Formed on Labour Day 1973,
BUSKER is a keyboard oriented rock duo with progressive, jazz and classical
influences.
Steve McCann is the keyboardist, guitarist and composer of the band.
Randy Dawdy (yes, that’s his real name) is the drummer, percussionist and lead
vocalist.
Steve and Randy first worked together on their high school’s production of
Hair, where Steve served as musical director.
As well as winning an Ontario Arts Council songwriting contest,
Steve holds
degrees in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Western
Ontario
and has worked with
some of the area's most talented musicians including Cheryl Rae and Paul
Langille.
Prior to joining Steve, Randy briefly performed with the well known Canadian
band Max Webster and the rock band Whitehorse.
BUSKER released their first album On
Any Street Corner in 1975.
The album was a mix of rock and funk influences and
sold well off stage and in local record stores.
Their second album “Impressions of a City was a suite based on life in and
around their home town of LondonOntario.
It was recorded in the band's own studio and received very
positive reviews in Contemporary Keyboard, an American music trade
magazine.
These two albums were followed by
Summernightsmusic, a jazz influenced album
of island music,
ShakinAll Over, the band's answer to the New Wave music
scene,
Blitzkrieg, an electronic album,
and their most recent release
Northern
Fantasies, a Symphonic Rock album,
which was inspired by the coast to coast tours across
Canada.
During their 12 years on the road
BUSKER garnered a huge following
and sold many copies of their recordings to
enthusiastic audiences across Canada
and in the northern United
States.
The band was
extremely popular with the university and college crowds, but was overlooked by
the record companies of the time.
This prompted Steve to build his own studio
to allow the band to have a musical voice that could be enjoyed by their fans.
Eventually, family and the rigors of travel took their toll and BUSKER played
their last road show.
Steve went on to own an Irish Pub for
18 years before retiring to work full time on his writing and solo albums
A
Penguin In Heat, The Wide Sargasso Sea and Creole Jumbo,
a trilogy of
progressive tropical music.
Currently Steve is writing both a classical piano
album and a sequel to the tropical trilogy under the working title of Sargasso
Sails
Randy has continued to perform in
various bands including
front man for honky-tonk legend DAVE HOY,
the swing
influenced band THE KING STREET DADDIES
and the rock cover band WRIF WRAF.
CHECK OUT BUSKER'S CD'S
CHECK OUT STEVE'S SOLO CD'S
SOME EARLY PHOTOS
CHECK OUT JD'S PHOTOS AND LYRICS
"NORTHERN FANTASIES" IS FINALLY FINISHED
...CHECK IT OUT WITH BUSKER'S CD'S
e-mail BUSKER at busker.music@hotmail.com
