Dave Gray
David (Dave) Gray was born into a family who loved music. Raised in Victoria, BC, he started singing as soon as he could talk and took singing lessons from age 12 to 16.
He formed his first band, called The Yeoman, at age sixteen which lasted from ‘64-‘66. This started his adventure into the world of music. From there he went on to play with a line up of many great musicians and bands.
Morning Star , in which he was featured as singer and rhythm guitarist from ’69-’70, was an all original music band, showcasing his talent as a vocalist, songwriter and guitarist.
From ’72 through ’73 Dave worked with a band called Buckeye including notable guitar whiz Tim Zurowski.
His next musical project from ’73-’75 was called Magic , playing a mix of originals and covers. During this time he had the honour of playing with Jerry Schef who was the bass player with Elvis Presley during his Las Vegas days.
Then Dave and his good friend Reid Hudson (bass guitar) formed a band called Stash which played locally from ’75-’77.
From ’80-’85 came a band called Zipper for which he wrote a song called “Never Too Old to Rock & Roll” that was successfully released as a 45 RPM.
Dave’s next musical enterprise was on a cruise ship where he had switched instruments and began playing drums. This group contained sax master Paul Wainwright and concluded with a bang as Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac sat in with the band.
After returning to his hometown Victoria, Dave started a group called The Bucca Kings (a contraction of the liquor Sambucca) that had a very successful run from ’91-2010, playing all the best local venues. In that band was good friend and virtuoso musician Les Weiss whom he continues to play with.
From 2012 to 2013 Dave worked and recorded an album with Cal Batchelor , vocalist and guitarist with England’s Quiver, Ronnie Lane and Long John Baldry.
2016-2017 was a year of playing with a popular Victoria group, the Ole Johnson Band .
From 2019 to 2022 he performed with Doc Fingers AKA Bruce Gallagher (formerly pianist with the Ronnie Hawkins Band), Dave Harris , and continues to work with Jack Lavin (Powder Blues). Dave is still writing songs and performs with many of Victoria’s finest musicians.
