European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 27, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Robert Kool Bell gets Down on it we have the desire to be successful As a unit just As when we started out 21 years that desire has really kept the Bond Between us to continue on today and photos by Anita Gosch Lead Singer James Taylor and Bass player Robert Bell of Kool and the by Wanda Dew staff writer the groups Road to Success has taken More turns than an Alpine but Rob Ert Kool Bell  have it any other Kool and the gang has always been about said the bassist of the Chart Topping change has been a major Force throughout Kool and the gangs 21year formed in the mid60s while the musicians were attending High school in Jersey the band was known As the and garnered a Loyal jazz following at the legendary cafe wha in new York in following several name the band became Kool and the gang and shifted to More accessible Funk a breakthrough came in 1973 when the album wild and peaceful turned the disco trend preempted the groups onstage dance which Kool and the gang had perfected Long before anyone had heard of Donna summer or the Vil Lage their 1977 album open Sesa me produced a title Cut that found its Way onto the saturday night fever one of the biggest Selling albums in pop the late 70s again brought major the band added James Taylor As Lead Singer and front and combined forces with producer Emir the result was the major hit album ladies which spawned several smash throughout the the band has kept adding new chapters to its Success the hit single from the Platinum celebrate accompanied sports teams feats and became the unofficial theme song for the return of the american hostages from some w thing released in yielded three it was the bands third consecutive Platinum in Kool and the gang decided to part ways with Deodato and become their own with Kool and Lead guitarist Charles tenors list Ronald Altos list Dennis trombonist Clifford keyboardist Curtis Wil drummer George and Michael Ray and Robert Mickens on Kool and the gang continues to make its Mark in the music during the bands recent tour in Kool talked about the Early about life after the new album emergency and about the your band started out playing at Greenwich villages legendary cafe what was it like in those Days youre talking about the mid 60s the time of Jimi Hendrix and a lot of great jazz musicians such As the late John Wes Al Davis and Billy for it was a learning we were still Young and in grammar playing in the Village at 14 and 15 years old was a great the cafe wha was like a showcase where people like Richie Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor would come it was a very Good base for a beginner starting in the music we Learned a lot at a Young what kinds of difficulties did you face crossing Over from a jazz band to a rhythm and group when we played it was before we had any recordings so it want that much of a problem crossing the songs we were growing up on a mixture because we were influenced by the of that time the mid King Curtis and James it was very easy for us to mix our jazz sound with what did add to Kool and the gang before we didst have a Lead like wind and fire has with Maurice White and the commodores had with Lionel Richie at that particular i think that was an extra element that we were of after James joined the we started writing ballads and songs that were More Lyric it was kind of like that missing link in terms of completing the Kool and the gang sound for the whats special about your something special album the hits from those songs get Down on take my no and stepping out were special because they had More of a funkier Edge than the Cele brate after having worked successfully with Deodato on four Why did you decide to become your own producers let me say that before we were our own after four albums with we decided that we wanted to do it ourselves again so we produced our last in the and our current we did this to make a we have always been about change throughout our career by going from jazz to rhythm and blues to Street sound to having a Lead the relationship with Deodato was a Good he was very technical in terms of and we Learned a lot from him in that i guess you can say that we took Over As our own producers mainly to get More of our ideas into our when youre working with a pro its a Compromise and a Kool and the gang has achieved worldwide europeans in particular Are very much into the judging by the near sellout what Type of an audience Are you writing and playing for we write for a variety of i would say from 8 to 80 years with songs like Celebration and both adults and children can relate to and after five years of really building this Market by doing television shows and 1 think we have concentrated on reaching the european Consumers As it has been paying off for the last couple of europeans really follow sounds and people like Michael Tina Mick Jagger and Lionel we reach the German audience through formula a weekly t v show that broadcasts video films of the top 10 hits from both the United slates and How has your band managed to stay together for so Many years i think its mainly because we grew up together with a family of whenever we Are confronted with we try to come up with a we have the desire to be successful As a unit just As when we started out 21 years that desire has really kept the Bond Between us to continue on today and Tomor what can we expect from Kool and he gang in the future Well continue to do videos the new trend right now because it helps to promote the videos is a Start in the movie its hard to say what Type of music Well do in the future because we Are about the audience will hear different sounds coming from they might hear something with a reggae sound like lets go pop like aggressive like misled or Vou Are the a mixture of Rock and our music will they might even hear a Little country and Western by us one who knows the Many faces of Robert Kool and the the March 1986 the stars and stripes Page 15