RAICE MCLEOD, drums
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Raice is a New Zealand native, the youngest of four children, born and raised in a rural village on the North Island. Perhaps a too quiet childhood spent on a sheep farm disposed him to seek out percussive sound. Perhaps music was an energizing escape from the rigidity of military education. Whatever the subconscious forces at work, in 1967 Raice picked up a set of drums, began experimenting, and never looked back.
Following graduation and a brief stint in the army, Raice began his career with a Top 40 band covering hits of the decade’s favorite artists -- the Beatles and Beach Boys, British Invasion to Motown. Entirely self-taught, he expanded his repertoire playing with Australian jazz singer Ricky May. By the early 70’s, music was taking him around the Pacific to Japan, Thailand, Fiji and Hawaii. Moving on to Europe, he toured with Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richards, and Jackson Heights. Needless to say, his road stories are not for family consumption. America’s music frontier beckoned.
Raice came to the U.S. in 1975, traveling, drumming, and finally settling down 15 years later in the Washington, D.C. area. It was then that he hooked up with Eva Cassidy, and along with Keith Grimes, Lenny Williams and Chris Biondo, lit up the D.C. music scene as the Eva Cassidy Band until cancer claimed the great singer in 1996.
Keith brought Raice on board to complete the Mary Shaver Band. It is only his second regular Blues gig, though to hear him use his sticks, you’d never know it. Raice appreciates and nurtures a diverse range of music; from R&B and funk, to top 40 and rock. He enjoys Mary’s mix of originals, Motown, and more, but admits his first love is jazz -- straight ahead and bebop. The artistry of Bobby Colomby, Steve Gadd, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, and brush master Ed Thigpen has inspired him over the years.
Outside of the Mary Shaver Band, Raice plays with Jaared Arosemena, Tonia Woods, Melanie Mason, and the wedding band Galaxy. At his daytime gig, he is Senior Marketing Manager for CD Publications in Silver Spring, Maryland. And in those precious few moments of free time, Raice, by his own account, is prone to shoot, fly and drive too fast. Is it any wonder that drummers have a wild rep?