David Gogo

Blues guitarist David Gogo entered the world in Nanaimo, British Columbia, and was presented with his initial guitar upon turning five, one year after receiving a ukulele. Over the following ten years he refined his technique, securing professional engagements by the time he reached sixteen. An encounter with Stevie Ray Vaughan deepened his dedication, prompting him to assemble the Persuaders; the group evolved from a post-high school outfit into a touring act that shared bills with Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, and Albert Collins. After the Persuaders supported the Fabulous Thunderbirds during a European residency, Gogo obtained a solo contract from EMI Records. While preparing songs for his first release he contributed to Tom Cochrane’s Mad Mad World, an album that achieved major commercial success. Issued in 1994, the album David Gogo earned widespread critical praise and brought Gogo a Juno nomination, yet personnel changes at the label blocked a U.S. release and pushed him toward a more mainstream direction. Opting for independence, he issued the live recording Dine Under the Stars—captured in his hometown—on his own imprint. A subsequent distribution arrangement in France secured a deal with the Canadian independent Cordova Bay, yielding the rock-leaning Change of Pace and the acoustic Bare Bones, the latter a return to blues fundamentals. Gogo’s fifth album, Skeleton Key, appeared in 2002 and featured both electric and acoustic settings alongside originals and reinterpretations of material by Stevie Wonder and Depeche Mode.