ABOUT US...

BUDDY N

Coming from a musical family, Bud started playing drums in his brothers' band in the West Indies at the tender age of 12. Years later he found himself playing in several bands with Melbourne's premier jazz and fusion musicians, becoming a very well-respected player in the scene.

In more recent times, he spent six years touring constantly with White Man Can't Reggae (performing over 1200 gigs) —  one of the most successful bands ever to come out of Melbourne. He recorded two albums with them. The second album, which included several originals co-written by Bud, landed record deals throughout Asia and Europe and in South Africa. Bud's musicianship and stage energy was a contributing factor to the phenomena that saw WMCR pack venues they played Australia-wide and internationally for six years plus.

Despite his love for drumming, Bud has always found the time to dabble with the guitar, citing the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, many blues and jazz legends, and The Beatles as his main influences. He played guitar in a few 'scratch' bands; 'nothing serious' - as he would confess. Along with electronic percussion, it has now become his primary instrument in Cocos Groovus.

Bud and Annie from Cocos Groovus carefully craft their own backing tracks to create as 'live band' a feel as they can. They use 'World's Best' state-of-the-art technology in both audio and visual to create a great sound, sync'd lighting and atmosphere in any room.

It really makes a difference, particularly in functions with mixed age groups. They've had 60's-plus ladies dancing away to a Kylie Minogue song directly in front of the speaker boxes, saying, 'This is great, we don't normally like this kind of music.'.  And, of course, the younger audience is always mesmerised by the 'disco lighting'...

Many potential clients who come to see them as a duo comment, "Why would we want any more than you two, what more could be added?" - which is a great compliment...

The sound is controlled as a 'live mix', making it very easy to adjust at any time. Lighting is individually programmed by Bud; it creates great dynamics for the band playing.

Both Annie and Bud have years of experience playing in live bands with great players (and some not so great!). And both of them have a great respect for the value to an audience of seeing people 'doing it live'.

Cocos Groovus has a very firm belief that the backing tracks should be there to enhance the live playing/singing performance of the band members. So, although Bud and Annie go to a fair amount of trouble to get those backing tracks the way they want them, whatever you see them playing live is real. There are subtle differences from song to song; gig to gig - that's the way Bud and Annie like it, because that's the essence of 'live entertainment'.

And, it leaves space for extra players, from time to time. Bud changes what he plays to leave room for an extra guitar, a saxophone or flute, an extra vocal harmony. Annie shifts phrasing slightly to enhance, say, a percussionist who brings in a new rhythm ... it's all exciting!!

Reading the crowd —  playing the right song at the right time —  is very important to create a successful event, and Bud and Annie do just that.

They are the fabulous fresh pastry base of Cocos Groovus pie! As a duo they work wonderfully, cooked to perfection with the best and smartest technology in sound and lighting.

Bud skilfully swaps mid-song from guitar to percussion —  you ain't heard Dancing Queen 'til you've heard it with latin percussion!

Annie's vocal style is just as adaptable; she purs through Mary J Blige; powers through Anastacia or Tina Turner.

Bud and Annie have had a musical collaboration for a long time, starting with a 5-piece cover band featuring Annie on keyboards, vocals and some sequencing, and Bud on drums. Over the years, as technology and the local music scene have evolved and changed, they have worked together on projects as diverse as a 7-piece 'tribute' band, a sequenced funk trio with fully triggered drumkit, a roots reggae band, and now a duo, with Bud playing guitar and stand-up percussion.

The link between all this diversity is their passion for music and live performance, and their ability (and willingness) to adapt to every environment...

Cocos Groovus was born in December 2001, when Bud and Annie combined their resources to create a very streamlined; modern but still 'earthy', act. The main focus of Cocos Groovus is to 'get the girls up dancing' — Annie and Bud figured that was the key to a great night. A few hundred gigs down the track they still think that's the key to a great night!!

The name: "Cocos Groovus"? — just because it's different... and it made them laugh when they heard it...

Sometimes an occasion calls for a bit of — how do you say?— extra spice...

There's nothing like the vibe of a great musician live on stage. (Bookings dependent on budget, availability and event requirements.)

When Cocos Groovus goes out as a 3- or 4-piece, they do it with some of the tastiest of Melbourne's musical maestros. Like: