David Gogo
Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, David received a ukulele at age 4 and his first guitar at age 5. Encouraged by his parents throughout his childhood, the instrument began to consume most of his free time. By the time he reached high school, David was well on his way towards a successful music career.
As well as being a member of Gold Medal winning combos and stage bands competing in national high school competitions, Gogo began performing in his first rock and roll bands. By the age of 16 he was working fairly steadily as a professional musician. David's interest in blues music could be considered unusual for a teenager in the early 1980s. While he was discovering other worldly and strange sounds of performers such as Howling Wolf and Son House, most kids his age listened to the likes of Duran Duran or Flock of Seagulls.
Things really fell into place for him when Stevie Ray Vaughan arrived on the musical scene. Finally, Gogo had someone with whom he could truly relate!
Vaughan seemed to sum up everything that Gogo aspired to be. David soon had the chance to meet Vaughan who encouraged Gogo to pursue and commit to become a serious blues guitarist/vocalist. He soon formed an after school band called The Persuaders. Quickly Gogo and his band mates began making a name for themselves across Western Canada and the band jumped from a simple after school project to opening for many legendary blues acts such as Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and Albert Collins and the Icebreakers.
After a European tour supporting the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Gogo signed a solo deal with EMI/Capitol Music. Although leaving his band was difficult it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. The next few months saw Gogo perform on stage with B.B. King, Otis Rush, Blues Traveler and others at the Montreaux Festival in Switzerland and guest on Tom Cochrane's "Mad Mad World" album. He also found time to write material for his upcoming debut. The album "David Gogo" was released to critical acclaim and garnered David a JUNO nomination for "Best New Solo Artist".
Despite these successes, a changing of the guards at Capitol prevented a US release. This coupled with dubious career advice from his management left Gogo being forced to choose between bowing to mounting record company pressure to pursue a different musical direction or getting dropped by the record company. David chose to separate from the record company. Although this seemed a huge career risk at the time, sticking to his guns paid off. Going back to his first love, the blues, Gogo released "Dine Under the Stars". Recorded live in his hometown, this raucous CD proved to finally capture the raw intensity and virtuosity that David's reputation was built on in the first place.
Originally an independent release in Canada, the album was soon snapped up by Dixiefrog Records in France for Europe and Gogo signed with Canadian Independent Ragged Pup/Cordova Bay Records. Several successful European tours and American blues festival appearances followed. The release of the more rock-oriented "Change of Pace" album got Gogo back on the FM airwaves. The acoustic blues of "Bare Bones" opened new doors and another new following. It is not a surprise that Gogo was named "Musician of the Year" 1999/2000 at the West Coast Music Awards.
Gogo's fourth CD ("Halfway to Memphis") was released in Canada with Dixiefrog handling European duties, once again. It was an immediate critical and commercial success. It was a favourite with blues show hosts across Canada and Europe. It also lead to wider audiences in Australia and the USA.
"Skeleton Key", however, expands on its success by giving Gogo an opportunity to explore new ground. He mixes acoustic and electric performances bringing a new texture to his music. He has hand picked a slew of new original works that show musical maturity and a full understanding of the blues/rock genre. And his treatment of unexpected selections by such diverse artists as Depeche Mode and Stevie Wonder illustrates his knack for turning non-genre material into neo-classical blues standards.
The single "Personal Jesus" was heard in Canada radiating from radios in sun-drenched convertibles through the summer of 2002 with particular support in Ottawa, Victoria, Prince George, London, Quebec City, St. John's and Fort McMurrary. Based on its success, a second single was released in September. "(Just Ask) Jesse James" appealed to the same audience as did "Personal Jesus" with rock radio reporting immediate adds upon receipt.
Gogo supported the release with touring. Starting with soft-seat theatres on Vancouver Island as part of the Blues Odyssey project, he then covered clubs in Saskatchewan and Alberta. This was followed with Festival dates in British Columbia, Washington State and Ontario. The fall will see Gogo touring in Ontario and Quebec including high profile dates like opening for Foreigner, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, as part of their 25th Anniversary Tour. More recently Gogo has been taking his music and blues message to the television market. He was a featured performer on The NewVI's New Year's Eve bash along with Hot Hot Heat and Randy Bachman. He has also appeared on Canada's national broadcast morning show, Canada AM and on the sports network TSN as part of a national NHL Hockey broadcast. (The later was most important to him because of his life-long passion for the Montreal Canadiens - he was on during a Montreal-Washington national broadcast.)
Canadian reaction to the release of "Skeleton Key" has been sensational. So far it has generated critical acclaim and has been successful at the retail level. Two rock radio singles have charted across the country on leading rock stations representing most Canadian cities. Introducing new audiences to the blues has been important to Gogo and this has been reflected in his grabbing the "guitarist of the year" honours at the 2003 edition of the Toronto Blues Society's Maple Blues Awards in January.
"Skeleton Key" was released in Europe on Dixiefrog Records while the release in the UK and Republic of Ireland was on the Cordova Bay Records label and distributed by Pinnacle Entertainment. The Australian release, again on the Cordova Bay Records label, is distributed by one of Australia's leading blues distributors, Only Blues Music. Watch for news of the upcoming "Skeleton Key" release in the United States.
Since signing with Cordova Bay, Gogo's records have been released in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany.
These successes have David busier than ever and happy to find acceptance as a world class blues man. And, oh yes -- David Gogo is his real name.
:: Discography ::
2002 - Skeleton Key - Cordova Bay
2001 - Halfway to Memphis - Cordova Bay
2003 - Live At Deer Lake - Official Bootleg Series - Cordova Bay
1999 - Change of Pace - Cordova Bay
- Dine Under The Stars - Cordova Bay
- Bare Bones - Cordova Bay
:: Contact ::
Website: http://www.davidgogo.org/
Email: info@cordovabay.com