Dave Koz has been playing the saxophone since high school. He went professional afterwards playing for Richard Marx's band in the '80s and in the '90s as a solo artist.
He came out publicly as a gay man and didn't need to toot his own horn after receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Koz talked to Windy City Times before his upcoming appearance at The Venue in Hammond.
Windy City Times: Hi, Dave. How are you today?
Dave Koz: I am well and going from interview to interview. It is a bit crazy but I am happy to talk with you.
WCT: Great. So you are playing at The Venue in Indiana.
DK: I am very excited about coming back there. It is one of my favorite places to play. We have had some good shows there.
WCT: How many times?
DK: We have played the last two summers if I am correct in my memory. I can't remember much these days.
WCT: You are a busy guy and have a lot going on.
DK: I like it that way. I am ADD. I am actually ADDD. I have an extra D.
WCT: What is the extra one for? I am scared to ask…
DK: It could be for David. I am not sure exactly what it is for but I like to keep it interesting. I am always all over the place.
WCT: You are bringing Sheila E. with you.
DK: Sheila E. will be there and a man by the name of Bobby Caldwell, who I credit along with Jeff Lorber for giving me my start in the music business. He is a wonderful guy, of course—known for his big hits. Sheila has been all over the place. She is on fire, that woman. She is like my other sister. I think it is going to be a slamming show.
WCT: Sheila is on your album, Hello Tomorrow, also.
DK: She does make an appearance on a couple of songs. She was on the American Idol finale recently. She's been on the road with Prince. She has a CD with her family. She is a Latin music icon, also a wonderful and fun person. She is completely electric onstage by the way.
WCT: She still sings?
DK: Yeah, of course. She still sings her you know what off!
WCT: I talked to singer Billie Myers about the march on Washington for your appearance together in the National Equality March.
DK: That was a year or two ago. I was asked to do that last minute. I was very honored. I was blown away by how many thousands of people were there. It was interesting to see how young people were there. It was a passing of the torch of LGBT movement from the elder statesmen to this youth movement that will be taking the reins from this point on moving forward.
WCT: How important is it to be an out and proud musician since you came out years ago?
DK: It is a hard question to answer but it just felt right for me at the time. I wouldn't say that it is a necessity for every musician who is gay to come out. You have to do it in the time that feels right for you. But I can tell you from me that it was the best decision that I ever made. My career blossomed as a result from it. It was blip on the screen. It was the biggest non-news story of my career.
I thought this thing was going to be so huge and people just said, "Great, what else is new?" I think if the more people, whatever walk of life if they are an artist, painter or accountant, can be authentic in their life realize that it will not only go on but will flourish they will be happier. There is a beautiful power that comes with showing up by who you are in your lives. This will have reverberations around the world.
WCT: Well said.
DK: I just did this thing the other day on tour called a love mob, which is a variation on a flash mob. We shot a music video for "This Guys in Love With You" from my latest album. We just used viral means of getting the word out. We invited people along with their partners or best friends to come and support marriage equality, the right to love who you want to love and be recognized for it.
I had no idea what was going to happen. We showed up at 9 o'clock in the morning in a plaza in California. There were 200 people there in bright colors! There were homeless people, drag queens, gay couples that had been together for 40 years, lesbians with children that were straight, young, older and everything in between. Everybody was on the same page. Herb Alpert, who created the original song, came; he was there with his wife. I am not a very political person but I saw it plain as day—the equality train has left the building. Everything is moving forward and it is only a matter of time now.
WCT: It must have been amazing to get your star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
DK: "Surreal" is probably a better word for it. I still can't believe that I happened. The last time I checked it was still there. I thought somebody was playing a cruel joke. They would put it in the sidewalk and the next day they would pick it up. It is right out in front of Capitol Records. It is there with The Beatles, Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Frank Sinatra—all of these iconic stars. Then there is me in the middle of nowhere. It cracked me up but [ it was ] a very proud moment.
WCT: You did a guest spot on Desperate Housewives. How was that?
DK: It was this past October. They focused on a song called "Start All Over Again." It was written and performed by this woman named Dana Glover. She is a good friend of mine. It was picked up by Desperate Housewives. We were both on the show to perform it. It was fantastic. Even though they only played a minute of it, it got a lot of people exposed to the song. It is perfect for the crazy strange times that we are living in.
WCT: On the new album there are a lot of guest stars. Did you get to pick anyone you would like?
DK: I worked with my producers, Marcus Miller and John Burk. When you do a new project there are bumps in the road and the coordination is overwhelming. The universe conspired with me to make it happen for us. We came up with ideas like "Wouldn't it be great for Lee Ritenour would play this guitar solo?" Next thing I knew he was in the studio playing the guitar. It just sort of happened that way over and over with these wonderful guest artists. It all fell into the right place. That does not happen every time. So while it was happening this time I said a lot of prayers and thanks.
Koz arrives at the Venue, 777 Casino Center Drive, on Friday, Aug. 5. Visit www.horseshoe-indiana.com for tickets and details. Keep up with Dave at www.davekoz.com or JustKoz on Twitter.
