Paul Cotton was a songwriter, guitarist and singer for the country rock band Poco from 1970, when he replaced Poco co-founder Jim Messina, until 2010. His compositions for Poco include “The Heart of the Night,” “Bad Weather,” “Indian Summer” and “Ride the Country.” He has also released three solo albums, and is working on his fourth.
Cotton will be performing with a full band at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club on Saturday. Click here for more information.
Cotton took a break from rehearsals for the upcoming show to answer the following questions by email.
Jeff Moehlis: Can you tell me about the band that will be joining you at your upcoming show in Santa Barbara?
Paul Cotton: This band is based in San Diego. They are all named Tom! Consisting of my good friend Thom Landt on guitars, vocals and pedal steel guitar. Tom on bass guitar. Tommy Neel in on drums. My son Chris Cotton from L.A. is sitting in drumming on a few songs. This is a special treat for me as we have not shared the stage or played together in more than 10 years.
JM: Your pre-Poco band Illinois Speed Press was on the bill for gigs with an amazing set of bands, including Led Zeppelin, The MC5, Sly & The Family Stone, Tim Buckley, Spirit and Ike & Tina Turner. Were there any performances by other bands that were particularly memorable?
PC: The Doors, Chicago, of course, Blood, Sweat & Tears (whom I will be playing with in the Keys March 24), Simon & Garfunkel. We played with Poco, which is where the initial introduction was made for me.
JM: How did you come to join Poco?
PC: Richie Furay called me when he heard of the Speed Press disbanding. I went over to his house and played an acoustic version of my “Bad Weather” I had written while in ISP. He was sold, as he tells it.
JM: What was the feeling like in Poco when co-founder Richie Furay left a few years after you joined?
PC: Tim Schmit was still in the band, and that left Rusty [Young] and the two of us to write songs to fulfill an agreement with the label at the time. I think that helped each one of us become stronger writers.
JM: In the early years, Poco was sometimes described as “too country for rock, too rock for country.” What is your take on that description?
PC: I guess that is true to some extent. Over the years our wonderful fans have described us as the innovators of “country rock,” and we are still referred to that way.
JM: The album Legend is generally regarded to be one of Poco’s best. To what do you attribute that album’s success?
PC: Timing really. The album contains two of our biggest hits — “Crazy Love” written by Young and “Heart of the Night,” which I wrote. So I would say that in itself made it successful.
JM: Poco took part in the No Nukes concerts. What was that experience like?
PC: It was a lot of fun! We played Madison Square Garden with (Bruce) Springsteen, James Taylor and many more. My song “Heart of the Night” was included in the album, which attained Gold, and maybe Platinum status by now. I am very honored to be part of it.
JM: I’ve read that your song “Every Time I Hear That Train” is a tribute to Santa Barbara. What’s the story behind this?
PC: It is about Santa Barbara. The sound of the train whistle in the night that I heard while visiting there inspired the images for the song. It kind of wrote itself, reminding me of a familiar, beautiful place. I spent more time in Santa Barbara and really like it.
JM: You were with Poco for several decades. When you joined, what were your expectations/goals, and were they fulfilled?
PC: Well, that was in 1970, and a young man’s expectations in that era were endless. My goal and main job was to write songs for a rock-and-roll band, which was achieved. The rest I would have to say is, “Couda, woulda, shoulda.”
JM: What are your plans, musical or otherwise, for the near future?
PC: I am very busy right now and have commitments for the next year. I have an awesome band in my home island of Key West, Fla. This band is based in Southern California. I have had a band for four years in Oregon, and now one in the Northeast and Midwest. That covers me spending the winters in the tropics and touring on my own schedule. I am recording the fourth solo album in Key West. I am learning and applying all aspects of the recording process, which I have never done. This has been more time consuming, but we are making diamonds and I’m very happy with the outcome.
We have scheduled and sold out our annual weekend Caribbean cruise Feb. 24-27 out of Miami, which is being dubbed the “Nitty Gritty Cotton Cruise.” Jimmie Fadden, the 1966 founder and still current drummer for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, will be drumming with me so we have fans from both bands and a big bunch of fun Keys Conchs. See the www.paulcotton.com Birthday Cruise link for bookings. They added four more cabins.
I am looking forward to meeting all of you at SOhO, and thank you in advance for coming out. Happy Trails, Paul Cotton.
Click here to read the full interview with Paul Cotton.
— Noozhawk contributing writer Jeff Moehlis is a professor of mechanical engineering at UCSB. Upcoming show recommendations, advice from musicians, interviews and more are available on his Web site, music-illuminati.com.
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