Sinister Dexter
The Right to Be Funky
11-piece soul machine bringing the unique sound of great funk horn bands to the San Francisco Bay Area
Upcoming Shows
Friday Night Funk
Club Fox
Friday night funk at the legendary Club Fox venue
PAST SHOWS
Listen to Our Tracks
Live Performances
Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield)
Live at Redwood City Music In The Park, 2022
I Can't Stand The Rain (Ann Peebles)
Live at Club Fox, 2012
Broadband Connection (Sinister Dexter)
Live at Club Fox, 2012
LA (Couch)
Blue Oak Brewery, 2025
Who Knows Who (Orgone)
Live at Redwood City Music In The Park, 2023
Gallery
About the Band
Over 25 Years of Funk
Formed in the summer of 1998 by members of the Stanford Band, Sinister Dexter was created to fill the need for a great local party band. Started by horn players, we put together a band that we wanted to go see – which of course meant a horn-heavy sound and classic funk music inspired by Tower of Power and the Blues Brothers.
We started by playing college parties and small Bay Area clubs like the Quarter Note in Sunnyvale and Blue Chalk Cafe in Palo Alto. In May 2004, we got our first chance to play in San Francisco at the legendary Lost & Found Saloon, where we became regulars and played a sold-out New Year's Eve show to close out 2004.
As the band matured, we expanded into blues, rock, ska, and Latin jazz – anything with a solid groove that we could put great horn parts to. In 2004, we recorded and self-produced our debut CD, Dexterity, featuring 16 original tracks spanning all the genres we'd explored over the years.
In mid-2005, lightning struck when we recruited the incredible Rebecca Lipon as our new lead vocalist. A founding member of the jazz quartet Off Beats with over 15 years of opera and musical theater training, Rebecca forced us to take things to the next level. We refined our sound, trimmed the fat, and got back to our core concept as a funk and soul band.
Today, we're an 11-piece soul machine featuring Rebecca's powerhouse vocals, a hot six-piece horn section, and a rock-solid rhythm section. Our high-energy shows have been described as "Tower of Power, Ozomatli, and Joss Stone in a blender" – bringing the right to be funky to venues throughout the Bay Area.
Tower of Power, Ozomatli, and Joss Stone in a blender
— Mountain View Voice
The Band
11 talented musicians bringing you the finest funk and soul
Rebecca Lipon Weekly
🎤 Lead Vocals
Rebecca's love of singing started with Sesame Street, much to her siblings' chagrin, and it never stopped. She was a founding member of the Off Beats, a Jazz quartet, in her late teens, studied opera and musical theater styles for over 15 years, and performed professionally with theater groups in Northern California, Boston and New York. She has been Sinister Dexter's lead singer since 2005, and loves the mix of soul, funk and blues music.
Since 2005
Daniel Walling
🎹 Keyboard
Daniel started playing piano like everyone else, because Mom made him take lessons. But then he got hooked, switching from classical to jazz in high school, playing in various jazz combos in college, and in 2004 switching again to funky tasty groovaliciousness with sindex. Critics have described his organ solos as "really f*#$ing loud".
Since 2004
David Mitby
🎸 Bass
Matt Spitz
🎸 Guitar
Matt plays guitar, has performed in 38 states, and recently won a Grammy. As of this writing, at least one of those statements is correct. This is his second tour of duty with SinDex after a decade hiatus in New York City.
Jon Wagner
🥁 Drums
Kevin Wooley
🎷 Tenor Sax
Kevin is a founding member of Sinister Dexter and the defacto manager. He's been playing tenor sax since he was 12 years old in jazz groups, symphonic orchestras, and marching bands. He also plays clarinet and soprano sax, but Kenny G ruined that instrument for everyone. Because of his love for music from the sixties and seventies (and disgust with music from the eighties and nineties), he often thinks he was born a couple of decades too late. By day, Kevin is an Oscar-winning engineer for Industrial Light & Magic.
Don Hoffman
🎺 Lead Trombone
Don's been playing for over 30 years, and his background covers everything from jazz to musical pit orchestras, and symphony to marching bands. He's one of the founding members of Sinister Dexter, and enjoys occasionally playing with other Bay Area bands including Foreverland (which was even better when it was Neverland), which he was also a founding member of.
Josh Schiller
🎺 Bass Trombone
Josh has been playing bone for a very long time. You could even say it pays him more than anything else he does, especially since he's currently enjoying a life of leisure.
Patrick Neschleba
🎷 Alto & Bari Sax
Patrick has been performing on saxophone for 40 years, and after many years playing trumpet with the Stanford Band, you might see him picking that up for a few songs as well! Patrick wrote the founding email for the band and played a major role in our early direction, music, management, and recording. After a brief hiatus while raising young kids, he returned full-time several years ago and added bari sax to his repertiore. In his day job, Patrick has enjoyed a long career in various leadership roles in the semiconductor industry.
Adam Elman
🎺 Trumpet
Adam is a founding member of Sinister Dexter and is glad to be playing with them again after a brief 14-year hiatus. Starting as a trombone player in bands and orchestras in 9th grade, Adam picked up trumpet after college and decided to stick with it when SinDex began, both because the band already had two great trombone players and because it's way easier to carry a trumpet around. In the rare moments when he's not busy helping raise a kid or designing voice experiences for a large tech company, he likes to arrange and occasionally compose original music.
Lori Karns
🎺 Trumpet
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Available for clubs, festivals, corporate events, and private parties
Contact for BookingEmail: booking@sinisterdexter.net