Episode 51: Cosey Fanni Tutti part 4

Wrapping up our series on Cosey Fanni Tutti, who has produced albums with Throbbing Gristle and Chris and Cosey. A lifetime of stage art and live musical projects. A person who dedicated their life to electronic music,  ironically is weakened by a an electrical heart issue causing tachycardia, but will it stop her in her tracks? Listen and find out whats in store for Cosey Fanni Tutti! 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Yes, yes, yes. Hello, this is Jay. This is Jay. Welcome back to Jay's Rock and Roll Stories. I'm your host, Jay, of course. I haven't seen you in a while. I have a funny, crazy story to tell you. Uh, it's kind of like one of those uh the doll gate my homework kind of stories. All right, look, let me tell you. This is how it went. Alright, so I finished my book on uh uh Sextart Music by Cozy Fanny Tutorial. I finished the book, right? And guess what? It's a library book. Come on, give me a break. I like to go to the library, it's free. So I turned it back in, I got all my notes, right? Alright, so this was a Sunday, this is last Sunday, and I live in San Diego, and uh nice, nice lazy Sunday. My wife's doing some gardening, my kids are playing with Legos, and I was like, hey, who wants who wants Mexican food for lunch? Like, me, me, me, me. So I said, all right, and everyone's having a good day. And uh instead of driving to the taco shop, I was like, I'll just walk there. So I took my notes and I rolled them in like like a little like you know, like like a tube and put them in my pocket. And uh I said out I set a little walking to the taco shop. And I was gonna get oh, I I I grabbed, I grabbed, I had a little bit of cash, grabbed the cash. It was like it was like uh a 20 of 10 and like four or five singles. Enough to get uh, I was gonna get some mini tacos. My son wanted uh five old tacos, my daughter wanted uh, what did she want? She wanted a California burrito, and I was like, maybe I'll just split that with her. My wife, my wife usually gets the ceviche, but she opted to get a Carnitas brito, so I was like, all right, well, it's gonna be like, I don't know, 35 bucks or something like that. Anyway, so I'm setting out walking, and um I live in a part of San Diego where uh there's a lot of canyons around, you know. Um there's like these, it's kind of cool because it's like there's like these trails you go down, you can do a little hike, you know, it's like the suburbs where there's like little little trails and stuff. But every once in a while, I mean when it rains a little bit, uh you'll you'll get like a little body of water. It's not the nicest water, it'll be like, you know, crap that, you know, from the gutter that when the the guy washed his car and it all just you know trails down there. So so anyway, I'm walking back, I'm walking by this fence. It's uh I'm probably gonna walk about a half mile to the taco shop. And uh there's a house where there's like a little fenced off area where it goes, like where there's like a drainage area where from the gutter goes down, and there's like a like there's like a little body of like I'm not gonna call it water, I'm gonna call it sludge because it's like crap from like the gutters and stuff. Anyway, so uh like I I kind of tap my pocket, okay. I got my notes, because like I'm gonna I'm gonna look over my notes for my episode while I'm waiting for my for my food. And then uh I was like, wait, I did I put my did I put my money in my pocket? So I tap my pocket, I'm like, oh I got it, and I'm like, well, how much is it? So I take it out of my pocket. I have I have the uh the bills in my hand and I'm about to count them, and then this this yellow Volkswagen bug zips by and just and like like I don't know of what he did. He like kind of he did a skid, like he over he overcompensated a turn or something, and it just like did like a like a this like a dirt gust of wind went up and it knocked my dollar bills over the fence down into this little like like gul gulch like kind cannon area where there's like a little body of water. Couple of the couple of the bills went are like floating on top of the water like lily pads. I'm like fuck. Alright. So I put my put my notes back in my pocket and I climb this little fence about yay high, climb the fence, and I'm going down this ice plant. I get down there and uh I gather up the bills. I I there's the 20, there's the 10, there's a couple ones, and then there's like two ones like floating in the this like sludgy water. I'm not putting my hand on that shit, it's disgusting, right? So I'm trying to reach. I'm like, just give me that I can't reach it. So I take my take out of my pocket my notes, like in a little, a little it's like a little tube, it's kind of like like a paper, like a roll of paper towels. You get that little tube thing, it's like that. So I'm kind of using that to bat it to bring it over. Out of nowhere to my right, there's like a house with a gate, and the dog comes out. Out of nowhere, there's a dog, and and he grabbed a hold of my of of my tube, of my notes, and not like mean, more like, oh cool, you got like a toy. Like, I'm like, no, and he grabbed it and he kind of pulled it out of my hand, and the and the paper just kind of like ripped in half and went all over the place, and I went, fuck. But you know, it the but the good news is that the dollars came over, so I grabbed the dollars, put them in my pocket, but now my notes are all over, and the dog is looking at me, wagging his tail with my notes like falling out of his mouth. There's this old lady where the gate is up this little hill. This is her backyard. Her backyard goes down in this little gulch, and she's like, Are you okay? Did he buy you? And I'm like, No, no, no, it's okay. Is everything okay? What happened? And I was like, He he he uh he he ripped my notes out of my hand, and I was like, he said, What? I was like, I had notes for the Ghosty Fanny 2D final episode, and he ripped it out of my goddamn hand. And she looked at me and she said, You get out of here! And I looked pointing at her and I said, You get out of here. That really sucked, you know. So I gathered up my notes and I petted the dog, and the the lady turned around and stormed out to her house, and the dog followed her. So I I grabbed I grabbed my notes, there's little shreds, put them in my pocket, and I had some yucky sludged up dollar bills, and I went to the taco shop and I got my tacos and my uh burritos and stuff, and uh started walking back home and I started piecing together uh my notes, but it there it's a lot missing, so this is my uh my my dog ate the homework episode. So let's get back into it, Cosy Fatty Tootie, 1986. So Cosey Fatty Tootie has a band with uh Chris called Chris and Cozy, and they release a 12-inch record. Uh the song is called October Love. And the story behind the song, all right, this is 1986, the song is called uh October Love. The story behind it is that they have a little boy named Nick who was at daycare, which gave them some time to record some music, and they're using new equipment, like these guys are really up to date on like what's what's new uh out there, like the like like keyboards and stuff. It's kind of cool. So I don't even know. I mean, I they're using something called a Roland MC8 sequencer, like it's probably top of the line at the time, 1986, shit. So they're both wearing headphones, so they could communicate with each other, and they're kind of just testing out the equipment, and Chris starts recording, and she says to Chrissy, just say anything. Like, this is like the let's just test this shit out, right? Just say anything, try out the equipment. So sh she felt so like content uh in life, like with she has like such fulfillment with her with her new relationship with Chris that she went back to a memory of that she and Chris, when they were coming together uh during all that bullshit with Genesis Peoridge, and she sings well, kind of sings says her memory, and the lyrics are you took my hand on the stairs, no one was around, you said we could be lovers, I just had to say the word, and it was just her memory. And after singing, after vocalizing the memories and everything, Chris uh comes in saying, God, I love it, I love it. Like, let's take it to Sony. Like, like in that direction, um, and uh singing like they said, like, let's let's take it, let's sing another chorus on it and complete a melody, but but that's the one. And I listened to the song, it's really cool. Look this up. Uh, 1986, October Love, Christy and Cozy. It's nice, it's uh just about love. So let's move on. Um, let's see. Here's a little side note. So at the same time of 1986, Throbbing Gristle is putting out a bunch of boot bootleg box sets, and they're making they're making some side good side money on this shit, right? And finally, when Chris and Cozy find out, um, you know, that they they Genesis Piorge sends them like a little compensation cat uh check. Look, here you go, a hundred dollars, whatever. I mean, a hundred pounds, whatever. There you go. So Chris and Cozy, they um buy from an auction an old an old schoolhouse in the countryside, and it's like one of those like really old-fashioned brick schoolhouses, and they're living in I wrote this down. God damn dog ruined my notes. Um, there's an old schoolhouse in the countryside, they buy it, they're gonna live there, and they move in like to that little little town and everything, and Chrissy is going into like the town center to meet all the other moms and stuff, and then come to find out that uh she bought the school that the the kids of that little town would have gone to if there were enough kids in that town, but there's not enough kids in that town, so these these families have to send their kids out of the town to some other schools. So they don't they're not really taken very well with with like these families, like fuck fucking assholes stole robbed the school that my kids could go to, which is like you know, a block away. Uh little baby Nick. That uh they're happy, they have their um little guy Nick, they they have gardens, they have um oh yeah, because they're living in London. Now they they're the cats can explore, they're they're pretty happy. So, uh let's see here. Well, here's another one. So um remember the the horrible history she had with her father. Her her mom passes away, and um, excuse me. The father was in uh the hospital too, and uh both parents pass away without her knowing until much later. And the parents didn't want her coming to the hospital because they thought it would be like too stressful, you know, for like the father like to see her. Like it's just it's it's very sad, you know, like uh avoiding communication, especially on something like that, you know. Alright, so musically at this time, Chris and Cozy they get signed to more than one label, and this will lead to like world touring. They're like they're going all all over Europe and the United States. They have labels, separate labels in Canada, Chicago, Europe. That it's pretty successful. Um, 1987. The next album by Chris and Cozy is called Exotica. It's an homage to Martin Denny. Martin Denny, if you don't know, I I should do an episode on this. This is music I used to like. Or I used to I used to have a lot of records by them. Uh by uh the music is called Exotica, and this is post-war, post-World War II, and it's like this. Um how do you explain? Because it's Martin Denny. Uh, there's a couple other artists who have this. It's not jazz, like jazz purists hate this shit. It's like Tropicana or um Island type, like you know, there's there's like birds and funny sounds in the music of it. It's kind of cool. Just look up Exotica by Martin Denny. So they named their album Exotica as well. I think it's I think it's cool, it's cool music. Uh, skipping ahead, we're gonna skip all all the way ahead to the 1990s, thanks to that little pup who was having so much fun, like ripping the crap out of my hand. Okay, so um, so this is not good. Chrissy has a heart condition, and she has very little energy, and so it it the interesting thing is that it has to do with the electrical circulation in her heart. I found that fascinating just because her whole career is based upon electronic music, and this is electric pulses that are not going through enough in her heart. It just causes her uh she's in pain, and there's there's no energy, like like a battery that that that's running low. Um, so she's going through surgeries, she has a stint put in. Um, it's pretty awful. At the same time, there's more bootlegs going on. Uh the throbbing gr throbbing gristle is putting a bunch of bootlegs. Uh, let's see. There's a book that comes out that talks about throbbing gristle, and it never even mentions Chrissy. And basically, she wrote this this book kind of like an answer to like bullshit. Like, this is what really happened. This book is is really it's a really good book. Um, there's just so much to talk about. Like, for example, there's a side band that came off of Throb and Gristle called Coil, which I would have to do a whole nother episode. I I didn't mention coil at all because it's just too much. Every single page is just story after story after story, just like, listen, fine. This is my book report on this. You go read it. I I can't do it. It's like 500 pages, and it spans from uh 1960 fucking five to like to today. Alright, so uh let's see. So there's talk about a throbbing gristle like get together or reunion or something like that in the early 2000s, and it and it ends up happening. Um Chrissy doesn't want it to happen. Uh the fans want it to happen, the other members want it to happen, but Chrissy's just like, I'm over this. Um Genesis Piorge in the in the two thousand um in the early 2000s bec uh is uh is trans. He he goes through transition, he you know, he goes, he has cosmetic surgery and stuff, and he's married to a woman, and he's actually a little friendlier than in the past. Like he's kind of like um breaking ice with uh with with Chrissy and and and Cozy with Chris, just kind of like let's get over it, let's let's let's be nice. And they act and they make an they make a new album together. Like Throbbin' Gristle records an album and it and it comes out well and they all get along, it's pretty cool. Um but yes and no, like also at the same time, Genesis Peorage is selling everything that has to do with Throbbin' Gristle. Like all of the recordings, and he's not including anything that has to do with Chrissy. And he said that uh let's see, how how did how did he say this? Uh uh He says that Throbbing Gristle and the Um Industrial Records archive to promote his life archive and to pull it with any others, to to pull it with Chrissy, to pull it with any other members of the band, would render his work incomplete. So he's basically saying it was all me. It's like fuck. Yeah, but that's the story with this guy. He'll he'll he'll give you an inch, but then fucking pull that fucking rug from under out eather underneath of you, right? Nothing really changes with this guy. And they're just kind of what about our lives, man? We we we've been doing this the entire time. So they're in the studio, um, they're booked for some time, and uh Genesis Peorge never really contributes. Uh he shows up late, he complains about the the gear, the the instruments. He leaves, he comes back, he doesn't really contribute at all. And one time they're wrapping it up, he made uh they made some good progress, and uh they as as uh Chris and Cozy were leaving, Genesis said, Oh, are you leaving? And they said, Yeah, it's it's a it's a it's late. It's 11 p.m. And Genesis Piorgia says, You call 11 p.m. late? And Chrissy got really pissed in his face and was like, Yeah, we've been working in the studio all freaking day, it's late. And then he he just he kind of like pulled back, like, yeah, yeah, you're you're right. I'm sorry. Uh what what time should I be here tomorrow? Like, come on, man. Like, we've been doing this all day. You're in and out, you complain, blah blah blah. So the new record, um, the new uh record by Thub and Gristle is in the 2000s, I think it's I think it's 2000, live concert, and it goes very well. Here's a quote from Chrissy. She says, I set aside uh Genesis Piorge's antics, and these people who and these people who uh people were who mattered. This was Throbbing Gristle magic in action. I felt such affinity with the audience as the as Throbbing Gristle. Uh the music was unleashed. When we played discipline, Chris descended into a sub-bass, and uh and the crowd went into raptures, and apparently the apparently the bar staff had to shut up the shop because everything was shaking. The bar was completely shaking. People were just like going freaking nuts, and it was just a good turnout. Um she's she fell as like she she just was in the zone. It was it was such a good show. Um the the Genesis Peorchus antics were were showing up. Um he he now he would wear like little mini skirts and he'd he would like little sexy tops. He was like really just trying to get the audience to get a little like uh uh little reaction. Here's a quote I like. This is from 2014. Thanks, thanks, puppy. I've been collating um I'm sorry, I've been collecting info for my autobiography. It will be a strange journey into the past so much so that I'll have to do it in stages and not at a time when I'm being creatively active. Uh creatively active active on new works. It was a big decision to bite the bullet and get started. That's what she talks about her her book, doing the book. So, and that's where I'm ending. Well, I'm I'm biting the bullet too, and that dog bit the shit out of my notes, so I'm gonna end it here. Uh, I know um I know Cozy Fanny Tootie is still alive. She just put out a new book in 2022. She's still making music. Uh, she's a very productive human being. I think she's cool, I think she's fantastic. Um, to tell you the truth, I I like the Chris and Cozy music more than I like Throbbing Gristle. I don't know if that's sacrilege or whatever, but it I like the fact that two people fell in love uh during a very chaotic musical time in their life and just kind of harness something where this is us, we have a son together. I I almost died with my my heart failure. We went through hell. Now we're making music together. So I I recommend listening to some uh Chris and Cozy. I think it's really awesome. At some point, I'll I'm I'll I'll uh pick up her um her new book. She wrote a book in 2022 about her working with another female artist, and it's just um their their story. So there's there's a lot. As I as I said before, in this book, it never ends. There's a long journey to go through. And there's a there's also a book. This might be kind of funny. Um that might be kind of fun. There's a book by Genesis Peoridge. It would be it would be fun to go and read that to be like, oh, what's bullshit, what's not. Well, what because anyway, uh thanks for coming back. Sorry about the uh the dog story. Hey, shit happens, right? Uh I still got I I gotta wash that shit off my hand from that sludge. That was fantastic. Uh come back again. Thanks for listening to Jay's Rock and Roll Stories. Um, if you want to send an email to the show, it's uh Jay's Rock and Roll Stories at uh Proton.me. And I'll see you next time. I got something for you. It's not Throbbing Gristle, it's something completely different. We're actually gonna go, like if Throbbing Gristle is at the end of the buffet, we're going on the other end of the buffet. Like a long walk, like the flip side of a coin. All right. Love you. See you next time.