The Zydeco Trail Riders

The Zydeco Trail Riders, formed in 2004, have performed predominantly in upstate New York at regional festivals and at nightclubs, wineries and eateries. The band is led by Greg Grodem, on vocals and accordions, with Gary Graeff on guitar, Ted Oberhaus on bass, Stuart Krasnoff on drums, and Kyle Wickings on rubboard.

Greg Grodem

Greg Grodem first started playing music 60 years ago while taking lessons on his Mom’s Hawaiian Lap Steel guitar. He now plays Blues on acoustic and steel guitar. He started playing accordion in the early 1990s after hearing Cajun music. He always looks forward to playing music with family and friends.

Harry Aceto

Harry Aceto has played a wide variety of music in many different bands for over 40 years. Here is Harry’s Bio from the Djug Django web site.

Gary Graeff

I grew up in Louisiana and have been playing music for about 50 years in all its many forms. I play guitar, mandolin, bass (electric and acoustic), piano and drums. Zydeco is one of my favorites because it is purely dance music and the dancers embody the spirit of the music. It’s pure magic to connect with a dancing group of people.

Kraz (short for Krasnoff, short for Krasovitzky)

I moved to Ithaca in 1965 from my native Philadelphia and I’ve been playing in bands ever since. I joined ZTR as their drummer in 2014 and haven’t had as much fun since the early 1970’s when I was backing up local legends Bernie Milton and, later, the Del Royals, and discovered the joys of playing for a roomful of dancers.

Kyle Wickings

Kyle Wickings plays the rubboard and triangle with the Zydeco Trail Riders. He also plays clawhammer banjo and rhythm guitar and loves jamming to old time music with his family. When not scratching metal for ZTR, Kyle works as an entomologist at Cornell University.