Bushtaxi was founded by Andy Voelkel (bass, vocals) and Caroline Allen (keys, vocals). It happened the day after they were introduced at NAMM by Evan Brooks (co-founder and CSO of DigiDesign). It took a while for the name 'Bushtaxi' to evolve, but that's how the band started. They were joined by Tim Burke (guitar, vocals). Still later John Clark (guitar) and George Kourtis (drums) signed on. The band makes its recording/rehearsal home in Venice, California, in a bungalow named 'Dos Gatos,' which is frequently subject to technological improvement/chaos - depending on which band member you're talking to. (Andy is the tech-visionary-torturer; Caro, even though she's a programmer, is frequently referred to as "the Luddite Queen.")

Bushtaxi's music is based on a number of influences: funk, reggae, Motown, highlife, soukouss, makossa, zouk, salsa, and New Orleans. Someone recently described our music as "mending the mid-Atlantic drift," which is a great description, when you think about how West Africa used to be snuggled right into what's now the Gulf of Mexico. Bushtaxi's music is all about drawing together things that are drifting apart.

Bushtaxi doesn't have much message - we like to get people dancing and singing and watch them going home happy, as we schlep our gear back out into the truck. Then we get to go home happy, if we've done our job right.

We are:

Caroline (the B-nymph) Allen: raised in Michigan, migrated to California, then Europe, with forays into West Africa (playing a Fender Rhodes, a Hohner D6 and a Roland Juno 60). Started out playing piano in a Catholic girls' school around age 8. Loves classical piano and funk (Beethoven and Bernie Worrell - hey, it makes sense to her). Just shows you how easily a young girl can be corrupted.

Andy (The Droid) Voelkel: a Southern California boy, always doing both music and engineering since his first job repairing sewing machines at age 11, ended up at Berklee School of Music and in a number of innovative Boston bands; taught himself to play African bass by playing along with records. Came back to SoCal to engineer for the Computer Audio Research Lab at UCSD. Jaco Pastorius, Tony Levin, and Michel Alibo are some of his musical heroes.

Tim (Franknstrat) Burke: a hockey player/musician. Grew up body checking in upstate New York, ended up in SoCal, playing gigs and learning chords with castrated ninths at Dick Grove School of Music. His tenor voice contrasts nicely with his distorto guitar sound.

John (Mr One Take) Clark: a native Angeleno with family roots in N'Awlins, John plays sweet, discrete and complete, except when his axe needs to wail. Touring since he was a teenager, he too spent some time playing in Africa, working in LaToya Jackson's band.

George (coolGeorgie) Kourtis: from Florida to Atlanta to LA, George holds high the standard of perfectly tuned drums and in-the-pocket rhythms, whether playing rock, reggae, funk or jazz. Caro's willing to bet that George could play a fast ska with brushes and make it groove.