The Rudimentals

The Rudimentals are an eight-piece ska / reggae band formed in Cape Town, South Africa in 2000. The band released two albums thus far a namely More Fire and Set It Proper. A live DVD/CD combo filmed at the 2007 Old Mutual / Kirstenbosch (Botanical Gardens) summer concert is also available. The band is signed to the United Kingdom based Moon Ska World distribution label. The group is one of a handful of Cape Town reggae-influenced bands, and has been described as a South African institution in tourist guides and on websites. The original members of the band were bassist Barry Clausen, guitarist Etienne Harris, drummer Duane Heydenreych and keyboardist Milandro Mapenga. It wasn't until they met with Zimbabwean showman Teboho Maidza (Teboes) that the band began to grow seriously. Teboes is known to have played alongside Andy Brown and Oliver Mtukudzi. The band subsequently took on a three-piece brass section, in the form of the University of Cape Town's Simon Bates on saxophone, Jody Engelbrecht on trumpet and Ross McDonald on trombone. Dyrk Meerkotter replaced Milandro Mapenga on keyboard. The band released its first CD, More Fire , in South Africa in October 2003, and the song "Noh TV" won a National Bronze Stone award for best music video in that same year. In 2004, Blunt Magazine designated the band "Best Reggae and Ska Band" in the country. In 2003, Michael Levy joined on lead guitar. Soon, Barry Clausen left, and six-times National Freestyle skateboarding champion Errol Strachan (AKA Bong) joined up on bass. In 2006, Ettienne Harris left and has not been replaced. In mid 2007, Dyrk Meerkotter left the band and was replaced by Tony "Fingers" Cencherle. The band toured with UB40 in South Africa in July 2007, and has performed at the Cape Town Jazz Festival, Zimfest 08, and numerous other annual South African events. The Rudimentals have also performed at concerts featuring: Mad Caddies, Joe Sample, Randy Crawford, Groove Armada, Violent Femmes, Johnny Clegg, Freshlyground, Lucky Dube, Vivian Jones and Jimmy Eat World. Current line-up: Teboho 'Bobo' Maidza - vocals Ross MacDonald - Trombone, backing vocals Simon Bates - Saxophone, flute Jody Engelbrecht - Flugel, trumpet Michael Levy - Lead guitar Duane Heydenrych - Drums, percussion Antonio Cencherle - Keyboards Errol 'Bong' Strachan - Bass guitar The band's official site: http://www.rudimentals.co.za/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.