'Everyone wants to have a good time'

It's a Wednesday evening, and some 4,000 people have gathered in America the Beautiful Park for the Gettin' Down Concert Series' most popular band.
"See that woman in the blue dress? She'll dance. The hippies always dance," said keyboardist (and hippie) Clay Stultz. Drummer Eddie Leon has a different prediction: "Everyone. They'll all get up."
By the third song, a cover of Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie," the dance floor is packed. Such is the magic of Phat Daddy and the Phat Horn Doctors, a nine-piece '70s funk-style band that's been busting attendance records all over southern Colorado.
"Our music is fun-loving, happy music," said lead singer and auxiliary percussionist Keith Stovall, aka Phat Daddy. "Everyone wants to have a good time."

VENUE: Phat Daddy and the Phat Horn Doctors are regulars on the local festival circuit - Gettin' Down, First and Main, Festival Fridays in Pueblo, Pasta in the Park - they play them all. In Colorado Springs, the band headlines SouthSide Johnny's regularly and works private events statewide. Phat Daddy and the Phat Horn Doctors have even played a tailgate party outside Mile High Stadium. "If we got a little bigger, we could start playing the Pikes Peak Center and the World Arena," said singer, dancer and Mrs. Phat Daddy, Rachel Stovall.

BACKGROUND: Keith Stovall started the band as "Ret-2-Go" 13 years ago, playing Motown hits. Then, he accidentally sat at trumpeter Curtis Lucky's table at the now-closed Ghengis Khan during an open jam session while Lucky was at the mike. Lucky returned to his table, and the two started talking about R&B.
"Keith said he was thinking about adding horns and I said, ‘Don't think about it anymore. Just do it,'" Lucky said. "I was the original Phat Horn Doctor."

TAKE ON THE SCENE: "People are starting to understand the very real connection between arts and prosperity," Rachel Stovall said. Whether galleries, street festivals or music festivals, "people travel from Trinidad, from Pueblo and when they get here, they spend money."
Eddie Leon and Rob Smith point out that while festivals are popping up in the Springs, Pueblo's scene is exploding by comparison.
"In Pueblo, you can hear live music, in multiple places, any night of the week," Smith said.

CHALLENGES: Almost everyone in the band has a day job unrelated to music. Keith Stovall said he'd gladly take up music full time, but "it'd have to pay as much as my current job, and that is not happening."
There aren't a lot of clubs that can dish out enough money to make it worthwhile for a band that splits its income nine ways.

REWARDS: In the Springs, "It's easier to be noticed," Rachel Stovall said. "You can really build a following."
Furthermore, the Colorado Springs native said the talent pool of the city far exceeds the per capita standard.
"I grew up studying with people like Marty Booth and Don Jenkins - To get that caliber of musician in a small city, I still can't believe that" she said.
"This city shouldn't sell itself short. We've got more going on than you think."

DEFINE SUCCESS: Has Phat Daddy and the Phat Horn Doctors achieved success? "Yes and no," Keith Stovall said. "Yes, in that in Colorado, we are as close to a household name as a local band can get." Writing original music and putting out a CD would be firsts for the band, and Stovall said both are in the band's future. "Right now, we have the musicianship and talent to do it," he said. "The problem is time."