Homer Steinweiss

Steinweiss was born into a musical family in New York City. His parents worked in the Jewelry business and were very supportive of his interest in music. He began playing music in the early 1990s after watching the Conga player in the Jazz band at his sister's Manhattan high school. When his Conga teacher became unavailable he switched to drums.[2]

Steinweiss was initially interested in Grunge but an early drum teacher, Matt Patuto,[2] guided him to the music of James Brown and The Meters.

In 2001 Steinweiss entered college at SUNY Purchase to study philosophy, though he already had an active musical career.[2]

Steinweiss' career took off when he was only 16 after The Mighty Imperials released their first record, Thunder Chicken.[2][3][4] The Mighty Imperials included Steinweiss on drums, bassist Nick Movshon, multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels (later founder of Truth and Soul Records)[5] and singer Joseph Henry.

The Mighty Imperials' raw funk and soul sounds morphed into many collaborations including Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, Fabulous Three, Menahan Street Band and The Arcs[6] and others.

In 2006 British producer Mark Ronson heard Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and asked the band to play a session with the then-unknown Amy Winehouse.[7] These sessions became her album Back to Black.

Steinweiss has recorded and toured with artists such as Amy Winehouse, The Arcs, St. Vincent, Foreigner, The Kills, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Sheryl Crow and others.

The earthy, retro grooves of the Menahan Street Band have been sampled by many artists including Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar.[8] El Michels Affair grooves have been sampled by many artists as well including Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon, Isaac Hayes and many others.[9]

Steinweiss is an illustrator and dog lover,[11] a foodie[12] and occasionally blogs about the food he finds.