- RE-VO: vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion, string & horn programming
- Visit RE-VO’s blogsite
- Visit RE-VO on Youtube
RE-VO (aka Mac) is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and vocal impressionist with over forty years of experience playing in a variety of musical contexts all over North America. In 1981, The Heat, a band in which Mac served as bassist, won the Q-107 Homegrown Contest, and performed to ten-thousand people at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
Throughout the late 70s and the 80s, Mac performed in many showbands (eg. Esquire, Delegation, Citation) as a vocal “impressionist,” and later, was a leader of several bands. In the 1980s, Mac worked with Colman Jones (The Miller Brothers, Crossover & Twilight). As a solo act, Mac was a pioneer in using pre-recorded tracks to accompany solo, duo and trio band configurations (eg. Solitary Man: a Neil Diamond, Elvis and Tom Jones tribute show) and achieve massive concert-like sound in bars and nightclubs.
Mac is also a seasoned studio producer and audio engineer who worked with Shania Twain and other Canadian music stars. Mac was one of the first engineers in Canada to use MIDI technology (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) to connect controller keyboards and pedals to other instruments, synthesizers, and samplers. In 1988, Mac met Dave Carruthers, and together, they recorded nine “Borderline” songs, a band-name that was changed to “Sacred Machines” in 2020.
Mac (aka Medaglia-Miller) has written numerous classical compositions, including Etude #1 in C minor, which was debuted by world-class pianist Yaroslav Senyshyn at the celebration of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education’s amalgamation with the University of Toronto in 1992. In 1997, Mac and his partner Lina Medaglia completed “Casanova,” a three-hour epic opera about the 18th century Venetian adventurer. In 1994, Mac received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, and in 1999, received a Ph.D. from UT.
In 2004, Mac and Lina released Bald Eagle, a C&W album of eighteen compositions. In 2007, Mac (aka Reeves Miller) and Robert Davis were short-listed for the Toronto Blues Society’s Blues Talent Search Competition–their duo, called Up The Line, won third prize in the contest, and performed at Nathan Phillips Square.
Under the name RE-VO, Mac and Lina released two albums of progressive rock, Dreamland (2007) [concerning social justice and political conspiracy theories] and XII (2009) [concerning cosmology and spirituality], with Canadian virtuoso Paul Edward Royes (formerly of Hellfield) playing lead guitar. From 2018 to 2020, RE-VO recorded two albums, Hide n’ Seek (1988/2020) and Zero Footprint (2020) with rock drummer and poet Dave Carruthers, under the name Sacred Machines. RE-VO is delighted to be, once again, working with Dave.
Diagnosed in 2012, Mac is a cancer survivor, who owes his life to both his wife, Lina, and to Dr. Donna Reece of the Princess Margaret Hospital.
- DAVE CARRUTHERS: drums, percussion
Dave Carruthers has been performing and recording since the late ‘70’s as a band member, touring musician, writer and independent music publisher. His teacher was the road, but he lists his drumming mentors as American jazz artist/educator Peter Magadini, author of A Musician’s Guide to Polyrhythms (1993), Max Webster’s renowned Gary McCracken, and John Adames, formerly of the Toronto Percussion Center and Prairie Oyster.
Starting professionally in ’76, right out of high school, Dave worked with Peter and Paul Zaza, backing up Michael Danso, Sherry Miller and Belinda Metz. After working the Toronto club scene for years, he went out on the road with the rock band Click, working with producer Tom Tremuth and performing with Long John Baldry, while maintaining a punishing touring schedule. Returning to Toronto in ’84, he joined Ian Millar (The Rovers), along with Pete Zaza, and in the late eighties, connected with RE-VO to form Sacred Machines (formerly “Borderline”), and explored the craft of songwriting.
With the proliferation of drum machines and sequencers, Dave took a break from playing live, programming drums on sessions and starting an independent music publishing company with Peter Boynton (Red Rider), promoting and collaborating with local artists and writers. Through this independent network, Dave was introduced to a number of talented and prolific songwriters and musicians, such as Rick McCue and Mark Fournier. Mark eventually asked Dave to join Big Pink, releasing two records on their own record label, becoming a mainstay on the burgeoning independent Toronto scene.
In ’94, with the popularity of new country music and the incipience of the “Country North” scene, Dave performed with a host of musicians and artists including J.K.Gulley, Peter Boynton, Ian Thornley, Don Reed, Gil Grand, Jason McCoy, Marie Bottrell and Al Brisco. By 1996, Dave was asked to play drums for Lawnie Wallace (MCA Records), touring Canada, working with Eddie Schwartz and William Wallace (The Wilkinsons).
He continued to work as a drummer, seeking out original projects, performing and recording with Nick Balkou (Rick James), Bill Priddle (Treble Charger), and re-connecting with Rick McCue, appearing on three records, the latest being released in 2019. While everyone would like to forget 2020 for being such a tumultuous, disrupting year, the notion of reconnection has not been lost on Dave. The release of the Sacred Machines records is a true testament to enduring friendship and the art of collaboration.
- C.C. WHITE: backup vocals
CC. White appears courtesy of EastWest Voices of Soul.
C.C. White’s critically acclaimed CD “This IS Soul Kirtan!” (2011) debuted on top of the iTunes World Chart. It features a thrilling blend of Kirtan, Old School Soul, Reggae, Southern Blues, Gospel, R&B, Jazz and a bit of Latin flair. C.C. has toured all over the world, and recorded with such iconic artists such as: Ben Harper, Charlie Mussellwhite, Jason Mraz, Lenny Kravitz, Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Stewart Copeland, Barry White, Taj Mahal, Joseph Arthur, Joe Cocker, Rocco Deluca, Dhani Harrison, Chrissie Hynde, Al Green, Tony Lucca, Edwin McCain, Warren Haynes, and many more.
December 2025:
😔It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my beloved friend Dave Carruthers (1957-2025). Please visit RE-VO’s YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/macguy99 and view the “Sacred Machines” playlist to hear six of the 17 songs we wrote together. Read (above) about Dave and his work, both as a marvelous lyricist and as a world-class drummer. If there’s a Rock n’ Roll Heaven, have no doubt: Dave is jamming with Hendrix and Lennon now.🥁 R.I.P., dear brother. Much love, from Mac.❤️
