Music Is Our Business
Since 1896

Email 800.762.3444 x 235

Quick Quote   Musicians' Area

Home > Drive! (the band)

Drive! (the band)

Watch Drive! (the band)
Drive! has performed in the Bay Area for almost a decade. There have been many changes during the band's near decade run, the largest being the retirement of original lead vocalist Ray Lallana in 2008. After over a year of platooning at the position of lead vocalist, Drive! was pleased to finally announce in August of 2010 the arrival of Mr. Lallana's permanent replacement, Mr. Jake Morgan. Jake hails from New Orleans, LA, and while he is white, he learned his vocal craft in the black southern baptist churches of the bayou. Jake's southern charm and soulful vocal style immediately changed the character of the band. The band has always been powerful with its rock steady groove, soaring bluesy guitar solos and the former lead singer's eighties rock vocal style. Now, with the addition of Jake Morgan, the band is instantly more modern... and more southern.
 
 
The core of Drive! includes the veteran rhythm section of Bassist Robert Rojas and Drummer Randy Hayes. Rojas has played in almost every south bay funk/top 40 band of significance, including “Rojas Brothers,” “Getting Even,” “Mike Leatherman” and “Entourage.” Hayes, a veteran of the national blues scene, has played with Chris Cain, Tommy Castro and most recently Coco Montoya. Ray Buyco is the band's guitarist and bandleader and has played with a variety of cover bands in the bay area over the last twenty years including the Ultraviolets, the Mike Leatherman Band, the Switch, the Element and of course, Drive!.
 
Drive! offers the option of adding a female vocalist to the line up. This cost effective option effectively doubles the bands repertoire, allowing the band to make soulful musical statements on classic hits from Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” to Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.” 
 
While Drive!’s sound is quite full in its basic form, the addition of the optional keyboardist will add texture and depth beyond what the guitar can do alone. A third option is to add a saxophone. In short, the basic four piece Drive! band can be enhanced by any combination of an additional female vocalist, a keyboardist and a saxophonist.
 
One of the most valuable skills the band has developed over the years is how to gauge an audience in order to quickly select the most appropriate song to play next. Drive!’s marching orders are to get the party started and to keep it going until the end of the event. They are able to accomplish this mission by having a variety of musical material available to help the band appeal to the varied demographics most often found at weddings and corporate parties. That being said, Drive! has a distinctly modern flair with their youthful stage appearance and a growing selection of the most current popular hits.
 
Besides being an excellent choice for most events, Drive! is certainly the right selection where performance space may be limited and disciplined volume control is required, or where budgets are tight yet live music is still the preferred entertainment over recorded music.
 
Drive! is looking forward to making great music for another decade... or more!

Check availability for Drive! (the band) »