The History
Elephants of Scotland were formed in 2010 in Burlington, Vermont when Adam Rabin conceived of the idea to start an original progressive rock project that would be decidedly unpopular and non-commercial. The seed was planted while Adam, Ornan McLean and John “Lefty” Whyte were playing together in an 80’s New Wave cover band but it took a couple of years to write, rehearse and record the music and find the right bassist Dan MacDonald to complete our sound.
Adam intentionally set out to write old school progressive rock songs with a modern edge because we wanted to play the kind of music we grew up loving from bands like like Yes, Genesis, Rush, Brand X, Marillion, Kansas, Tull, Styx, Pink Floyd, Supertramp, etc.
We had no idea that there was an international underground progressive rock movement out there until we released our debut album Home Away From Home in early 2013. Through the internet, we have gained fans from all over the world, received many positive reviews, and sold CD’s and t-shirts in Europe, Asia, South America, the UK, Iran, India and Russia.
We just released our second album in March 2014 and we have been invited to play the progressive rock festival Rosfest in May in PA with Simon Collins’ band (son of Phil) Sound of Contact and other prog bands from around the globe.
The Band
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.
Greg Skillman – lyricist
Musician and songwriter Greg Skillman has played in bands of many styles for the past 25 years. He’s collaborated with Adam Rabin in the bands Magpie, Mailbox and Mahout, and was invited to wordsmith for his new project. As a lyricist for Elephants of Scotland, he draws upon the fantastical and mystical, while never abandoning the actuality of humanity. He finds inspiration from sources that span the gamut from esoteric tarot to quantum physics to David Letterman. His other current project, Neb Crabula, is hard-edged absurdist rock-n-roll, with a debut EP due out by the end of the summer.
