The Essentials

The Essentials was a Canadian a cappella group founded in London, Ontario, Canada in 1993, that were based out of Toronto from 2000 onward. Band co-founders Joon Nah and Joe Oliva attended London Central Secondary School where they co-founded a predecessor a cappella group to The Essentials, called The Humdingers. Biography The Essentials' first gig was singing a cappella doo-wop songs, weekly during the summer months, in the parking lot of an ice cream parlor called Merla-Mae Ice Cream in London, Ontario. In 1996, Dan Speck joined the band. Speck had been introduced to the band through The Essentials' then-manager Terry McManus via Emm Gryner. Dan Speck's younger brother Thom, formerly of Streetnix, then joined the band in 2005. Both Speck brothers and Gryner have known each other since their youth in the small town of Forest, Ontario. Janet Turner completed the quartet in 2009. Since their inception, The Essentials have focused mostly on performances in Canada and the United States, but have also ventured into Europe. They have performed thousands of shows including the national anthems for the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs which has garnered them more national television exposure in Canada.