Paul McLellan
"Paul McLellan Sr."

"I got my first drumset at the age of eleven and was playing the bars of Calgary in my first paying band at the age of Fifteen. The band was called McGraw, we learned seventeen songs with the majority of them being Led Zeppelin material. One night my parents came to watch me play at the Majestic bar and unfortunately I got thrown out on the break when a manager discovered I was under age. Our group didn’t own a PA system so we would partner up with other bands that owned systems, rent a hall and throw dances. Spunk was the name of one of these groups and Mike Reno was the lead singer. I never got tired listening to that band. I’m still a huge Loverboy fan. I played around Calgary in a variety of bands through my college years and once I graduated I joined the country band Showdown. I didn’t like country music but I wanted to play full time and they were looking for a drummer. The music grew on me and I enjoyed being on the road. One afternoon in some small town in northern Alberta, we went to watch a band across the street and that was the first time we heard The Rodeo Song. We taped the band playing it and over the next few days memorized the lyrics. That weekend we ... more...