Kool Kats bring Cavalier attitude
Daily Progress Charlottesville, VA
Published: August 28, 2008
It's time once again to paint the town, and the drummer's bringing brushes.
Big Ray and the Kool Kats will share big-band, swing, Motown and other musical styles for tonight's Fridays After Five show at the Charlottesville Pavilion. They'll be teaming up on one number with the University of Virginia Marching Band to help turn the free weekend-launching concert into the popular Paint the Town Orange pep rally to get the home crowd ready for the Cavaliers' home season opener Saturday against USC.
Enthusiasm is running high among the Kool Kats. There won't be an opening act tonight because "I want to play all I can play," bandleader and trumpeter Ray Caddell said.
"There's nothing like playing at home," Cadell said. "It's a very important job for us because it's a rare opportunity for our families and friends to come hear us."
He said music fans will want to arrive early, because the fun will start promptly at 5:30 p.m.
Caddell and the Kats are likely to sneak in a few of the numbers they'll be performing at one of the six Presidential Inaugural Balls planned for Jan. 19 in Washington. The Kool Kats already are Washington insiders because they've performed for eight consecutive years as part of the Kennedy Center Gala, but the inaugural ball gig is special.
"We've played an awful lot of stuff, but we've never played an inaugural ball," Cadell said, adding that working with the Inaugural Committee has been a refreshing experience.
"More of Washington should run like this. It's completely bipartisan," he said of the committee. "Maybe they should work together on some other things. I'll tell you who wins ?" the Kool Kats win."
It's not Caddell's only presidential campaign season connection: Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden grew up three doors down back in Delaware.
The Kool Kats are known for their big-band stylings, but listeners can expect more recent eras on tonight's playlist as well. The band, which stays busy throughout the year performing for corporate events and weddings, gets kudos for its 1960s classics, and recent clients have been requesting music from the era of power suits, jelly bracelets and hair bands.
Among the 1980s tunes getting the Kool Kats treatment these days include a smattering of Huey Lewis and the News and "Livin' on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi, which got an energetic reception from recent audiences.
"The response was unbelievable," Cadell said of the Bon Jovi anthem. "I've been dragged kicking and screaming into the '80s."
Coming up soon for the Kool Kats will be a Sept. 19 benefit in Charleston, W.Va., with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.
