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found out that I was really good at it. I could arrange other people’s music as well. And consequently a lot of my input went into those two albums.


Countrified


Cotton Continued from page 8


GD: Poco was already a well-known recording band, so how does a new band member become a contribut- discovered the band Chicago. We were actually next door neighbors, all of us. We were all on one street in Hollywood, if you could imagine the noise, the cacophony of it.


GD: Can we talk about the parties? PC: Oh yes, and I was trying to raise my son in that environment. He became a drummer, still is. But yeah, we went right to Colombia Records for two albums.


GD: So you’re out developing songs and writing songs. PC: 1967, yeah.


GD: How do you feel you were as a songwriter at that time? PC: All the fences came down. It’s like stop and smell the roses. L.A. indeed was the place I needed to be.


GD: All the creative artists that feed off one another. PC: Oh everybody was there. Yes, and the band was kind of like that. We fed off each other. I helped with arrangements of the other guys. I had never done that before, and I


GD: How much time in L.A. did it take you to where other people started realizing your talents? PC: Not long, not long, and those other people became Poco, obvi- ously. Te Speedpass was in its last days of a four piece — Cal and I and a bass player and a drummer. Poco was down to four pieces, and that’s where we got to hear each other.


GD: Tell me who and how Poco ap- proached you about, I guess, con- sidering joining already a top recording and tour? PC: Peter Setera, actually. Peter and I grew up in Chicago, and he was their bass player’s lead singer. He was taking steel guitar lessons from Rusty Young from Poco. Peter had known that I was in my last phase of probably my last grouping of what might become the next phase of the Speedpress. And he thought that I would be available if Poco needed a replacement for Jim Masina, which they did need. And that’s how that came about, and that’s who I replaced.


GD: How difficult of a decision was it for you when approached with the offer to join this great band? PC:My bandmates in the Speed- way graciously threw me out the door and said ‘take it, man, that’s where you belong.’ Tey knew where my heart was, because I had seen Poco’s debut at the Trubador and, oh boy, if I ever got a chance I would take it and I did.


GD: Poco was already a well-known recording band, so how does a new band member become a contribut- Continued


KONK Life 19


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