This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Bob Kadel Wears Glasses…and Plays Music

Local band BKWG plays to serve and serves to play.

One summer night in 2010, a property adjuster, a caterer, two builders, an Internet consultant and an insurance adjuster stood in an old barn in front of an awaiting crowd.

Instruments in hand, the businessmen readied themselves to play for their friends and fellow members of the Central Bucks Rotary Club.

As the pianist pulled out his glasses to read the music, one crowd member made a jovial observation that proved influential for the nameless musical group.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Bobby Kadell Wears Glasses (BKWG) made its debut as a band that night, and has been playing to the crowd ever since.

“They were expecting the worst,” said Joe Price, the band's guitarist, laughing. “They thought we were going to be a garage band and sound terrible.”

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

But to the crowd’s surprise, the band didn’t sound that bad. In fact, they were good.

Meeting through the , Jack Skudris, Kevin Kaufmann, Jeff Harrison, Joe Price, Taylor Presnell, and the band’s namesake Bob Kadel decided to get together and start playing the instruments they had neglected for years.

Practicing after Rotary meetings every Tuesday, the guys became more than fellow club members.

“We’ve become really good friends – inside of Rotary, outside of Rotary, inside the band, and outside the band,” Price said. “We’re like brothers.”

After six months of practice in the comfort of a basement, BKWG finally decided it was time to go public.

“I wanted them to suck because it’d be funnier,” jibed Timmy Lederman, Central Bucks Rotarian and the outspoken crowd member who inadvertently named the band. “But they actually do some of the best covers I’ve ever heard.”

Playing rock music of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, BKWG has three criteria for the songs they choose to perform: they have to be fun to play, fun to listen to and fun to dance to. 

These criteria give the band a fan base that stretches from tots to seniors, as made clear when the band played recently at Doylestown’s First Friday. Children danced around the band near Starbucks as adults sang along and seniors tapped their feet.

“When I see grown adults, without thinking, singing the words along to the songs we’re playing, it’s a cool thing,” Price said.

BKWG considers themselves an extension of the Rotary Club. They perform at just as many charity events and fundraisers as they do local events and private parties. They uphold the club’s motto, “Service Above Self.”

Playing their first extended gig at Doylestown’s on Sept. 2, the guys will soon be expanding their sets to include original work. Skudris, the band’s undeclared leader, hopes to get BKWG in a recording studio soon.

But no matter where the band finds itself in the future, BKWG will always be about music, camaraderie and service to the community.

“When it really clicks, and we’ve communicated all together and brought that to the crowd so that they respond to it, that’s a validation of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Skudris said.

For more information on BKWG and the Central Bucks Rotary Club, visit www.bkwgband.com and www.centralbucksrotary.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?