Kevin J. Cox, also known as Bob Katt and
sometimes as Boss Toots, explains his lack of recent Springfield
shows this way: “I hate booking gigs — always
have.”
Now how does a fellow
who strongly dislikes getting jobs stay busy for more than 40 years
as a full-time musician? “I was a sideman in several
bands,” Cox says. “Whoever called me first got
me.”
From the Top 40 success of his first band,
the Egyptian Combo, to a 20-year stint with St. Stephen’s
Blues and now through his current projects, the singing saxophonist
and flutist has always found a way to make music and still make
ends meet. “All I’ve ever done is play
music,” he says. “I got my degree in commercial art and
do signs now and then and taught at SIU for a year, but music keeps
me going.”
Right now he’s a member of just three
different bands. “I think of myself as
semiretired,” he says. “I only play once a week or
three or four times a month.” The busiest group at this point
is 4 on the Floor, a classic-rock quintet based in southern
Illinois. “We’re like the Lawrence Welk of rock &
roll — we do the same arrangements of classic songs, and
everybody loves it,” says Cox. “We play mostly in
country clubs and private parties.” Group No. 2 is the St.
Louis-based Kevin Lucas Orchestra, an instrumental jazz-jam combo
that features the group’s namesake on a 9-foot marimba. “We
do minor-key jams that are jazzlike in form,” he says.
“They call it art rock.” Bob Katt and the Missing Lynx, Cox’s
third group, was formed to fulfill a lifelong dream.
“I’ve always loved singing. I like to hear
vocals,” he says. “I love the images lyrics can
produce.” The group focuses on lyrical jazz songs and some
classic rock & roll tunes that allow the band to stretch out
musically through solos while Cox carries the message in the
lyrics. After all those years of playing music, Cox
has his pet peeves — rants, he calls them — and some
wisdom to impart. “Everyone plays too darn loud,” he
says. “You need to listen to the other musicians and weave
melodies in a band, and you can’t if you can’t hear
them.”
Bob Katt and the Missing Lynx play Norb
Andy’s Tabarin (518 Capitol Ave., 217-523-7777), 9
p.m.-midnight Friday, Jan. 6. Human beings of all
ages are invited to attend a festive gathering of raucous live
bands 7-10:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, at the Black Sheep Café
(1320 S. 11th St., 217-891-7812). The little café that could
has been open for a few months, struggling to meet city codes while
booking live music in a venue where patrons of all ages can
participate in the fun. Included on the entertainment bill for the
upcoming show are local legends NIL8, plus the Timmys, Grim, and
None Taken.
Moroccan Soul, a
wonderful band from these parts, plays Friday and Saturday at the
Lime Street Café (951 S. Durkin Dr., 217-793-1905). A few
blocks away, at the Trading Post Saloon (731 S. Durkin Dr.,
217-787-8434), the mighty, mighty Mud Bugs demonstrate what they
call “good rock for new and old hippies” on Friday and
our old pals Oysters Rockefeller groove the blues on Saturday. The
MC Tap and Grill (2901 Chatham Rd., 217-726-5633) hosts live music
five nights a week, featuring the Dan Rivero Trio on Friday and
Suns of Circumstance on Saturday. Add the Break Time Entertainment
Complex (2937 W. White Oaks Dr., 217-698-0918) to the list, with
comedians at the Funny Bone Comedy Club, karaoke, DJ Flipside, and
occasional bands in the bar, and one might venture to say that the
west side of town is one hopping, happening place.
On Saturday, Jan. 14,
the Allen Street String Band reunites for one big show at a Prairie
Grapevine Folklore Society concert at the Abraham Lincoln Unitarian
Universalist Congregration (745 Woodside Rd.). Also on Jan. 14,
Lyman Ellerman, Illinois Times cover boy and Nashville songwriter comes home
to show off his newest band, Ragged Jack, at the L & L
Stockyards.
The Cherry Stoners
only play a few times each year, but whenever they do hit the
stage, the huge following they amassed years ago as one of the
area’s favorite cover bands is there to see the show. Come
early and stay late as your darlings make an appearance at the
Alamo in Chatham, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7.
This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2006.
