Concert, album honor late Lexington drummer who is still shaping young musicians

Glance at the marquee this weekend at The Burl and you will see the name of The Fanged Robot on display. And, yes, onstage will be a band operating more or less under than moniker. But expect reinforcements. A lot of them.

The Fanged Robot is the non de plume ensemble/artistic persona of Robby Cosenza, the drummer behind scores of local rock troupes and hundreds of studio credits who died a year ago this month following a two-year battle with cancer.

But for all of the many Central Kentucky-rooted bands through the decades he has been part of — among them, Horse Feathers, Vandaveer, The Scourge of the Sea, These United States, The Apparitions, Pontius Co-Pilot and The Wags — his own music was never prioritized. The Fanged Robot would perform on occasion, but recordings of Cosenza’s compositions were elusive.

To honor Cosenza’s memory, artistic legacy and, most properly, his music, The Burl performance will place The Fanged Robot as the headline attraction of a hefty bill. The roster will boast a legion of Cosenza’s friends and collaborators and serve as a record-release party for a double-album of Fanged Robot music.

The first half covers music cut in bits and pieces over sessions dating back 15 years. The second takes us to 2023 for a live studio document recorded and mixed in a matter of days that covers many of the same songs.

“Robby never really released anything of his own,” said Christin Helmuth, one of the organizers of the Saturday performance. “You heard him with other people. It’s impossible to document all the work he’s done for other people, but he didn’t really release any of his own stuff.”

Lexington studio producer, engineer and guitarist Duane Lundy said he called on Cosenza’s services for sessions that yielded roughly 130 albums and “thousands of songs.” Referencing his musicianship as being akin to “sticking (Led Zeppelin drummer) John Bonham and Bob Dylan in the same room,” Lundy also assisted Cosenza on initial records of Fanged Robot songs.

“Robby’s projects had just always been a sort of side thing. We had time over the winter of 2010 during one of those blizzardy kind of weeks when I had some cancellations. He asked if I would do some production on his stuff and that became this quirky project we worked off and on pretty densely for a couple of years.

“Robby, like many artists, knows how to do the art, but because of our modern culture, the artist also has to be their own press person, record label and so forth, unless you’re already fortunate enough to have those deals already in play. He didn’t, so Robby was like, ‘I don’t know what to do with this thing.’ So it sat on the shelf.”

Cosenza and Lundy revisited the recordings during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for some studio tweaking. Then back on the shelf it went.

Fast forward to the spring of 2023 with Cosenza a year into his diagnosis and deep into chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In the studio of another longtime studio ace and Lexington musician, Otto Helmuth, Christin’s husband, Cosenza gathered a combo of musician pals — guitarist J. Tom Hnatow, bassist Scott Whiddon and drummer Jim Earley — and quickly recut several of the same Fanged Robot songs from the earlier sessions with Lundy.

“He was definitely into his diagnosis a bit,” Otto Helmuth said of the 2023 recordings. “He was probably eight months into his ordeal.

“It was just the four of them. They were tight and it was easy. We knocked it out, mixed it. It took about three, maybe four days of work. I love it because it’s just pure. The other record that he did is his deeper look into the songs, but he had a different vision of them over the years. I love those recordings, too, but, I really like just the pure rock band sound, so I wanted him to get that part of it down. He did wonderfully. I hope everybody digs it.”

The Burl show will honor the release of a double-LP featuring both sets of songs. But the performance, which brings together Earl Crim, Mark Charles, Charlie Overman and members of Scourge of the Sea, Englishman, Chico Fellini, People Planet (which features the Helmuths’ daughter, Daisy) and The Daddy Sisters, has an additional aim in keeping Cosenza’s memory and music alive. Proceeds from the performance will benefit the Tates Creek High School Marching Band.

“Robby moved here when he was in middle school from Long Island, he and his mom and his sister,” said Christin Helmuth. “He ended up at Tates Creek Middle School and High School. Robby wanted to give back to the band program. There is going to be a practice room dedicated to him at Tates Creek and we’re going to outfit the space with, hopefully, a xylophone, a snare, mallets and more with the proceeds.

“The priority beyond that is to fund private lessons for kids at Tates Creek who can’t afford them, either after school or on weekends when band things are going on. That was something that Robby got to enjoy. Everybody feels that was an integral part of him being the incredible and passionate musician that he was.”

The Helmuths’ investment in Cosenza’s legacy extends far beyond music and art. Both were Cosenza’s primary caretakers during his illness.

“Robby lived with us for almost two years, so we went through the whole thing together,” Otto Helmuth said “We navigated the entire nightmare that is cancer. I think there is going to be some sadness at this event, but to me, it’s a celebration of what he was about, which was making music with his friends. And that’s what this is. He would be so proud and honored to have all his friends devote their time to show up and bring his music out to people. It’s an honor for me to get to be part of it and show people what a talented musician he was and get his tunes out there.

“We were lucky, in a weird way, that we got to help him get through this. It was hard. It was very hard. At the end, he became more trusting and loving. I think he got a little gift at the end of this thing. He was at peace with himself.

“Robby had an understanding of humanity that was different from most people I know,” Christin Helmuth said. “He was able to utilize that in a way that made people feel very secure and very safe.”

“It’s a gift to be able to shout Robby’s work out into the world,” added Lundy. “Because that ... well, that was the gig. That’s the whole point. Robby was a true artist. He was somebody who bought into the whole thing about music to the point where he lived his life that way. I think he would be very happy to know we’re all celebrating that.”

The Fanged Robot – A Tribute to Robby Cosenza

When: Feb. 8, 7 p.m.

Where: The Burl, 375 Thompson Rd.

Tickets: $20 at theburlky.com/shows.