Demo Cates is a name that moviegoers and music lovers alike should recognize. With over fifty years in the entertainment industry, living in both the US and Canada, Demo has amassed an impressive resume and has even won awards along the way. Although primarily a saxophonist, Demo Cates has flexed his vocal muscles on record multiple times (including one of Canada's first hip-hop recordings), also singing on countless radio jingles over the years. On top of the musical accolades, Demo has also had occasional supporting or guest roles as an actor, including in the television series Forever Knight, Goosebumps, and The Jane Show, and the films Blues Brothers 2000 and A Raisin in the Sun. Below is the story of where it all began for Demo.
Demo [Demetrius] Cates was born on November 13th, 1948. He was raised in Detroit, Michigan, and grew up in a musical family. Demo didn't take up his first instrument until around the age of nine, when his mother encouraged him to try the saxophone and even offered to pay for lessons. Demo quickly took to the saxophone and excelled in his studies. He took lessons at a music shop in downtown Detroit known as Grenelles. At school, Demo received constant praise and encouragement from his music teacher. "I went to Nolan Jr. High in Detroit, and my music teacher, Mr. Paxton, really encouraged me," said Demo. "He thought that I had a great tone at such an early age."
While still in school, Demo started his first band, "Demetrius And The Gladiators." Granted, they were all around 13–14 years old at the time, so clubbing was out of the question. But they still had a lot of fun as a garage band, playing their favorite jazz, R&B, and rock and roll songs. "It was a cool name," comments Demo. "We didn't have any gigs; we just had fun practicing."
Throughout his teens, Demo continued to improve his playing. As he puts it, "I started lessons at nine and turned professional by the time I was fifteen." After the Gladiators, Demo got involved with some other local bands on the Detroit scene. It wasn't long before he was making some serious money. "I was making $250 a week and was able to afford to pay off a brand-new car."
During 1964, at the age of sixteen, Demo Cates co-founded The Fabulous Counts in Detroit with Mose Davis (keyboard/organ/bass), Leroy Emmanuel (guitar), and Andrew Gibson (drums). Demo was introduced to Mose by a mutual friend, and they quickly hit it off and began jamming. Mose invited Andrew to join, and one day after a jam session, they all went to Grenelles (the music store where Demo was taking lessons). "We went inside, and Leroy Emmanuel was sitting trying out some guitars, and we were all amazed by his playing," says Demo. "We convinced Leroy to join and called ourselves The Fabulous Counts." Jam sessions quickly grew to include their neighbors Raoul Keith Mangrum (Congas), Shelton Hill (saxophone), and Jim White (tenor sax). This completed the original line-up, as Mose opted to play keyboard bass with his foot pedals, allowing them to proceed without a bassist.
The Fabulous Counts quickly developed a repertoire of mostly instrumental songs—R&B, jazz, rock—you name it, they played it. This meant that the group were prime candidates to back up local and visiting singers at various Detroit music venues. Thankfully, they caught the attention of Fred McClure (a member of the Masonic Temple), who offered to manage them. One of Fred's first acts as manager was getting them a rehearsal space and regular gigs performing at the Elk's Hall in Detroit. They also performed at a number of other union halls across the city. Their main working relationship came from backing Detroit singer Spyder Turner. The Fabulous Counts' recording debut came from 1968 sessions for Spyder Turner's hit "Stand By Me."
The Fabulous Counts then caught the attention of Detroit producer Richard "Popcorn" Wylie by the end of 1968. Richard convinced the band to record some songs with him. From these sessions, the band recorded four songs: three originals ("Jan Jan," "Scrambled Eggs," and "Dirty Red") and one cover ("Girl From Kenya). Richard then set out trying to get the band a record deal and succeeded with Ollie McLaughlin's Detroit-based Moira Records. "Jan Jan/Girl From Kenya" was their debut release. Though "Jan Jan" was a strong single (featuring Demo Cates' debut sax solo on record), it narrowly missed cracking the Billboard R&B Hot 100 Singles Chart. Demo Cates reminisces about a local Detroit DJ's response to the song: "Ernie Durham [known as "Frantic Ernie"] used to play Jan Jan all the time, and right before my solo, he'd always say, 'Come on, Demo, blow, blow, Demo!'"
After returning to the studio with Richard Wylie during the spring/summer of 1969, The Fabulous Counts emerged with more recordings. Their final release for Moira Records was "Get Down People/Lunar Funk" (which features Demo Cates' first lead vocal on record), which hit #32 R&B and #88 on the US pop charts. The success of this single saw the band get contacted by Cotillion Records, who were interested in putting out a full-length album before the end of 1969. The Fabulous Counts left Moira and joined Cotillion. An album titled "Jan Jan" was released, cobbling together their six single sides as well as six unreleased tracks: two originals ("The Other Thing" and "The Bite") and four covers ("Simple Song," "Soulful Strut," "Hey Jude," and "Man's, Man's World").
1970 brought about a few changes for The Fabulous Counts. First and foremost, they signed a new record deal with Detroit label Westbound Records. They also began touring extensively, doing West Coast promo tours as well as an established East Coast circuit. This consisted of Detroit, New York, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto (plus many Ontario cities), and Montreal, among others.
After their debut single with the Westbound label, "Rhythm Changes/Pack Of Lies," failed to chart, the band decided to shorten their name to simply "The Counts" and record the remainder of their sophomore album, "What's Up Front That Counts," in Toronto during early 1971 at RCA Studios.
September of 1971 saw the release of The Counts' debut (technically sophomore) album, "What's Up Front That Counts," and oddly enough, even though it was recorded in Toronto, the album never received a Canadian release.
The Counts were excited for the album and felt it had potential. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by labelmates The Ohio Players and Funkadelic. This was in part due to preferential promotions for the aforementioned acts that left The Counts somewhat neglected. Although the band was overshadowed at the time by their label mates, their "What's Up Front" album has gone on to garner significant praise in the funk community as well as become a hip-hop sample classic, with nearly a dozen noteworthy sections.
The remainder of 1971 and early 1972 saw The Counts touring with Funkadelic across America. The band admits to having Funkadelic rub off on them stylistically speaking. "We were more conservative," says Demo. "But throughout the tour we started getting influenced by them—headbands, afros, the whole nine."
During the tour, while playing in Atlanta, The Counts caught the attention of entrepreneur Michael Thevis (who is infamous for funding the movie Deep Throat, among other things). He was Atlanta-based and was on the verge of launching a new record label known as Aware Records (a subsidiary of GRC). Michael really wanted The Counts to help launch his label with an album release. Though reluctant at first, the band were offered free studio time, a truck to make the arduous journey from Detroit to Atlanta, and spending money for their time there, to which they ultimately accepted Michael's offer.
Released in early 1973, Love Sign was not commercially successful. Though the band was happy to stick it out in Atlanta with Aware Records and try again the following year with another album (and multiple singles), Demo was growing restless. "At the time, I was getting really involved with religion and reading the Bible with the Jehovah's Witnesses. I grew dissatisfied with the "band" lifestyle and needed to get out," says Demo. "I moved back to Toronto as I really enjoyed the diversity there during the recording of "What's Up Front" and felt it was the perfect place to start my new life." And start a new life he did. Though Demo wanted to take a break from music, Toronto's bustling scene was too much to resist. A brief session with Wayne St. John's band back in Toronto (c. 1972) started a lifelong friendship with the singer, and he helped Demo get temporary and eventually permanent citizenship.
STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO - THANKS TO DEMO CATES FOR HIS HELP!
No comments:
Post a Comment