The Biography

kaluza & Co. is a music duo, consisting of  Toto Kaluza (Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Kazoo) from Germany and Geoff Blondell (Guitar & Vocals) from the UK.

With more than 30 years of experience between us, we play a wide variety of musical genres, performed in our own way. Including Irish Ballads, Folk, County, Rock & Roll, Pop and many more from the 70s, 80s, 90 s and 2k, with artists as diverse as Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, The Dubliners, The Poques, The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Eric Clapton, up to Amanda Marshall, Adam Green, Sugarland and many more.

We’re not taking ourselves too seriously and enjoying ourselves live on stage. We are entertaining with fun and passion without being too commercial and always trying to get the crowd involved in our performances. It can well happen that someone from the audience joins us playing an instrument live on stage.

Our mission is to keep music live and every performance is a show in itself, completely performed live without backing tracks.

We are also dedicated in writing and composing original songs, which are as well part of our setlist, telling stories of our own lives experiences as well as keeping our eyes wide open in life.

kaluza & Co. are:

Toto Kaluza
Lead Vocals, Guitars, “Harmonica” & Kazoo

Toto is making a living from playing music for more then 10 years now. He performed on the streets of Europe as well as in bars, pubs, restaurants and private parties. Living for 9 years on the west coast of Ireland Toto gained a lot of musical experience and this is where his favour of Irish Music, Folk and Country music has developed.

What was before he started playing music?

After a motorbike crash with the age of 17, Toto developed late his love for music and taught himself how to “play” the guitar and how to “sing”.  He sang and played in German Bands such as “Simple”, which was a acoustic cover project and “Die Schattenspieler”, a “Dark Rock” Band from Wuppertal. Just to name his two favourites.

Since his taste of music has changed quite a bit over the past decade, Toto likes to tell lives stories which have a strong effect on his choice of “cover” song selection and his own written lyrics. Some of his favourite artists are: Sugarland, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Martin Sexton, Bob Dylan, Garth Brooks, Don Williams, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Paul Simon & Garfunkel, just to name a few.

Geoff Blondell
Guitars, Vocals, Stompbox and Tambourine

Geoff Blondell began his musical career back in 1967 when he received his first guitar as a Christmas gift from his family. Influenced then of course by artists such as Bob Dylan, Donovan, Eric Clapton and Burt Weedon’s songbook “Learn a tune a day”. He pretty much self-taught, having his few lessons with a music teacher friend and playing totally by ear, Geoff started to progress with his own style of mainly finger picking.

Geoff carried on with his guitar and vocals and some song writing, but mainly as a hobby and not really performing live. In 1970 he finished school having archived his A-Level in Art and got his place in “Medway Collage of Art and Design” in Rochester, Kent.

It was here where he met up with Ron Chadwick and Bill Clift with whom he formed his bad “Fairisle”. “Fairisle” consisted of three acoustic guitars and three part harmonies and all of the repertoire being songs originally written and arranged. It didn’t take long when they had quite a large number of followers, playing colleges, pubs and festivals as well as quite a few radio appearances on local and national shows.

After concentrating on his artist career for some years Geoff joined a Irish Ceilidh/Folk Band named “The Jezreels Ceilidh Band”. He always had a passion for Irish Celtic music anyway. When Geoff eventually left “The Jezreels Ceilidh Band”, he teamed up with Clive Ridchardson, an accompanied blues guitarist and they formed the duo “Why Not”.

In 2004 he decided to move to a sunnier climate, to the Spanish Island of Mallorca, where he could continue his artistic and also develop his musical career as a solo act in various bars and clubs around the Island.

It was there in 2008 where Geoff met up with Toto Kaluza and after an instantaneous realization that there was something very special happening musically and especially vocally, that they joined forces and formed the Band “ kaluza & Co.”.

And if they’re still alive, they play happily ever after!