Bob White - lead vocals/acoustic rhythm and lead guitar.

Bob White, the BobCats namesake lead vocalist and frontman, is an exceptionally gifted singer and musician who ranks as one of the Vancouver's best entertainers. His strong roots in Rock and Pop are a result of a long and distinguished career as a live and recording performer. His versatile and polished vocal abilities, relaxed and entertaining rapport with the audience as well as his considerable guitar playing abilities provide the solid center around which the other BobCats produce their full and exciting music.

Bob's career history, which follows, should provide a deeper view of how he arrived where he is at present - the "Bob" in the BobCats!!

Bob White's first experiences with performing music were as a singer in various grade school choirs in Winnipeg. He knew he could sing but it was not really his focus. It was on Sunday night February 9,1964 when Bob witnessed the Beatles' North American debut on the Ed Sullivan show that the course of his life would be given its' defining direction. Bob now wanted to play the guitar and he saved his paper route money until he had the $20.00 to buy his first acoustic nylon string guitar from Eaton's. He proceeded to do what countless other aspiring Rock & Roll guitarists have gone through and learned all the basic chord shapes and listed intently to the hits of the day and tried to figure them out.

The next step was saving for an electric guitar and amp and finding some like-minded schoolmates, similarly bitten by the Beatle bug, to form his first band-the Faction!! This was in 1965 and the band continued with some personnel changes and a name change -the Back Pages right up until 1969. The band played the local community club, school dance and church basement curcuit and developed a reputation as one of the city's up and coming groups. In this time Bob developed both his guitar and vocal skills and became known as a real talent presence in the Winnipeg Rock&Roll scene.

In 1970 Bob became a full time musician and joined the prominent local band Justin Tyme. They had a record being played on the local radio stations ("Miss Felicity Grey") and were featured at the 1970 Winnipeg Rock festival ManPop which featured headline acts such as the Iron Butterfly, the Youngbloods, and Led Zeppelin. Justin Tyme was a very popular local band and Bob rose to the opportunity and shone brightly with them.

In 1972 Bob moved on and joined the Winnipeg group the Spice (formerly the Sugar and Spice when they had 3 women singers). The Spice headed out to Toronto and played clubs in and around the city for 6 months. After returning to Winnipeg, the band eventually disbanded and Bob kept busy playing with a variety of club bands over the next couple of years.

In 1976 Bob teamed up with future Loverboy bassist Scott Smith and future Streetheart guitarist/vocalist John Hannah as well as future Rocky Rolletti/LesQ drummer Harvey Kostenchuck to form Hurricane Hannah. Bob shared vocal and lead guitar duties with John Hannah. This was a great Rock band which enjoyed considerable local success and who made a road trip to Toronto to play the clubs there as well as throughout Southern Ontario. Hurricane Hannah dissolved in 1978 and Bob filled his calendar doing casual club gigs again.

In 1979 Bob joined Greg Leskiw's group LesQ. Greg was a former member of the Guess Who as well as the founder of his own Winnipeg cult band Mood JgaJga. Bob worked with LesQ in the local Winnipeg bar circuit until he was given the call to join Toronto recording artist Lisa Dal Bello on an Eastern Canadian summer tour supporting Burton Cummings group. This offer was too good to turn down and Bob was on the road again!! A high point of this tour was playing the Montreal Forum.

Upon returning to Winnipeg from the Dal Bello/Cummings tour Bob settled into a freelance period (1980-82) where he moved from group to group as a sideman. He joined up with singer/songwriter Rick Neufeld as a member of Rick's Prairiedog band. Rick made a name for himself as composer of Montreal band the Bells' radio hit "It's a Moody Manitoba Morning". The Prairiedog band was a rather loose aggregation of local prominent musicians who enjoyed the freewheeling good time country rock music and the fairly frequent partying that the Prariedogs were famous for. In this freelance period Bob took up the bass guitar and played for the legendary Manitoba country singer/entertainer Ray St Germain. Over a 9 month period with Ray, he recorded all the bass parts for Ray's popular regional television show.

In 1981 Winnipeg singer/performance artist/comic Peter Jordan had a brainstorm and set about forming the ultimate Rock&Roll showgroup featuring the cream of Winnipeg's Pop and Rock talent backing the wild and crazy Peter Jordan (in the persona of Rocki Roletti) and proceeded to take over the Winnipeg entertainment scene. Bob was asked to join as guitarist/vocalist sharing lead and rhythm guitar duties with future BobCat Danny Casavant. The Rocki Rolletti band enjoyed CBC-TV exposure on the popular West Rock Hotel show as well as being sponsored by Molsons for the Rocki Rolleti World Tour of Winnipeg, playing a series of all the major Rock bars in town. (Peter went on to be the star of the more current CBC TV series-"It's a Living") Bob ultimately decided it was time for a change and moved to Vancouver in 1982 and joined up with recording group Stonebolt and played both in Vancouver and on the road for 6 months.

In 1983 Bob teamed up with a couple of Bryan Adams' touring sidemen - Dave Taylor on bass and Jim Wesley on drums. Along with guitarist Terry Kellog, they formed the club band Spare Parts to keep working when Adams wasn't touring. This group lasted about a year.

In the Spring of 1984 Bob was floating looking for his next gig when fate stepped in and he hooked up with his old Winnipeg buddy (and future BobCat) Danny Casavant. Together they formed the very successful musical duo Fat City. Bob sang lead and played bass and Danny played guitar and sang harmony. Using the most current technology available they added a drum machine to the mix and proceeded to work constantly until the summer of 1989. In their time together they added a drummer/vocalist in 1986 (first Chris Nordquist and then Dave Jonnson) and, on occasion, multi instrumentalist (keys/ sax/ guitar) Adam Rhoralick. Fat City played classic Rock&Roll and enjoyed several notable high profile gigs. In 1986 they played at Expo 86 at the Waves cabaret numerous times as well as at other stages on site. In 1987 they appeared frequently as a 4 piece at the Robson Grill a popular nightspot run by members of the Irish Rovers. By the summer of 1989 they disbanded and Bob was ready for his next major gig.

From 1990 to 1998 Bob played guitar and sang with the incredible Classic Rock band the Surreal McCoys at Vancouver's notorious Roxy nightclub. They played every Sunday through Wednesday, which left Bob able to pick up weekend gigs as well. The Surreal McCoys line-up was Mike Root on drums, Dave Reimer on bass, and Mike Sicoly on keys/guitar. Later Sicoly and Reimer were replaced with Mick Dalla-Vee on keys/guitar and Brent Knudson on bass/guitar. Future BobCat Jimmy Walker would sometimes fill in on guitar if needed.

Bob (on Bass and vocals) formed the Rockolas trio with Jimmy Walker on guitar and Mary Orban on vocals to do casual weekend gigs when he wasn't playing the Roxy.

When the Roxy gig ended in 1998 Bob did casual band gigs with the Rockolas and others as well as began doing a solo act with just himself and his acoustic guitar. This solo gig proved very successful and he did extended gigs at the Georgia Hotel lounge and the Yaletown Brewing Company.

While doing one of his solo gigs at the Dover Arms pub in 2001 fate stepped in once more and the BobCats formed initially as a trio with Bob, Danny Casavant and Jimmy Walker. The rest is History!!!!

Danny Casavant - lead electric guitar and keyboards, lead & background vocals.

Danny brings decades of experience to the stage. Playing both the 6 and 12 string electric guitars, as well as the exotic (made in Nashville) Jerry Jones electric sitar (see GEAR page), he delivers a wide array of stringed sonic textures and techniques. His keyboard playing is both tasteful and utilitarian - always playing only what the song requires. As well, Danny is both a strong harmony singer and a distinctive lead vocalist. Danny is a dedicated, creative and passionate musician who is both a true professional and a natural entertainer.

Danny was born in Tisdale, Saskatchewan in 1951 -- the first son of Joe and Margaret Casavant. His mother was a classically trained pianist and music teacher and his father was a farmer/RCAF airman who loved to dance and sing for the joy of it. The family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba and it was in their new home that Danny took his first guitar lessons, at the tender age of nine. His interest in the guitar was sparked and fuelled by the rock and country sounds of guitarists Scotty Moore (with Elvis), James Burton (with Rick Nelson), Chuck Berry, Duane Eddy, The Ventures, Carl Perkins, Merle Travis, and especially "Mr. Guitar" Chet Atkins, as well as all the great radio hits of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Danny was very focused on learning and developing his guitar skills, and as he entered his early teens he began playing with loose little groups of like-minded young rock and rollers. What happened that momentous night in 1964 on Ed Sullivan's television variety show would prove to be the ignition point for a lifetime as a musician, as well as the common bond among all the BobCats. The Beatles and the subsequent wave of British pop bands that turned the music world on its head would totally captivate Danny, and by age 14 he had joined his first band, The Collectors. (Who were at first unaware that another band existed on the West Coast with this name - the group that later became famous as Chilliwack)

Like many of the countless other rock and roll groups who sprung up in Winnipeg during this period, The Collectors were very serious about becoming a great band. Taking their inspiration from local heroes Chad Allen and The Reflections (later The Expressions, and yet later The Guess Who), The Collectors paid rapt attention to them and other regionally prominent bands such as Neil Young's Squires, The Devrons (including future Guess Who vocalist Burton Cummings), The Shondells, The Quid (later The Fifth), The Lovin' Kind, Sugar And Spice, The Orphans, The Jury, and many others. His time with The Collectors afforded Danny his strong foundation in rock and pop music. Specifically, guitarists Randy Bachman, Kurt Winter, and Greg Leskiw (Guess Who), Ralph Watts (Pink Plum/The Fifth), and Donny Thompson (The Shondells) rank among the primary influences on Danny's rock and pop guitar style.

It was in this formative period that Danny first crossed paths with his future musical partner, Bob White (the man who puts the Bob in BobCats). At the time, Bob was a fixture on the Winnipeg rock and roll scene, playing in a variety of his early bands on the local community club and school dance circuit.

In 1969, The Collectors disbanded and Danny went on to play with a variety of Winnipeg groups. The Power Company, Mantae, and Plum Tucker propelled him into the 1970s, and when the liquor laws changed, younger bands started playing in bars. This changed the freewheeling musicians' focus to more of a current radio hits format. Danny did his time playing in Winnipeg bars, as well as road work that took him into Saskatchewan, Ontario, and the rural and northern areas of Manitoba.

In the early 1970s, Danny had an opportunity to take private guitar lessons with jazz genius Lenny Breau. He had long admired Lenny on CBC television shows and at local gigs, so this was an incredible experience that lasted about a year. This mentoring had a profound and lasting effect on Danny as a guitarist and as an overall musician.(see Lenny Breau)

Danny went on to formally study music; first at the University of Winnipeg and, later, two years of intensive jazz and popular music study at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton. Bob Cairns of the Tommy Banks Orchestra was Danny's guitar instructor and, along with Lenny Breau, a great influence on Danny's jazz stylings.

Returning to Winnipeg in 1976, Danny played in the house band at the upscale Town and Country town club - the same chair Lenny Breau occupied in the mid 1960s. Through this prestigious gig, Danny came into contact with many other Winnipeg musicians and songwriters. After about six months at the "T & C", he moved on and played with Dale Russell (later a member of Jim Kale's version of the Guess Who). From there, Danny worked live and recorded with numerous other songwriters and musicians: Tom Jackson ( CBC's "North Of 60", The Huron Carol); comedy duo McLean and McLean (that's Danny's guitar on the infamous "Dolly Parton's Tits"); singer/songwriter Bill Iveniuk's debut album on El Mocombo Records "Bills,Bills,Bills", singer/songwriter Len Udow (later multiple instrumentalist/singer with Fred Penner), Juno Award Winner children's entertainer Fred Penner; Dan Donahue (his RCA LP "Motion"); Graham Shaw's debut Capitol album (1980 hit singles "Can I Come Near", "Roll All Night"); several of famed feminist singer/songwriter Heather Bishop's albums, and a host of others.

A particular high point in this highly active phase of Danny's career was traveling to Los Angeles for the sessions that produced the Capitol Records debut LP, "Graham Shaw And The Sincere Serenaders" - a Juno Award winner for Shaw in 1980. Danny was with this band from 1978 to 1980 and he considers his involvement in this band and the exposure it afforded him as a guitarist to be a pivotal point that moved him onto an even higher profile career path.

In this period. Danny's involvement with CBC Winnipeg as a session musician, which had begun in the early Shaw days, progressed to where he was the first-call guitarist on CBC dates. In honour of Danny, CBC producer and radio host Ross Porter arranged to showcase Danny on the national CBC Radio show "Jazzland" in 1981.This national exposure garnered much attention from musicians and writers across the country. Danny was also kept busy with many private recording projects, jingles, and demos in various Winnipeg studios. Many of the projects of this era were produced by Juno award winning music producer Dan Donahue at Wayne Finnucan's studio, where Danny was a mainstay.

While still with Graham Shaw, in 1979 Danny first linked up gig-wise with Bob White for the first time when he substituted for him in Greg Leskiw's (of Guess Who and Mood Jga Jga fame) LesQ band, while Bob was touring with Lisa Del Bello's band, warming up for Burton Cummings. Later, Bob and Danny teamed up to back Rick Neufeld ("Moody Manitoba Morning") in his Prairie Dog Band. By 1981, the two (playing dual lead guitars) were in Peter Jordan's ( star of CBC-TV's "It's A Living") Rocki Rolletti Band. Frequent live TV appearances with Rocki set the stage for Bob and Danny's future Vancouver collaborations, Fat City (1983 -89) and, ultimately, The BobCats (2002 à)

Before leaving Winnipeg for Vancouver in 1983, Danny was well known in the Roots and Blues scene, often playing with Big Dave McLean, Houndog, Brent Parkin, Tom Jackson, Len Udow, Dan Donahue, Gary Preston, Shingoose, and Rick Neufeld. In 1981 Winnipeg Folk Festival founder and Artistic Director Mitch Podolak invited Danny to be the Folk Festival's house guitarist, where he backed up such legendary artists as John Hammond and Amos Garrett. Amos, best known for his liquid gold guitar solo on the chart-topping 1972 Maria Muldaur hit "Midnight At The Oasis" had previously played with such stellar acts as The Dirty Shames, Ian and Sylvia's Great Speckled Bird, and Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Podolak thought Amos and Danny would be an inspired guitar match-up, and their 1981 Winnipeg Folk Festival main stage appearance proved him right. Amos' second guitarist, Colin Linden (later a noted producer with Bruce Cockburn and others, as well as a solo artist and member/producer of Juno award-winning supergroup "Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) had a scheduling conflict, and after the Winnipeg show Amos asked Danny to join his touring band, playing rhythm/second lead guitar as well as singing. A 1982 summer tour from Victoria to Toronto opened many doors and was the experience that led Danny to eventually relocate from Winnipeg to Vancouver in 1983. The thriving West Coast blues and R&B scene of the early 80s, spearheaded by Tom and brother Jack Lavins' Powder Blues Band, Jim Byrnes, Doc Fingers, Jerry Doucette, Al Foreman, and Hans Staymer's R & B Allstars, was perfect for Danny, who was welcomed into the musical community as a first-rate guitarist adept at many styles. Danny was often heard at such venues as the Anchor, The Savoy, The Spinning Wheel, The Town Pump, and Darby D. Dawes.

Fate stepped in when Danny met up with his old Winnipeg buddy, Bob White. The two realized they could do well as a team, and they dubbed their new duo "Fat City". This unit gigged steadily over the next six years, initially as a duo and later as a trio, adding veteran Vancouver drummer Chris Nordquist, and finally as a quartet with the addition of Adam Rohrlick on saxophone/guitar/keys. Dave Jonnson often was the drummer when Nordquist had other bookings.

With the dissolution of Fat City in 1989, Bob went into an eight year stint with the Surreal McCoys, the house band at the famous Roxy nightclub on Granville Street in Vancouver. Danny replaced Lindsay Mitchell (Seeds Of Time, Prism) in Billy Cowsill's band from 1989 to 1991, and, after departing, added a cameo track for "On The Floor Of Heaven" - the 1993 Sony Music debut of Cowsill's new band, The Blue Shadows. After Cowsill, Danny went on to tour Canada and the United States with Canadian children's music icon Fred Penner's "Cat's Meow Band", playing major concert halls including Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheatre. Danny also toured Eastern and Western Canada with then new and on the rise country artist Lisa Brokop and recorded on her debut album "My Love" on acoustic and electric guitar. Danny was the featured soloist on Lisa's Hagood Hardy produced single "Time to Come Back Home". He also toured Western Canada with Toronto based country BMG recording artist Joel Feeney appearing in concert with the Prairie Oyster Band and Wynonna Judd. He toured and recorded in the early to mid 90s with various other artists on a freelance basis. Danny was chosen to fill the guitar chair on recording sessions for the CKWX radio station's "Winners' Circle" songwriting contest series of CDs produced by Nashville heavies Ralph Murphy and Bobby Wood in the early 90s. He appeared on 3 of the 5 CD releases of that project. Danny was nominated as guitarist of the year for the West Coast Music Awards in '92.

In 1993 he linked up with another of his original guitar heroes from the early Winnipeg days, Randy Bachman (Guess Who, Bachman Turner Overdrive). Danny and Randy had a mutual association with, and great respect for the late jazz guitar legend Lenny Breau (both were Breau's students - Randy in the early 60s, Danny in the early 70s). Randy hired Danny as a researcher for his new "Guitarchives" record label, giving him the task of seeking out rare recordings of Lenny for a forthcoming series of Breau CD retrospectives. Danny eagerly accepted the undertaking, and until 1996 was Bachman's right hand man on the Lenny Breau project. While working with Randy on the Breau project he also had the honour and pleasure of participating with Randy at the "Taking Care of Business" guitar marathon, held in Vancouver in 1995. This live "guitarathon" set a Guinness world record for the longest live performance of a rock song. Danny was also heard playing guitar on a national CBC radio Canada Day special broadcast, aired live from Winnipeg in 1995. This session featured Randy playing his hits "Looking Out For Number One" and the classic 'Taking Care Of Business" along with Danny, fellow Winnipeggers bluesman Brent Parkin and jazz guitarist/producer/composer Greg Lowe (member of the first incarnation of Greg Leskiw's "Swing Soniq" trio).

Danny also has the distinction of having been the producer and guitarist for famed sci-fi writer Spider Robinson's music on the 1997 CD ROM release, based upon his "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" writings. Amos Garrett is featured on this release along with Vancouver session heavies Brian Newcombe (electric bass), Gerry Adolphe (drums), Bill Runge (saxophones), Tom Colcolough (clarinet), Mike Creber (keyboards), Cathy St. Germain (BG vocals), and Ron (Rocko) Vaugeois (BG vocals).

Danny has been involved in music education as a private instructor, classroom teacher and clinician for may years. He taught various courses for the Vancouver School Board's adult education evening school programs for three years (1997 - 2000). Starting in 1999, Danny was a featured instructor for Rosemary Campbell's "Movable Music School" and subsequently has taught at the Sorrento "Swing Camp" yearly, since its inception in 2000. Most recently, he has been featured in a two CD ROM music instruction set for PG Music (link). The discs are titled "Essential Blues Guitar" - 101 Blues Guitar Riffs" and "Essential Blues Guitar --20 Tunes". These two discs were produced by Canadian jazz guitar virtuoso Oliver Gannon (one of Danny's all-time guitar heroes). Danny is available for private, classroom and seminar teaching. (Contact info)

Danny is also an active music composer and songwriter, who has co-written with several of BC's best known songwriters. Chuck Brickley, Sue Leonard, Mike Henry, Darryl Havers and Bill Mac have all collaborated with Danny on original compositions.

Danny continues to do select recording projects as a freelance guitarist. Two of the more prominent recent projects that he is heard on show just how versatile his playing truly is. The first is the CD "House of Blue Lights". This release is a dream fulfilled for jazz/blues and boogie-woogie superfan/patron Byron Thorne. Danny plays guitar on all tracks on this all-star project, which showcases some of Vancouver's very best jazz and R&B singers. Give it a listen! (link)

The other recent CD release of note is Colin Arthur Wiebe's "Closer To You". This adult contemporary recording is Colin's third CD release and a true gem. On this recording, Danny can be heard on electric, acoustic, and baritone guitar. Colin is Randy Bachman's lead singer and keyboard/rhythm guitar player in his touring band. Give it a listen! (link) The BobCats have appeared with Colin performing a tribute to the great music of the Guess Who and look forward to doing future shows with Colin.

Danny returned to full time live performing in 1996, and by 1997 had met a new musical soulmate - the great R&B singer Mike Henry. Together they formed the Big Dawg Band (Danny's nickname in blues music circles). This eight piece old-school R&B horn band featured the cream of Vancouver's soul musicians and singers. Female vocalists Christine Duncan, Kim Kuzma, Cathy St. Germain, Beverly Staunton, Candy Churchill, Sue Leonard (of KD Lang band fame) and most recently the awesome "Miss Nadine" States complemented Mike's lead vocals. Over the years, the Big Dawg Band has appeared in numerous concert and festival shows, corporate and private functions, CBC radio and Global television presentations. These days, the band still comes together whenever the BobCats take a break in their busy schedule.

The BobCats formed in 2002 and, as is detailed in the History section of this website, they continue to grow and evolve as Vancouver's premier rock and roll / pop live band. Danny loves this band because it reflects his musical roots, as well as those of all the other BobCats.

Jimmy Walker - electric bass/harmony vocals.

Jimmy Walker is a walking encyclopedia of Pop and Rock music who, in addition to being an excellent bassist and harmony singer, possesses a highly tuned and accurate ear for picking up the finer points in the music the BobCats perform.

Jimmy's high standards and attention to detail contribute greatly towards the highly polished sound the BobCats produce. Jimmy is truly a Pro! On a certain day in February 1964 when a certain band from Liverpool appeared on a certain American variety show, life forever changed for BobCats' bassist/guitarist Jimmy Walker. While the family was watching the Beatles historic performance Jimmy's mother pointed at the TV and remarked, "I don't care what you do with your life, as long as you never do that!" He was nine years old. Dad, curiously enough, didn't seem to mind. One week later he was in a band at school miming to I Wanna Hold Your Hand. One year later, the band was playing the Beatles' latest hit Day Tripper live (along with Walk Don't Run, All My Loving and other assorted instrumentals - puberty had yet to adjust their singing voices). So started his obsession with rock and roll. He took his beloved Sears acoustic guitar to school every day and has been playing guitar and bass in a band ever since. Long Live Led Zeppelin! In the early 80's Jimmy decided to go into music full time and for the next 10 years played and toured continuously throughout BC with many different bands. Oddly enough, he can't seem to remember the names of any of them. He just says it was major dues paying time! In 1985 he joined Dawn Patrol (as bassist/guitarist Don Page, with future Odds member Stephen Drake, and later on with Prism's Al Harlow) which the following year got the gig playing Expo 86 at the 86 Street Music Hall. "We were the first band to hit the stage on opening night and the last band to leave the stage on closing night six months later. At the time, it was the dream gig of a lifetime for a cover band from Vancouver. I got to meet BB King - how about that! By the way, the BobCats' Song Request Sheets idea came from Stephen - a brilliant idea." Around the same time, Jimmy joined (Tom Harrison's) Bruno Gerussi's Medallion, first as bass guitarist, then as lead guitarist when Tom's brother Don left to form Sons of Freedom. BGM put out two records, the first with WEA Canada (on CD and Vinyl LP & 45) and the second under the new name Little Games (which was originally released in Germany on Bellaphone Records - finally a Beatles connection! Check out Beatles Live at the Star Club - it's on Bellaphone!). The Little Games Guitar Damage CD featured the song "Faith In The Season" which was one of CBC's David Wisdom's favourite Christmas songs and is still being played on the radio every holiday season to this day. BGM also opened up for some legendary acts - DOA, Art Bergman, Prism, Trooper, Odds, Katrina & The Waves, NRBQ, Savoy Brown, Los Lobos and Nazareth to name a few, and recorded a video for MuchMusic, and a Molson Canadian Rock's segment for CFOX radio.

One of the band's high points was being invited to play at The Beachcombers TV wrap party in Gibsons BC. Bruno himself became a full fledged member and sang with BGM that night and stole the show, and it was all captured on video by CBC - a night to remember! He even told Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, when asked how popular he was in Canada, that he was so popular back home that he had a band named after him!

A few nights opening for the Tragically Hip in Edmonton and Calgary and a successful tour back east in Ontario and Quebec introduced BGM to many new fans. A few years back they recorded a live album at Vancouver's (sorely missed) Press Club. The band has never officially broken up, so who knows what the future holds for Bruno Gerussi's Medallion. In the early'90s Jimmy joined the Rockolas on lead guitar, with (future BobCat) Bob White on bass/vocals and the lovely Mary Orban on vocals/percussion. They played around Vancouver in various pubs, Royal Canadian Legions, and Army/Navy and Eagles clubs (if you see Mary, ask her about "Whole Lotta Boots Breakdown". Led Zep meets Nancy Sinatra - in a Legion!). One Friday evening years later Bob was doing a single at a local West End pub, the Dover Arms, and Jimmy and Danny dropped by to sit in (and Jimmy to show off his brand new Hofner Cavern Beatle Bass guitar).

The rest is, well you know . . .

Vic 'Ringoletto' Bicego - drums, vocals.

Vic Bicego (a.k.a. The Italian Ringo - "Ringoletto") is a unique musician who brings a blend of passion, focus and a great work ethic to the BobCats band. He not only plays drums but bass guitar as well. This added ability strengthens his musical bond with BobCats bassist Jimmy Walker to form a very tight and solid rhythm section for the other two BobCats. He will soon be added as both a harmony and lead vocalist in upcoming BobCats song additions.

Vic Bicego was born into this world in 1961 in Vancouver. The Eastside Commercial Drive area was his initial habitat. Vic started life as a member of an enduring duo with his identical twin brother Nic. The two would both prove to be very musical guys who would hone their performing skills together for many years to come.

From 1970-72 the two brothers received their earliest musical instruction by way of "Tom" - a Commercial Drive barber who taught guitar, drums and accordion in the back of his barber shop. According to both Vic and Nic this education was somewhat inadequate but at least it provided a beginning - even if it was primitive!

Vic's original exposure to Pop/Rock & Roll music would come via television in the form of the Beatles cartoon series based loosely on the film "A Hard Day's Night", and Beatlemania in general. Vic was merely a pre-schooler at the time, but the experience with the Beatles, even in cartoon form, would prove to be significant to his embryonic musical mind/career.

The seeds of a future musical path were further nurtured by seeing his uncle Domenic Catalano playing drums in his trio at various Italian parties and banquets. An interesting point: the same drum kit that Uncle Domenic played would eventually be passed on to Vic when Uncle Domenic passed on. This is the same drum kit that he plays today with the BobCats. (see Gear)

In 1977 the Bicego family moved to Langley B.C. It was there at Drums Only that Vic took drum lessons from the ages of 15 to 17 from a teacher remembered only as "Vince". Around this time Vic, his twin brother Nic, and Rudy Moser on accordion, began performing live at banquets and parties. They played Latin American and Rock & Roll music.

From ages 17 to 19, Vic played drums in the high school stage band at Langley's Mountain High School. Light casual music gigs, working a day job and chasing and catching girls occupied Vic from age 20-29. At age 30-31, Vic was a member of the Rock band "Tremor", in which he played drums and sang. They played mostly weddings and parties.

When he was 31, Vic (this time on electric bass and vocals) joined his brother Nic (lead electric guitar/vocals), and buddy Ken Busten (rhythm guitar) to form the first of many "Sideburns" combos. This group lasted until Vic was 34, playing the Italian party/banquet scene.

At age 35, Vic (again on electric bass/vocals) and his brother Nic (electric guitar/vocals) joined with female vocalist Tianna Lefebre, and a drum machine to form another incarnation of "Sideburns". One has to ask how this name worked in a group with a female included in the lineup!

Next was yet another manifestation of the "Sideburns" saga with Vic (electric bass/vocals), brother Nic (lead electric guitar/vocals) and Stewart France (lead vocals/rhythm guitar). They mined the party/banquet scene until Vic was 38. From ages 38-41, Vic (electric bass/vocals) and brother Nic (electric guitar/vocals) performed as a duo (with the aid of a drum machine) as - you guessed it - the "Sideburns"!!

Vocalist Bill Mac joined the boys sometime in 2003 and they were renamed by BobCats guitarist/keyboardist/singer Danny Casavant as the "HipCats", as he felt a group name change was long overdue. Gigs were mostly at the Dover Arms for the newly christened "HipCats", and due to various factors, gigs were somewhat sparse. As a result, Vic was available to fill in for the first BobCats drummer, Darrell Mayes, when he was unable to make the Dover Sunday gig or any of the various other pub gigs they were playing. Eventually, Vic became the BobCats' full time drummer when Darrell's schedule became too busy.

In his time with the BobCats, Vic has truly developed into a great drummer, who is most certainly the "right" one for the BobCats' sound, image and direction.

Bill Mac - the fifth BobCat.

Bill Mac, the mysterious Fifth BobCat, appeared on the scene initially as a guest singer with the band at the Dover Arms Pub. His murky past was unknown until the Bio that follows landed in our hot little hands. What follows is Bill Mac's own account of his journey through the Music Biz that led him to his present BobCat status. Like many others Bill Mac started singing in church, but his first public performance was at the Okalla Prison Guards' Summer Picnic in 1958, where he joined his older brothers Ron, Don and Bob in singing the ballad "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley".

While there was a competition that day for a prize pistol belt buckle, it remains a dispute as to which brother really won the prize. It is clear that Bill Mac developed a taste for the stage and an early appreciation for the lyrics and rhythms of early country and rockabilly music.

As lead singer of the Cobras in 1967, with brother Bob on rhythm guitar, and schoolmates Dave Clayton on drums, Roy Stagg on bass and Dick Tassie on lead guitar, Bill Mac performed the songs of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and a host of other British invasion bands that dominated radio airplay at the time. At the same time his appreciation of the songs and singing styles of rocker Elvis Presley, and country singers Johnny Cash and Hank Williams increased.

Influenced by singer/songwriters Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen, Bill began songwriting and performing with singer/songwriter Tom Emmens in the 1970s.

Immediately popular for their harmony vocals and original songs that chronicled the struggles of life and love, William/Thomas (as they were known) would eventually fade into history shortly after performing to a captive audience at the William Head Penitentiary. So okay, maybe it wasn't Folsom or San Quentin Prison . . . but it was in the best tradition of Johnny Cash.

Discussions off stage with Bill Mac's brother Don would be the genesis of Steaming Tears quartet:- the musical storytelling of Emmens and Bill Mac - sweetened with three part harmonies and the tasteful lead guitar playing of brother Don and with former Cobras band mate Dick Tassie on bass.

Named for the Bill Mac song of the same title, Steaming Tears ceased to be a quartet when drummer Harry Chreech joined the band as its fifth member. Russ Barton eventually replaced Harry Chreech on drums and Steaming Tears could no longer claim to have "any old Tom, Dick and Harry" in the band. With a change in personnel came a change in name: and W.T. Flightcrew became the final metamorphosis of William/Thomas (W.T.).

Continuing to pursue his songwriting, Bill Mac signed with BMI Music in 1977. But it was becoming apparent that for the survival of the band as a live performing unit they would have to relocate to greener pastures. Despite ever increasing popularity, Flightcrew, as it became known, experienced a decline in live music venues as Disco music swept the nation. Intended to breath new life into the band, a relocation to Alberta prompted the resignation of Barton:- and although the remaining members headed east in the band's converted 1958 school bus, Flightcrew never regained its momentum and disbanded shortly after arriving in Edmonton.

Before departing Alberta, Bill Mac had developed a serious throat condition and with Flightcrew just posters on the wall, and unable to sing, he dropped out of the music scene.

In 2001, Bill Mac re-emerged, surfacing in Vancouver's West End. His voice fully recovered, and sounding better than ever, the audience response to Bill Mac was immediate, and he quickly established friendships and associations within the Vancouver music scene.

Whether performing with Nick and Vic Bicego in the HipCats, or appearing with musical savants Danny Casavant, Bob White, Jimmy Walker and Vic (Ringoletto) Bicego in the legendary BobCats, the stage presence and popularity of Bill Mac is undeniable.

Bill Mac will be releasing an independent CD of original tunes (some co-written with Bobcat Danny Casavant) on the Steaming Tears label in the very near future.
Bill Mac is Back!

 

SONGLIST

A Day In The Life A Hard Days Night A New Coat Of Paint A Whiter Shade Of Pale Across The Universe Act Naturally Ain't No Sunshine All Day And All Of The Night All I've Got To Do All My Loving Allison And I Love Her And It Stoned Me Anna (Go To Him) Anytime At All As Tears Go By Baby It's You Baby's In Black Bad Moon Rising Because Better Be Home Soon Black Is Black Blue Bayou Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain Blue Suede Shoes Bobby McGee Brown Eyed Girl Brown Sugar Bye Bye Love Can't Buy Me Love Cherry Cherry Cinnamon Girl Come And Get It Concrete and Clay Crazy Crying Desperado Do Wah Diddy Dock Of The Bay Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying Down In The Boondocks Down On The Corner Dream Baby Eight Days A Week Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby Feel A Whole Lot Better Ferry 'Cross The Mersey Fire and Rain For What It's Worth For Your Love From Me To You Georgia On My Mind Gimme Some Lovin' Glad All Over Go Now Harvest Moon Have I Told You Lately That I Love You Have You Ever Seen The Rain Heart Of Stone Heartbreak Hotel Hello Mary Lou Help Help Me Make It Through The Night Here Comes The Night Hey Good Lookin' Hippy Hippy Shake Hold Me Tight Honey Don't Honky Tonk Woman How Long I Fought The Law I Go To Pieces I Saw Her Standing There I Should Have Known Better I Started A Joke I Wanna Hold Your Hand I Want You, I Need You, I Love You I Will I'll Be Back I'll Be There I'll Be Your Baby Tonight I'll Cry Instead I'll Follow The Sun I'll Get You I'm A Believer I'm A Loser I'm Down I'm Looking Through You I'm On Fire I'm Only Sleeping If I Fell Imagine In My Life Into The Mystic It Won't Be Long It's My Life It's Only Love It's So Easy Keep On Running Kicks King Of The Road Knocking On Heaven's Door Latest Flame Layla Let It Be Let Me Roll It Little Sister Lodi Lonesome Town Long & Winding Road Looking Out My Back Door

Louie Louie Love Hurts Love Me Love The One You're With Lying Eyes Maggie May Margaritaville Matchbox Memphis Misery Mohair Sam Moondance Mr. Spaceman Mr. Tambourine Man Mystery Train Nashville Cats Needles and Pins New York Mining Disaster No Reply Norwegian Wood Not Fade Away Now And Then Nowhere Man Oh Boy Oh Pretty Woman Ohio On The Road Again Paint It Black Peaceful Easy Feeling Pipeline Please Please Me Pretty Flamingo Rave On Reason To Believe Revolution Rock & Roll Music Rocky Racoon Roll Over Beethoven Ruby Tuesday Run For Your Life Run To Me San Antonio Rose Satisfaction Sea Of Love Secret Agent Man Set Me Free She Loves You She's A Woman Since I Met You Baby Singing The Blues Sleepwalk Slow Down Solitary Man Spooky Squeezebox Stuck In The Middle Summer Of '69 Sundown Sunny Afternoon Sunshine Of Your Love Sweet Dreams Take It Easy Take These Chains From My Heart Tear In My Beer Tears In Heaven Tequila Sunrise That's Alright Mama The Bartender's Song The Fugitive The Joker The Last Time The Letter The Night Before The Thrill Is Gone The Weight They Call Me The Breeze Things We Said Today This Boy This Diamond Ring Ticket To Ride Til There Was You Time Is On My Side Tired Of Waiting To Love Somebody Traveling Man True Love Ways Trying To Get Over You Twist & Shout Under The Boardwalk Up Around The Bend Wake Up Little Suzy Walking After Midnight We Gotta Get Out Of This Place When I Get Home Who'll Stop The Rain Wild Horses Wild World Wipeout / Walk Don't Run With A Little Help From My Friends Wonderful Tonight World Without Love Yesterday You Can't Do That You Don't Know Me You Really Got A Hold On Me You Really Got Me You Send Me You'll Never Walk Alone You're Gonna Lose That Girl You've Got To Hide Your Love Away You've Lost That Loving Feeling Your Cheating Heart

 

CORPORATE EVENTS / WEDDINGS / BIRTHDAY PARTIES / FESTIVALS