Vocalist Sammi Garett and the band Cool Cool Cool will play at The Arts Campus at Willits on Friday night. Garett handles much of the vocals for Cool Cool Cool along with Shira Elias. Both were members of the band Turkuaz that played from 2008-2021.
If you like to dress up and if you like to get down on the dance floor like you’re mad at it, Friday night at The Arts Campus at Willits will be the place to be when the funk, soul, disco and acid jazz “shake what your mama gave you” outfit Cool Cool Cool takes the stage.
The band will be joined by Photon, a dynamic trio blending elements of electronica, jazz and house music. Their sound is a fusion of dance rhythms and virtuosic instrumental music.
Cool Cool Cool is a seven-piece band that formed in 2022 out of the ashes of the funk band Turkuaz, which broke up in 2021.
Most of the members in Turkuaz met at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. The band released a demo in 2008 and soon relocated to New York City, followed with their eponymous debut in 2011.
Over the next decade, Turkuaz released 10 more records and toured the world bringing their outrageous costumes and dance hall grooves to festivals and clubs.
Original Turkuaz member and current Cool Cool Cool trumpet and keyboard player Chris Brouwers recently moved to Denver. He discussed the coming together of Cool Cool Cool saying, “After Turkuaz broke up, we all just did our own thing but we kept getting calls from people in the industry to put something together for a festival or club thing, and a bunch of us would get together and we did things like a Stevie Wonder or a Prince cover set, just low stress like — come do a show and have fun.
“We didn’t have a name or anything and we just kind of agreed on the name Cool Cool Cool. And once we announced one show we started getting calls from everybody to play.”
The members of Cool Cool Cool live all over the country, so getting together to record music has been a challenge. The band has released two singles, “Never Noticed” and “Made ya Look.” The former sounds like Peter Gabriel meets Tom Tom Club.
Tom Tom Club is an offshoot of the Talking Heads. Cool Cool Cool toured and warmed up for Jerry Harrision (Talking Heads guitarist) and Adrian Belew, who toured to commemorate their seminal album “Remain in Light.”
“Jerry was so supportive of us as Cool Cool Cool,” Brouwers said. “We started as his backing band and once we became a band and started doing gigs he said, ‘We want you guys to open for us as well.’ So we were opening and backing him and Adrian up, and that was a great experience for the band.”
Cool Cool Cool will play at The Arts Campus at Willits on Friday night. The band is known for their danceable music that employs elements of funk, disco, soul, dancehall and EDM. Several members of the band were in Turkuaz.
Brouwers said there’s a distinction between Cool Cool Cool’s sound and Turkuaz’s.
“The music is different enough from Turkuaz to make it exciting for everyone,” he said. “It’s more collaborative. We allow everyone to share their own individuality within the band. We want the spotlight to be on everyone and make sure the whole band can take their time and share their artistry with people. And it’s been really fun to be a part of that.”
And on the flipside, when asked about the similarities between Cool Cool Cool and Turkuaz, Brouwers said, “Turkuaz’ strength as a group was always our live shows and our live energy. And we definitely bring that with Cool Cool Cool. We’re fronted by the same two women — Sammi and Shira, who were both the singers in Turkuaz, and they bring such great energy on stage. It’s just infectious, we all get up there and it’s just a dance party.”
When asked if he had to choose one of the following elements — tonight’s the night, get out on the dance floor or shake your booty — to describe a Cool Cool Cool show, Broewers responded, “Definitely all of the above.
“It’s always the right night to get out on the dance floor and shake your booty at a Cool Cool Cool show,” he added.
