-2nd Place in the 1993 "Play With the Sixers" band contest.

-1990 - " Give Love A Try" debut compact disc featuring 10 original songs was independently released. CD received considerable air play on college radio, BBC World Service, and local TV (Evening Magazine).

-1995 - " Be One" CD featuring 15 original songs was released. CD was voted #2 on WRDV-FM's list of Top Five Independent Albums of 1995.

-1998 - " Inner Voices: Life in the Music" featuring 15 original songs is released.

-2000 - " IV" CD released, featuring 10 original songs plus three bonus tracks is released.

-2001- "Covers: The Best Of Kabudi 1990-2000" CD released. A compilation of favorite tracks from the previous four albums.
 

Born on September 16th, 1959 in Winneba, a little fishing village on the coast of Ghana, West Africa, Kabudi grew up in a very musical environment. His maternal grandfather was the famed Methodist church organist/ composer Oman G. Blankson whose songs are still played at almost every Ghanaian funeral. At age 10, he served as his blind grandfather's apprentice - helping him write down his musical compositions. As a result of that experience, Kabudi became interested in song writing. 

Heavily influenced by American R&B (Otis Redding, James Brown and Marvin Gaye) and British rock music (Beatles, Bee Gees, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience) Kabudi taught himself the piano and formed his first pop group "The Loosers" a year later. Inspired by young Jermaine Jackson and the "criss-cross rhythms" of Osibisa and Santana, he soon took up playing bass guitar in his next group "Purple Axis". At age 16, Kabudi performed semiprofessionally with "Majestic Breezemen" and his songs and arrangements were selected for top honors in various national talent competitions in Ghana. The group's plan to release its first 45-rpm single was dashed when Kabudi left for the United States to pursue a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1978. 

After completing his degree, Kabudi moved to Philadelphia and played bass in several groups including "Suminakese Combo" - a Ghanaian highlife dance band led by guitarist/ composer Isaac Obeng. Under Obeng's wing, Kabudi broadened his horizons and learned different styles of composing African music. In 1990, Kabudi released his first CD "Give Love A Try" which featured ten original reggae, R& B and highlife songs. "Heroes of Africa", "KaNa Me Nsesa" (sung in Fanti his mother tongue) and the title song received rave reviews and considerable air play on local Philadelphia radio and TV programs as well as on the BBC World Service and Ghana radio. 

Kabudi spent the next few years promoting his album and performing regularly at local nightclubs and entertainment establishments opening up for artists such as Maxi Priest, Mutaburaka, Burning Spear and the Mighty Sparrow. In 1995, Kabudi released his second CD, "Be One", featuring fifteen original tunes to critical acclaim. A Big Shout Magazine music writer wrote "...a joyous, lively collection of tunes that can only be described as 'calypso pop'...". 

Kabudi's playing and writing on his 1998 release "Inner Voices: Life In The Music", reflect the colors and moods of his life in the United States. A collection of 15 original songs, the new CD bridges the world of reggae, highlife, R&B, pop, and Latin music. Featuring guest musicians: Dave Postmontier (Father), Anthony Silva and the Latin Swing Band (What You're Doing Is Wrong) and San Diego based Native Vibe (Life In The Music; Dance and Friday Night, Saturday Morning) Kabudi continues to explore new and energetic sounds that broaden and add rich hues to his musical journey.
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Rudy Val Greaux was born in St. Kitts, an exotic island in the Eastern Caribbean, on May 19th 1954. As a student at Basseterre Boys School he pursued Art and Music from a very early age. It was while he attended Basseterre High School that he started playing steel pan (double tenors/ tenor bass), drums and a full range of percussion instruments. 

Word quickly spread around the island and Rudy was invited to join several top groups such as the Thunderbirds (1964), Siera Radio Steel Band (1967), Ellie Matt & the G.I. Brass (1968), Maple Leaf Steel Orchestra (1970), Coca Cola Steel Orchestra (1970), Caribbean Heetwaves (1972). As a result of his association with all these groups, young Rudy was able to visit most of the islands in the Caribbean. A special performance in Cuba with Caribbean Heetwaves had a lasting impression on him and he decided to dedicate his life to music. 

Influenced by artists like Jimmy Cliff, the Mighty Sparrow, the Beatles, Ras Shorty I, Chalkdust, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and Jacob Miller, Rudy started to write and arrange songs for himself and other musicians in St. Kitts. Some of his works can be found on. "Breaktru" (1978) and "Disco Party" (1979) - two critically acclaimed albums by the Caribbean Heetwaves. 

In 1979, Rudy left St. Kitts for London, England to finish his formal education at London College of Printing (C & G 518 Graphics Origination & Reproduction). After he completed his studies in the early '80s, he moved to Philadelphia and quickly jumped into the music scene. He has been affiliated with several groups such as the Trinidad Stars Steel Band (1989-1990), Rhythm Mix (1990-1994), Roots Metics, Reggae Olay and Dub Research. 

Rudy first met Kabudi in the summer of 1990 when Kabudi came down to the 'basement' to audition as a bassist for Rhythm Mix, an up and coming soca / reggae / R & B group that was desperately in need of a tight rhythm section. Rudy and Kabudi turned out to be a perfect match. The duo quickly established themselves as the Sly and Robbie of the group providing the solid drum patterns and bass grooves the band was looking for. They hit it off almost immediately because they had so many things in common. They were both serious songwriters who believed in original material and most important of all, they enjoyed working in the recording studio environment. (Kabudi had just released his first CD "Give Love A Try" and was cutting tracks for his follow-up "Be One" while Rudy was working on his first solo album "Shake and Bake" which he released in 1991). 

After a few gigs with Rhythm Mix, Kabudi moved on to concentrate with his own group, but he kept in touch with Rudy, occasionally going to Rudy's home studio to cut demos of new songs he had written. In 1995 after freeing himself from prior commitments, Rudy joined Kabudi's group as a full-time drummer and vocalist and performed on several tracks on the "Inner Voices: Life In the Music" CD released in 1998. In between gigs the following year, Rudy began recording tunes for Kabudi' next album "IV". Rudy was the engineer and producer of the thirteen song project which was released in the summer of 2000. His production and arranging works include "Down" by Miriam Konate (1999), "Freedom Project" by Dub Research (1999) and "Fun" by Singing Rebel. (1999). Rudy is currently working on the next Kabudi CD scheduled to be released by Christmas 2002.
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ED GORE

"Ladies and Gentlemen… and on percussion and background vocals, we have Edward Gore! Please give him a hand!" (applause) 
"Thank you, thank you!" Ed adjusts his microphone and sits up in his chair. 

"Do you mind telling us a little bit about yourself?" 
"Hmmm. Let's see. Where should I start?" Ed takes a deep breath and looks around nervously. "I was born on January 15th 1961 and I grew up the youngest of five brothers in East Mount Airy, Philadelphia PA."
"How did you get involved in music?" 
My first experience performing in public was when I participated in the local choir with my dad. I was in grade school then. It was when I was in High School, that I knew that I liked performing. I hung out with my brother John who played drums and I enjoyed rubbing elbows with musicians. In time I got the courage to sing back up vocals in the various groups that he played with. I always wanted to perform. If I didn't play music, I probably would be doing community theater to get the bug out of my system!"
"Who are your musical influences?" 
"Growing up, I listened to all kinds of music - Rock, Pop, R & B, Funk , Disco, Jazz, New Age and Progressive Rock. My favorite groups and artists include Supertramp, Steely Dan, Toto, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Parliament-Funkadelic, Rick James and Robert Palmer." 
"Apart from performing in groups I see that you have done some studio production work…" 
"Yes, as an adult I worked as a mobile disc jockey for a few years and then made the transition to engineering sound for bands. I've always had dreams of having a small home studio so I could record some of my favorite local musicians. I started out with a Tascam 4-track system and gradually built my home studio to a level where I could record sixteen analog and digital tracks.
"Who are some of your favorite producers?" 
"Hmm. I would say Alan Parsons, George Martin and Quincy Jones." 
"So how did you hook up with Kabudi?" 
"I first met Kabudi way back in 1986 or 1987. Jackie, a good friend of mine was one of the lead vocalists of Chazz - a ten piece Latin-Pop band that started off playing original music and gradually moved into the Top 40/ R & B arena. You know, Madonna, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Miami Sound Machine - sounds of the late eighties. Well, she invited me to a band rehearsal or gig, I don't remember, but that's when I met Kabudi. He played bass and he occasionally sang lead on some tunes like Wilson Pickett's ' In the Midnight Hour', Lionel Richie's 'Se La' and several reggae songs by Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. I ended up doing sound reinforcement for Chazz and when Kabudi learned that I had a little home recording studio, he would come over to record some demo tracks. I remember recording some of the demos for the first CD "Give Love A Try" before he went to the studio."
"That's neat!" 
Yeah! Well, Chazz broke up in 1988 and two of the original members went on to form "Twist of Fate" a rock and blues band. I continued doing sound reinforcement for the band and got promoted to be a background singer and percussionist playing cowbells, tambourines and shakers. All the while, I stayed in touch with Kabudi and played an active role when the "Be One" album was in pre-production. I started doing sound for the band and occasionally would go up on stage to do back up vocals and shake a tambourine or something to keep the groove going. After "Twist of Fate" disbanded, Kabudi asked me to join the band as a full-time back-up vocalist and percussionist. This was in 1993." 
So what do you like about this group? 
"I like the spirit and diversity of the band. The talent. Its uniqueness. I am saying that in comparison to other groups I have seen. Other bands play the same sets over and over again. We have a huge repertoire of both original songs and covers and Kabudi just pulls out songs and we jam. That's impressive!"
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STEPHEN SZYMCZAK

Steve is the self-taught guitarist from Moorestown, New Jersey who started playing with Kabudi way back in 1991. "I first met Kabudi in a Classic Rock cover band called "The Spark" that my brother Richard was helping organize. Their guitarist suddenly moved to Pittsburgh and I had to learn all the music for a gig that was already scheduled. Kabudi was playing bass and singing vocals. The Spark broke up after a number of gigs and Kabudi invited me to join his group. I quickly learned the tunes off of Kabudi's first CD " Give Love A Try" and contributed a little to "Be One" the follow-up album he was working on. We performed a lot of music styles that I had never experienced. It was very intriguing!"

Born in Philadelphia on April 7th 1962, Steve was raised in New Jersey and he started playing guitar at age five. Although he received one year of formal lessons in primary school (second grade to be precise), Steve considers himself to be a self-taught musician. "My musical interests were always diversified: Classic Rock - Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Santana, Genesis, Pink Floyd; Heavy Metal - Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin; Folk - Paul Simon; Jazz - Weather Report, Stanley Clarke; Poly- Rhythmic - Adrian Belew; and Classical -Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, you name it! In the early 1980s I played guitar in an all original band that experimented with poly-rhythms and classical music. I also played bass and guitar in numerous cover bands and we performed compositions from various artists."

Playing with Kabudi and a 1996 trip to Trinidad for Carnival has made Steve's musical interests even more eclectic. "It's been a very unique experience playing Kabudi's music over the years. I have learned so much rhythmically speaking and I especially enjoy the jam sessions with the band. Kabudi usually leads these sessions at gigs and you never know what he's going to throw at you. We could be playing any mix of original songs, go through a number of covers and end with a slamming original. There are no set lists. Improvisation is extensive and we keep it spontaneous!"