Pool folk: a lifetime before Don Koss was executive director of the Pool Industry Expo, he was a folk music star

Pool & Spa News, Oct 1, 2004 by Bob Dumas

He has shared the stage with legendary folk artists the Kingston Trio and calls the Smothers Brothers good friends. But 46 years ago, Don Koss traded in his guitar for a net pole and hasn't looked back.

Today, Koss is one of the executive directors of the Pool Industry Expo and owner of Marin Aquatics, a pool repair company in San Rafael, Calif. The pool and spa industry has been good to him.

But in the late 1950s, Koss was living a completely different life as a professional musician. As a member of the Coachmen, a successful touring and recording act, he was well-entrenched in the American folk music scene.

"We did have our fans," Koss recalled. "It was kind of neat. One time when my cousin was with me, we got on an elevator and someone recognized me. He said, 'You're one of the Coachmen!' My cousin was very impressed."

Koss didn't exactly set out to be a musician. But when he met Doug Tanner while attending City College of San Francisco, the two decided to put together a singing group for their fraternity.

They discovered Doug Brown, a talented multi-instrumentalist, whom Koss noted "could play anything with a string." In 1957, the Coachmen were born.

One of the trio's first gigs was at a pizza joint in Redwood City. Up the street was a nightclub called the Cracked Pot, which on the same night was featuring a five-man folk group. Apparently, both groups were playing the same songs.

"They showed up and gave us a hard time for doing what they were doing," Koss said with a laugh. "Three of those guys eventually turned into the Kingston Trio."

After several auditions, the Coachmen landed a two-week gig at the renowned Purple Onion in San Francisco.

Then, the two-week gig turned into 30. "Here we were, looking like little kids and playing nightclubs in San Francisco," Koss said. "We could have stayed longer. We only left because we wanted to do other stuff."

It was at the Purple Onion that Koss met the then-unknown Smothers Brothers.

"Their act was a satire of us, exaggerating what we did," Koss said. "We became good friends; Tom was at my wedding."

The Coachmen went on to play some of the most prestigious folk venues in the nation, including the Village Gate in New York.

Then it all came to a crashing halt. "Doug Tanner got drafted and that broke up the group," Koss explained.

Koss returned home to work for his father's business, which is where he met some pool builders and began doing start-ups for them on the side. In 1973, he set out on his own by establishing a pool service business. He's been doing it for 31 years now.

"My father said it would never last," Koss joked. "But I've been married for 43 years, and he said that wouldn't last either."