Sax (Chris Cain, Selmer Paris Endorsed Artist)
Susan Copperman (Poyntlyss Sistars, Tony Saunders, Medicine Ball Band)

Tony Stead, Keys (Sly Stone, Joe Louis Walker, Tommy Castro)
Mike Emerson, Keys (Tommy Castro, Elvin Bishop, Percy Sledge, Carlene Carter)