Our rotating cast of pianists roll in from across the country — Nashville session players, seasoned veterans, and road-warrior cover-band frontmen. Different backgrounds, same mission: read the room and make it sing.
Mark Kaufman
Mark Kaufman is a co-owner and operator of Crocodile Rocks, and has been one of its standout piano performers since 1995.
His passion for music began at an early age, developing his skills in both piano and vocals. During high school and into his early twenties, Mark performed with several rock bands throughout the Myrtle Beach area, building a strong foundation as a live entertainer.
In 1991, he joined Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, where he played a key role in developing the preshow and performed there for six years. Over the course of his career, Mark has had the opportunity to share the stage with renowned artists such as The Shirelles, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Bobby Rydell, and Frankie Avalon.
He has also performed at notable venues including the Gatlin Brothers Theatre, the Ronnie Milsap Theatre, and the House of Blues.
With more than three decades at Crocodile Rocks, Mark continues to bring energy, passion, and a genuine love for live performance to the stage — thriving on the excitement and unpredictability that each night brings.
Carolyn Malfa
Carolyn Malfa is the first resident female player in Croc Rocks history! A powerhouse vocalist born in NYC and raised in Tampa, FL, Carolyn graduated with honors from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in musical theater. After a few years of relative success in the acting world, she still got sick of being broke... and pivoted to dueling pianos! (Where she has been extremely happy ever since!)
Dueling pianos has taken Carolyn from Vegas casinos to Middle East military installations, and everywhere in between. While Crocs is her musical home, Carolyn also enjoys performing as a guest player for Harrah's Las Vegas, Flying Ivories (NYC), Bobby McKeys (DC), and Savannah Smiles, as well as making a yearly appearance aboard Disney Cruise Lines as a Piano Party guest entertainer.
During her time in the acting world, Carolyn performed in musicals on national tours, at prominent regional theaters, and on many well-known NYC stages. You may have also heard her voice in some TV commercials! During her stint in NYC, Carolyn also spent several years studying and performing improv comedy.
Carolyn enjoys spending her time offstage either in the weight room, the yoga studio, or on the couch reading, gaming, and/or re-watching Heated Rivalry while snuggled up with her two Great Danes, Hammond & Rupert.
Jeff Staus
Jeff Staus is an accomplished musician playing piano professionally for most of his adult life. After being trained classically on piano from the ages of nine through fifteen, he soon branched out to dabble in drums, bass, and guitar.
He went on to attend the University of Maryland where he studied music and public relations. After college, Staus sought out a career in music and in 2005 began performing dueling pianos in Baltimore, Maryland.
Since 2013 he has been touring the country playing at the top dueling piano bars in the industry. His repertoire contains everything from rock to country to rap and everything in between.
Sunny Mullins
Hometown: North Olmsted, Ohio·Birthday: January 19th·Marital status: Confidential
I started my dueling piano journey on May 1st, 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio at Howl at the Moon Saloon. After 2 years at Howl at the Moon in Columbus, Ohio, I moved here to Myrtle Beach to play at Crocodile Rocks in March of 1998. I always say that I have more fun than anyone in the room!
I have a wonderful, 27-year-old daughter, Teagan Lee Mullins. On days off I enjoy staying at home with my 3 dogs or getting on my motorcycle and wasting a tank of gas!
Dean Edwards
A Columbia, Mississippi native, Dean has been a heartbeat of piano bars for the past 26 years. A multi-instrumentalist who began playing piano at age six and guitar at thirteen, he possesses a working knowledge of all standard band instruments and an astonishing repertoire of over 5,000 songs.
Before becoming a fixture behind the keys, he spent four years as a stand-up comedian, honing the quick wit and crowd interaction that now make his performances unforgettable. Whether delivering spot-on covers, taking requests, or trading banter with the audience, Dean turns every night into a lively, one-of-a-kind musical experience.
Versatile and seasoned — the consummate piano bar "bringer of joy."
Jimmy Porter
Early in his life, Jimmy Porter knew music would become his lifelong career. He began playing drums at the age of four and piano at six. At seven, he began to study under select musicians from the 'President's Own' United States Army Band and Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, in Alexandria, Virginia, where he performed and toured with numerous ensembles throughout the United States, including 13 countries overseas.
Jimmy attended the University of North Texas to pursue a degree in Percussion Performance with a piano minor. Over the years, Jimmy has fine tuned his skills as an entertainer, percussionist, keyboardist, bass guitarist, band leader, manager, and singer/songwriter. He has recorded with, toured, and collaborated with many fellow artists and musicians in various genres of music including country, rock, and heavy metal. Jimmy is the front man/singer for the band, 11:11, a progressive rock band from Dallas, Texas and is also currently recording a solo album.
In 1995, Jimmy was introduced to the dueling piano industry and found he had a special knack for entertainment, "live" music and management. He has worked extensively across the country at many of the best dueling piano clubs in the country, including Savannah Smiles, Howl at the Moon, Big Bang, and personally helped open, establish, and manage Bobby McKeys Dueling Piano Club, National Harbour, MD, as the Entertainment Director. Returning to Myrtle Beach in 2017, Crocodile Rocks is "home" for Jimmy, and he is incredibly proud to play for one of the most successful, famous, and longest operating Dueling Piano Clubs in the nation!