Dear Friends,
I said something to someone the other day that has been haunting me. It was after I found out that my friend from 1986, Dave Cookus, was probably going to die soon. I said:
“It’s not a surprise. Hell, I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear this news 30 years ago.”
This is a testament to why I am so sad. I thought Cookie was indestructible. Sure, he made tons of bad decisions when it came to his health, but there he would always be, popping up to brighten my day or moment with such a huge force of incredible love emanating from him.
I met Dave 38 years ago. He was riding a BMX bike around Camelback High School, and he was selling LSD. He was my new friend’s cousin. Cassie, who I loved right off the bat, spoke highly of Dave so I figured he must be a great kid.
He didn’t seem like a kid, though. He seemed ageless even then. There was a quality to Cookie that defied any particular age from where I sat. He was just Dave Cookus, worldly guy who just seemed to belong.
I believe the Cassie seal of approval solidified our friendship from the get-go and Dave started to pop up everywhere. Everyone loved Dave, too. At least it seems that way.
The relationship that he and I had for 38 years was not always the closest, but he didn’t need me to call him every other week or he didn’t need to call me all the time for us to know there was love there. I was always genuinely happy to see him, except for maybe a few times in the early 90s when he broke a girl’s heart, and even then, it was more of me being disappointed in Dave than not wanting to see him.
Over the years, I always appreciated how Cookie would be there to support me whenever he could. Sometimes it was making a special trip to town to see an important show or showing up when I was playing somewhere near wherever he was at. Cookie’s presence at a show always gave me a little extra edge.
Dave Cookus was the type of friend, no matter who long you had known him or what you had done for him, to have your back if you needed someone to have it. That’s something I can’t say for a lot of people I know. When you have someone like Dave in your life, you can relax and enjoy yourself.
Cookie saved my ass in 2018 in Vegas. We went to see Mr. T Experience and Ch3 at one of the Punk Rock Bowling after shows and I was hammered. Some dickhead gave me a cheap shot in the pit and I was looking to fuck somebody up, but as drunk as I was, I would probably have just gotten my ass-kicked by someone half my age. Cookie made sure that didn’t happen, grabbed me, and calmed me down so we could enjoy ourselves.
He also made sure I made it back to the hotel in one piece.
That’s who Dave was. He was just that guy you could get wild and crazy with and sometimes be the voice of reason, too. There was another time when I was being stalked a bit by a gal who was in a bad place at the time (and may she rest in peace now) and Dave was cool with letting the girl he was dating at the time claim to be dating me. It was awkward as hell, but Dave assured me that he had my back then, as always.
I’m bummed that I didn’t get to see him in action as a dad. We had many talks about how much he loved Cash, his teenage son, but there was always a good reason why I didn’t get to meet him. My heart goes out to Cash now and I hope that someday I will get to tell him all the fun, positive stories I have about his dad.
There is a part of me that is so sad about this situation because Dave was my connection to Cassie and to his brother, Daniel, both of whom died years ago. With Dave still being here, it felt like there was a piece of both of them here, too. I will cry about this more than once.
The dark cloud that seemed to follow their family will hopefully be lifted now. How much sacrifice needs to happen? I want a good, long life for Cash and I want him to know that his dad was well-loved. Not just by me, either. There is a whole family of us out there.
This one hurt because Cookie was a member of my inner circle. For many years I have been saying that we are so lucky that the drugs hadn’t claimed one of us even though there was no rhyme or reason that they hadn’t. Now I can’t say that anymore.
I wanted so badly to smoke some weed over this, but I know it won’t help. It won’t bring Dave back or make me feel better. Same with drinking although, to be honest, I didn’t think about drinking over him.
The light in my heart for Dave Cookus will never go out.
*****
This one is for Dave.
The first person I knew who championed Primus was Dave Cookus. At some point around 1990, Dave started touting this weird band. He would play the cassette tape he had whenever someone would give the okay at a party or over at the apartment he lived in.
At first, I wasn’t so sure about the band, but they started to grow on me. Frizzle Fry was a very interesting record with an interesting sound. Once I got past my initial aversion to bassist and lead singer Les Claypool’s odd sound and vocal delivery, I was hooked.
As I look back on this today, I’m so glad that Dave was adamant about how great Primus was and will probably continue to be. He was the first person I knew to own any of their music, and if I remember correctly, he had a Primus t-shirt that looked like it was already old and well-loved when he first got it.
“To Defy the Laws of Tradition” gets your attention right away. It starts off with a nod to “YYZ” by Rush then proceeds to show why Primus has developed a huge and devoted fan base over the years. It would be impossible to adequately describe the bass playing in words. I don’t know of anyone who plays even similarly to Claypool.
When it comes to skill on the bass, Claypool has very few peers in the world of rock and roll. I would have loved to have talked with John Entwistle of the Who about Claypool. Both are right up there when it comes to having their own style and how they ruled the bass.
One area where Claypool differs from other bass players who have all the technical skills to make the bass do all kinds of amazing things is that as a songwriter, he never lets his technical skill get in the way of the song. When the bass needs to be powerful and pump the song along with an extended groove, he does that.
This is one of the things I love the most about Frizzle Fry. Along with Claypool, Tim “Herb” Alexander on drums and Larry “Ler” LaLonde are both monster players, too. The songs are super interesting to listen to but also just rock the fuck out when they need to do so. The band never steps all over their talent. They just give the songs exactly what they need.
“Groundhog’s Day” has a really easy feeling to it for much of the songs, but then it gets huge for short blasts of power and groove. You’re two songs in and have already been schooled in the ways of noisy, funky, power trio ass kicking. There was also another lesson learned in those first two songs, too.
Primus has an extensive bag of tricks, but through the first two songs of Frizzle Fry, you get a real taste for the many shades of the band. This isn’t a dig or a bad thing. They continue to be incredibly creative with their art, but they are also fine with showing their hand early. That’s confidence.
“Too Many Puppies” has a super hook. It was also the song that stood out to me first, mostly because, as mentioned, I wasn’t initially sold on Claypool’s vocals. The song is very catchy, though, and when I listen now, I don’t have those same feelings of “What the fuck is this guy doing?” or “Is he a Muppet?”
You have to admit that Claypool could have been created by Jim Henson.
“Mr. Knowitall” kind of epitomizes the Muppet theory. I could see this being performed on Sesame Street although it would be in a different key and sound much happier. Maybe The Muppet Show, actually, with Chef in there somewhere.
I always liked the title track, too. “Frizzle Fry” is such a great example of LaLonde and Alexander’s chops. Both of them really shine on this track and Claypool kind of hangs back a bit and lets them shine.
“John the Fisherman” is another great song from Frizzle Fry. It was probably the first song I recognized as a truly cool Primus song. It set the stage for the follow up, Sailing On The Sea Of Cheese really well. It’s so heavy and bad ass. The bass tones are amazing.
I have other favorites on the record. “The Toys Go Winding Down” and “Speghetti Western” are both cool. I also like “To Defy,” but that’s probably because the title is the type of title that always gets my attention. I like to follow the rules, but only to a point. Then it becomes a game.
I’ll always think of Dave, though, when I think of Primus. Thanks for that, CooCoo. I will miss you forever.
*****
See you tomorrow, and Cookie, I’ll see you on the other side, my man.
Happier times.