When Mike Rowe set out to put together Ko-Ko back in 2002, he had in his mind’s eye “a band that does artistic interpretations of great music” – and by this he meant both classics and original pieces.

At that stage, Mike had been through an extensive growth phase during which he had performed on the South African circuit with a number of musical luminaries. The time, he says, had come to get together a group of serious musicians mature enough to work together in that particular vibe of mutual understanding so central to the success of any music group.

Unity in the Venue

In the end, he and his band members came up with a lot more; together, they achieved a band capable of performing repertoire after repertoire at venue after venue without ever resorting to pre-determined play-lists.

“What we have in Ko-Ko,” he says, “is this pivotal reliance on communication.” Communication with the audience, is his meaning. No two gigs, he explains, are ever the same – different folks have different strokes and the band members have it as their task to connect with the vibe at every single gig.

In this way, relying solely on their intuitive rapport with the audience, the quartet produces the music for the evening, drawing on their extensive repertoire of blues, rock, folk, reggae and jazz.

“It works time and again,” says Mike. “We manage to connect even with the most ‘indifferent’ of audiences.

“What we do,” he says, “is to kick off with one or two numbers to feel the vibe in the place and then we take it from there. No matter where the audience is at, they will, in the end, be uplifted. This is our aim. It’s what we’re there for.”

Ko-Ko does not allow any sort of ‘barrier’ between the band and the audience: “We strive for total unity in the venue. This is the communication aspect of our performances. Bands who play for themselves are being really selfish. The audience must be drawn into the spirit of what is happening on stage.”

And what happens are gigs perfectly matched to the vibe of the day, filled, in exactly the right measure, with the work of greats such as John Martyn; Keb-mo; Bob Dylan; Steven Stills; Neil Young; Cosby Stills and Nash; Stevie Wonder and Led Zeppelin.

The group finds that their audiences tend to trust this approach of theirs – numerous are the regulars who keep coming back for more, even at venues as far afield as Hartebeespoort Dam where Ko-Ko currently performs once a week.

Diverse Repertoire

Another of their trademarks is the diversity of the group’s repertoire; it is nothing out of the ordinary for them to “cover the whole range” within the space of a week – from country music in Bapsfontein right through to Leonard Cohen at corporate functions in Sandton.

“When we play at functions,” says Mike, “we often find that people don’t realise that there is certain music – specific songs – they are dying to hear. They’d request something like ‘Hotel California’, for instance. We take our cue from there and, before playing the request, we’d typically do a few other Eagles songs – much to everyone’s enjoyment!”

Ko-Ko unplugged

Playing unplugged, the quartet offers percussion, drums, base and electric guitar. At smaller venues, Ko-Ko performs with two acoustic guitars and percussion and, in some cases, the electric guitar during the second half of the gig.

Large Venues

When they play at large venues, the band rolls out drums and percussion, base, acoustic guitar and electric guitar.

“This,” says Mike, “allows for a greater scope of music – from the more laid-back sounds to rock ‘n roll, all in one session.”

Depending on the audience, of course.

And never, never will Ko-Ko resort to computers, back-tracks, lap-tops, sequences or “any of those gimmicks,” as Mike puts it. “Never. Not for any money.”

He’s really quite emphatic about this.

Musicians with Experience

It stands to reason that, for a band to play great music, its members must be able to relate to one-another. So, when Mike set out recruiting musicians, he set his sights on experienced players who had matured in their art.

“The members of any band need to connect with each other before they can connect with the audience,” he says. “This calls for players who are familiar and comfortable with each other’s work and with almost any music genre.” Some of Ko-Ko’s musicians, he says, have been around since the 1970s.

“This is why we’re able to play anything from reggae to soul or rock ‘n roll at the drop of a hat.”

No Rehearsals required

Mike hastens to add that Ko-Ko never rehearses any of the classics: “We only rehearse when we’re working on our original stuff.” An neither has any member undergone any formal training: “We don’t even read music,” smiles Mike. “We’re all about raw talent, man!”

A Band with History

He has known guitarist Fred Crooks since 1986. Fred, he says, had been with many bands over the years, always honing his talent, unwittingly bringing his music in line with the standards required by Ko-Ko.

Percussionist/drummer Ruben Sameuls, too, had gone through many years of growth by the time Mike approached him to join the band. A freelance drummer with various groups all his life, Ruben started his career as percussionist with Ko-Ko.

“Once we had the band together and the four of us connected as a unit, we realized that we needed to bring percussion into our sound. Ruben was the man. When we do small gigs he takes to percussion as though he’s been doing it all his life. And this is what makes us successful – this ability to connect, this sync that we have.”

Gerald Louw, on base, was also an experienced musician by the time he joined Ko-Ko.

“He can do anything,” says Mike. “From pop to funk and jazz – you name it.” Before signing up with Ko-Ko, Gerald played with a successful jazz outfit called Africa oh Yeah! Mike saw him perform on television and immediately knew he had found his man. The rest, as they say, is history.

Original Music

‘A band that does artistic interpretations of great music’ Ko-Ko certainly is, but let the tale be told: The SA music scene can expect a number of original Ko-Ko songs somewhere in the not-too-distant future – a “maximum of ten or eleven of them put together on an album”, to be more specific. And they’ll not just be rock songs, Mike assures us. Quite the contrary. He says the album will be very diverse and will encompass the entire scope of Ko-Ko’s sounds. Some of the cuts will have a strong jazzy feel while others will belong to the category Mike calls ‘hard folk’.

But whatever the flavour, it will doubtless be created out of the cumulative talent, experience and passion of these four men.

Ko-Ko’s original songs usually start with Mike, who has written a total of twelve over the last two years. Once the writing’s done, he hands the material over to the band and the process of collective magic begins.

“The last thing I want to do is to tell anyone how the music should be played,” he says. But then, with Ko-Ko, he never has to. All he does, he says, is to “give them a couple of chords and a quick explanation of the essence of the material” and off they go, a foursome in perfect sync, bent on following the melody and wrapping it up.

The Genre

As for genre, it really isn’t possible to assign Ko-Ko’s original music to a category. Mike puts it thus: “The only way to describe our original stuff would be under the banner ‘contemporary’. Yet, on the album, the Ko-Ko identity will come through loud and clear.” In this light, he compares Ko-Ko with Dire Straits who, he says, have a clearly recognisable identity regardless of the genre of any particular song.

Here to stay

He notes that bands like U2 also went through changes as they evolved through the growth process. The Ko-Ko brand, however, is here to stay: “We’ve already been through our growth process – individually, as each of our members worked their way through long careers of performing a very wide variety of music to extremely diverse audiences.”