The History
After playing in a cover band together for a few years, Adam Rabin and Ornan McLean found they saw eye-to-eye musically on progressive rock. McLean had also been playing with a fusion rock outfit at the time with Corey Cranston. As their band dissolved, Rabin proposed seeing what the three of them could come up with together. Their interests overlapped enough to get things rolling and after a few occasional writing sessions and jams they knew they had something worth exploring.
After a few shows as a trio, Cranston left the band. Adam and Ornan were quick to enlist John Whyte who also had a one-man show that featured many Rush covers. The three members now were all dedicated to the tighter, more disciplined style that drew them all to the classics of the genre.
That same week, Dan MacDonald posted an ad online looking for a band. They contacted Dan to play with the idea of expanding to a quartet. Personally and musically, they were all a great fit and Dan was quick to dedicate himself to the project.
After almost a year of learning the existing material, rewriting it to suit the style of the band now, working on some brand-new material, and finding their groove as a live act, Elephants of Scotland recorded their first album, Home Away From Home, in late 2012 and released it in January 2013.
Progressive Rock fans from all over the world have discovered Elephants of Scotland and CD sales have been fantastic! Many positive reviews have been written about the band too.
Dan MacDonald – bass
Dan played in bands in the Connecticut and Boston area music scene throughout the late 1980s and into the early ’90s. He put down the bass for 12 years and could no longer resist the call to “slappa da bass.” Bass and performing music had been missing from his life long enough. Enter, ELEPHANTS OF SCOTLAND!
Dan believes in playing with everything he’s got, crankin’ it up and giving the crowd a solid show. Dan plays a Geddy Lee Fender Jazz played through an Ampeg SVT 450 and 410 HLF cab.
Ornan McLean – drums
Ornan has been playing drums in rock bands for the past 20 years with barely a break in between and is currently playing in Hot Neon Magic (80’s covers), Dirty Blondes (punk) and Elephants of Scotland (progressive rock). Judging from his varied musical career and current projects, Ornan will play just about anything (that country band thing just didn’t work out), but his primary musical influences are rooted in the progressive rock genre of the ‘70s. So landing in a band of Scottish Elephants where he can do roundhouse rolls without complaints and write grooves in odd time that he cant remember is just about the perfect place for him to continue exploring his musical journey. Ornan has three drum kits of various makes and models and yes, he will play YYZ if you request it.
Adam Rabin – vocals, keyboards
Adam brings the hooks and innovation from his long-time studio pop project Mailbox to feed his need for Prog Rock with Elephants of Scotland. Adam plays a Roland Juno-G with a Roland Lucina AX09 keytar so he can strut around the stage like the cool kids or look all bad ass with an imposing stack of keyboards. No, he will not play the riff from “The Final Countdown” so don’t ask.
John Whyte – guitar, vocals
Founding and only member of Lefty and the Left-outs, John has been harassing people with his playing since 1977, performing throughout New England and even New Jersey. Viciously saddled with having to perform “Safety Dance” with Hot Neon Magic, John has searched for ways to enact his sonic wrath and has finally found it (the Batman thing didn’t work out but that’s another story). John is a Line 6 advocate bringing the gospel of the James Tyler Variax and HD500 to the affected masses.
Website: https://elephantsofscotland.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elephantsofscotland
