About ProgNation
ProgNation
ProgNation is a Cleveland, Ohio-based prog rock tribute act that focuses on the music of Yes, Genesis, The Moody Blues, King Crimson & ELP. We have performed in front of sold out audiences at the House of Blues, The Beachland Ballroom and many other fine venues from Chicago to Eastern Pennsylvania. We also perform our own original music!
Chris Cuda - Guitar/Vocals
Chris is a self-taught all-around guitarist/composer. Chris learned music by listening to records, concerts, and by hanging around pioneer jazz guitarist Bill DeArango. Chris has recorded and/or performed with Rocket from the Tombs, and his first prog rock band THIS in the 70s; Horns & Things, R&B bands, and solo career projects in the 80s; The Outsiders, Len Berry, and Tommy Roe in the 90s; and Cuda RenKo Cuda, aka Cuda Krishna Cuda original Prog-Jazz founded in the 2000s. http://chriscuda.bandcamp.com/
Chris, along with his brother, Tony, formed an original prog/jazz trio in 2006 called CuDa, RenKo & CuDa. The band released 3 CD’s and played many concerts with some of the most influential recording artists of our lifetime including; Allan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin/Stickmen, Carl Palmer (ELP), Ambrosia, Project Object (former Zappa members), Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) and Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin and Mike Clark.
Tony Cuda - Bass Guitar/Vocals
Tony Cuda is a schooled musician, composer and bass player. After spending three years at Berklee School of Music in Boston, Tony hit the road with an original fusion band in the early 1980’s. After playing the New England scene for 5 years, Tony returned to Cleveland to rejoin his brother Chris, eventually co-founding their current group, ProgNation. Tony, along with his brother, Chris, formed an original prog/jazz trio in 2006 called CuDa, RenKo & CuDa. The band released 3 CD’s and played many concerts with some of the most influential artists of our lifetime including; Allan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin/Stickmen, Carl Palmer (ELP), Ambrosia and Project Object (former Zappa members), Martin Barre (Jethro Tull) and Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin and Mike Clark.
Tony’s main influences are Weather Report, Yes, King Crimson and Miles Davis……..but there are so many more.
Tony's Website: www.tonycuda.com
Steve Koleszar - Lead Vocals
Steve Koleszar, (lead vocals) officially got his start in public musical performance with a children’s ukulele at age 3, strumming nonsense chords and belting out his child-version of The Banana Boat Song (day-o, day-o, day-delight and me wanna go home!).
"The next step was drums in grade school, choir, guitar, joining many, many bands over the years, including a studio project. Notables were a power trio called Triad, then Pentagon with Steve as front man /vocalist, followed by a stint as lead vocalist for Champion. This gave way to further formal education, marriage and family, and then a return to vocal performance with City Heat featuring the Cuda brothers."
Presently Steve performs classic rock with The Rockin’ Ravers, and now also enjoys bringing his voice to the performance of progressive rock music with ProgNation. “It’s a very natural thing for me”, Steve states, “digging in to some of the truly great works of bands like Yes, King Crimson, and Genesis. For several years in the mid-1970s that’s mostly what I listened to, and I’ve envisioned doing this type of project for several years. And the time has arrived to do it!”