Playing it cool

By Joyce Davis
The Daily Times-Call

	The Joe Cool Band formed in 1972 and has played throughout Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and up the West Coast. Times-Call/Jeff Haller

LONGMONT - "Who do you think you are - Joe Cool or something?"

It was that smart remark between musician friends that set the Joe Cool Band in motion more than 30 years ago.

"It was a joke," says Joe DeMott, drummer for the Joe Cool Band and one of its founding members.

"Curt Mangan and I used to hang out at this music store (Longmont Music), and we'd joke around with each other. One day I said something smart-alecky, and he gave me this look and asked if I thought I was Joe Cool," DeMott recalls. "I thought it would be a great name for a band, so we went with it."

The name has been a defining one for the rock 'n' roll band, which, for the past three decades, has attracted fans who think the band's music is just plain, well, cool.

DeMott, the drummer; his brother Jeff DeMott; Andy Rojas, bassist; and Mangan formed the Joe Cool Band in 1972. They began playing the Huddle, a popular sports bar that is now home to the Lefthand Tap House.

"We literally got together and had one rehearsal in Curt's living room the night before our first time playing as a band," says DeMott. "We had one guitar player (Mangan) and the rest of us on vocals. I don't know how it ever worked out, but it did."

After playing at the Huddle, the band performed at the Wine Cellar (now Cheers) for three years before hitting the road. The Joe Cool Band played throughout Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and then up the West Coast from California to Seattle.

"It was fun at the time because we were all young," says the 53-year-old Rojas, whose curly halo of hair has been his trademark for years. "But after awhile it got to us."

The band headed home to Longmont, taking little time to recapture its spot as one of the area's favorite rock 'n' roll bands.

Most die-hard fans will remember Joe Cool as the house band for 13 years at the Coachman, now Group Therapy.

"We made a lot of friends there, and a lot of people who started out with us in those early days are still with us now," says DeMott, 50.

Rojas and DeMott say the Beatles had the greatest influence on their early music, a fact that hasn't changed through the years.

"They were a huge influence on me," says DeMott, who remembers watching the Beatles on the "Ed Sullivan Show" as an 11-year-old in 1964.

"To me, there's no greater band in the world," he says. "Nobody can touch them."

Rojas agrees. "There's no doubt the Beatles were a big part of us," he says. "They got us going."

The band started out with four members and for a little while played as a three-piece before taking on a fourth member.

"That wasn't our best time," says Rojas. "You're pretty restricted as to what you can play, what sounds you can get with only three people. Four is definitely better, and it offers more opportunities."

The addition of two new musicians to the band - John Grulke on keyboard and Chris Lasegue on guitar - has blessed the group with an ability to tap into some new sounds and go beyond the familiar. Both are in their 30s, a few decades younger than the band's founders.

While remaining true to its rock 'n' roll roots, the band has expanded in some new directions, thanks to a younger approach by Lasegue and Grulke.

"We have some new sounds, and we now cover more material that we can play even better, thanks to the technology and talents of our two newest members," says Rojas.

"John is able to get as close to a song instrumentally as possible, and his keyboard work is fantastic. Chris can play rock, country and just about any other kind of music, including hard rock, which is great.

"With them, we can stay true to our music, but we can update and improve with our reproduction of today's sounds."

Although DeMott and Rojas refer to Grulke and Lasegue as "the new guys," they've been with the band for years - Grulke for 10 and Lasegue for almost seven.

Both Rojas and DeMott consider the Joe Cool Band more than just a weekend pastime.

"It's a great part of our lives. It's very much like a marriage," says Rojas. "We've been together longer than most people's marriages because, for the most part, we've stuck it out no matter what the circumstances.

"We knew from the beginning that if we wanted to be successful, we had to work out any problems and go on from there."

DeMott likens the band to being part of a big family.

"I know it sounds like a cliché, but really, we are like a family. We're all a part of each other's lives," he says. "It take all four of us to make this band, and we're equals. We're all in this to make people happy."

The closeness of the band members makes for an exciting show for fans.

"There's no doubt that we draw energy from each other," says DeMott. "We can tell if someone's not quite up to par on any night, and just by playing, we bring him up."

The classic rock 'n' roll music draws emotion not only from the band members, but from audiences as well.

"We all have a common link here, and that's our love of rock 'n' roll," says DeMott. "You can't describe how we feel on stage when we're singing a song that touches someone in the audience. It's a piece out of your past, a feeling you remember having some 30 or 40 years ago. That's an adrenalin rush for us when we know we've been the messengers for this flash from the past."

Several weeks ago, following the band's gig at the Eagle Grill, several fans offered their take on what makes the Joe Cool Band so enduring.

"These guys rock," says fan Chris Groff. "They're what rock 'n' roll is all about. It doesn't make any difference what your age is, from 21 to 50; they're still the best."

Another fan, who goes by the name of Bo-Bo, has followed the Joe Cool Band since 1973.

"I know them so well, I've played Santa Claus for some of their shows," says the bearded 40-some-year-old. "They've been drivin' and crankin' out great music since the first time I saw them. I think they just get better and better, and they give you a quality show no matter what."

It's testimony such as this that keeps the band in motion.

"We don't know where we'll be 10 years from now, but hopefully, we'll still be playing," says Rojas. "We take it a year at a time. I always say that I'm crazy already, but with daily stress and all that's going on in the world, I'd be insane if it weren't for the band."

DeMott says he's amazed at how much fun he still has with the band. "Our band's motto is 'cool rules,' and we live by that," he says. "We're dedicated to having fun and being cool to people."

If you go: The Joe Cool Band takes the stage at Eagle Grill, 1600 Hover St., Longmont, tonight and Saturday. Showtime is 8 p.m. Call 303-772-2555 for more information.