Filthy 5th interview and bio’s

  Photo by Stephanie Cootsona

KC: How did the collection of artists come together?

CC: This band has been broken down and rebuilt multiple times in the past decade – Given that five/six piece original music projects typically don’t make it to a point of profitability, I realized that when recruiting players (mostly via Craigslist) it was important to set expectations of a sizeable time commitment and no pay up front. In early 2020 my brother Craig joinied us on drums, then we brought Jeff in on bass (from a craigslist ad). Nick Fair stuck with us through the pandemic, but we did very little during that time. Lauren was in Wyoming, and with her blessing I spent the entire pandemic looking for someone who could sing like she does, to no avail. In July 2022, I posted in a facebook group, a video of Lauren singing, and said, “if you can sing like this, we should talk”. I was set to audition Anika on a Saturday and Lauren came back just the week prior, saying she’d like to have another female vocalist to front the group with. Anika was incredible and the two of them have a fantastic vocal blend. Nick Fair moved out to Sequim and SSBA president, Andy Pasilis, introduced me to Rene. But if you want to be succinct, just say it was good old fashioned LUCK that brought us all together. These guys play first and foremost, because they love the music.

KC: What are some of your interests outside of music?

CC: I enjoy gardening, if I weren’t doing music I would spend more time in my garden; Craig (drums / percussion) is semi-retired he restores vintage British cars and works on steam trains; Lauren (vocals / lyrics) is very much into Astrology; Rene (guitar) is a musician through and through, but he enjoys repairing things; Anika (vocals) really enjoys travelling; Jeff (bass) used to own a ski shop and still skis as often as he can; finally, Clarence Cal (sax) enjoys playing golf.

KC: Who are your biggest / earliest influences and who is one you look at today?

CC: My earliest influences would be The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Elton John. My wife loves the blues (we got together in 2007) and I’ve been listening ever since. I’ve recently discovered Mingo Fishtrap and am a huge fan.

KC: Where does inspiration for writing your songs come from?

CC: Oftentimes, I just have a song in my head and realize it’s not a song (yet). I run to the music room and sit down with guitar, bass, or piano. Here is a good visual for how that happens

KC: What is the best thing about live performance?

CC: Engaging with the crowd and getting them to dance to a song they’ve never heard – there’s a real connection when that happens and it’s simultaneously validating.

KC: What message would you like to share with our members / subscribers – regarding your music or anything else?

CC: Our mission is to keep appreciation for musicianship alive in a time when so much music is computer generated and vocals are auto tuned as an industry standard. None of it would have been possible without my amazing band-mates and my wife, Stephanie. They all put in a tremendous amount of time to make this work. We are in the studio off and on and plan to re-release new versions of songs from Mercury Retrograde as singles with the new band members, as well as new material. At some point, we expect to release a song every 6-8 weeks. The blues community will want to keep a lookout for “Devil Song”, I plan to release it in the next few months.

Band Bio’s

Chris Cootsona (Keys, Vocals, Guitar): Chris grew up in Puyallup, WA. His influences span a wide range of styles including Classical, Hip Hop, Rock/Classic Rock, R&B, Blues, Funk, and Reggae. He began singing, teaching himself piano, and composing music at the age of 12, creating his first band at “Plaid Sheep” at 15 with brother, Craig. As a multi-instrumentalist, Chris composed the framework for a few original songs that attracted guitarist/vocalist, Nick Fair and later, vocalist/lyricist, Lauren Santi. The trio wrote many songs and Chris eventually recorded and produced the 2018 studio album, “Mercury Retrograde” with TüN. Emerging into the post-pandemic music scene, Cootsona and Santi reconnected in the summer of 2022, joining forces with Chris’ new rhythm section (Craig, Jeff, Rene) and The Filthy 5th was born. Chris’ Stated mission is: “to influence the industry with music played on real instruments and record our voices authentically, without the use of autotune.”

Lauren Santi (Vocalist/Lyricist): Lauren Santi (AKA The Aquarian Alien) is a soul, R&B, blues, and rock singer from Chicago – her vocal resume includes the Polyphonic Music Library, TüN’s studio album, Mercury Retrograde, and freestyle performances with herbal hip-hop band, Patterns of Saturn. She recalls her world being filled with song from a very young age and her mother throwing her into theatre and film upon discovering her penchant for drama. Lauren credits her move to formal musical disciplines to composer Howard Shore and his score to Lord of the Rings when she was seven. It inspired her to join orchestra, learn violin and sing operatics in her school and church choirs. Lauren developed her range and style mostly on her own, not joining any musical projects until moving to Seattle just five years ago. Upon arriving, she quickly joined Chris Cootsona and Nick Fair with the band TuN and immediately began contributing as a lyricist.

Anika Padwekar – Vocals: Anika grew up in the Bay Area. She began singing at the age of 8 and draws from a wide range of styles, including pop, jazz, R&B, soul, blues, and classical. A naturally talented performer, dancer, and vocalist, Anika has a background in musical theater. She moved to Seattle to attend college at the University of Washington in 2017, where she led the the competitive a cappella group, Furmata. Padwekar joined The Filthy 5th in summer of 2022, combining forces with Cootsona and Santi to create three-part harmonies and share lead vocals.

Craig Cootsona (Drums/Percussion): Craig Cootsona started playing drums at 11 years old. He began with an interest in progressive rock and played his first gigs in “Plaid Sheep” with his brother Chris. In middle school, high school, and college Craig learned jazz and orchestral music. He played every gig that came his way to help pay for college and graduate school, where he earned a masters degree in forest pathology. While in school he began playing jazz in “Size 4” with Syd Potter, Steve Munger, and Bill Duris, and shortly afterward he joined Bert Wilson’s “Rebirth.” From there Craig connected with many musicians to develop a broad network of lifelong friends.

Rene Lemesnager – Guitar: Born in San Francisco, grew up in Los Angeles and now living in Tacoma Washington. Rene began playing guitar at age 10. His early influences were the Beatles, Hendrix, Stones, and later, R&B with Earth, Wind and Fire, Aretha, Chaka Kahn, Marvin Gay, Temptations, and Motown in general as well as Jazz and Blues (George Benson and BB King), He toured with ‘The Main Ingredient’ whose songs ‘everybody plays the fool’ and ‘Just don’t want to be lonely‘ were million sellers. He has played with musicians and mentors such as Scotty Harris (drummer for Bill Withers) and Smokey Robinson. Tee Tucker (bassist for the Temptations). Miles Loyd (keyboardist for The Main Ingredient). Welton Gite (bassist). Rene studied music at Los Angeles City College and played in the jazz bands at both UCLA and Los Angeles City College and attended Musicians Institute (G.I.T.) in 1984-85. Currently studying with Peter Farrell (Brazil) who teaches the ‘George Benson Method’. He has performed in Japan multiple times including the grand opening of Tokyo Disneyland. Performed in South Africa with the Main Ingredient and Dobie Gray, in Korea on a USO tour, here in the U.S. and Hawaii.

Jeff Fiorini (Bass): A seasoned professional, Jeff been a long time fixture on the Seattle music scene. Growing up in South Seattle, his early musical tastes where influenced by mostly R&B and Soul music. Over the years evolving to Funk , Latin and Jazz. After mostly playing in various Jazz bands for the last decade or so, Jeff, the newest member of the band, is excited to get back to his roots playing in the pocket finger-style funk and bringing his many years of experience to help take Tun The Band to the next level.

Clarence “CAL” (Alto/Tenor/Soprano Saxophone, Vocals)

In the 7th grade, after 2 years of playing clarinet in grade school, Clarence “Cal” Cal finally got the instrument he really wanted; a saxophone. That professional Selmer Mark VI Alto Saxophone has now been with him for over 50 years, including his Seattle high school years with Franklin High School’s international award winning “Jazz Lab”, and his University of Washington college years playing Soul and Funk with Seattle band Cool Breeze. During Cal’s successful 30+ year career as a Private Banker and Business Banker he continued to play Funk, Soul and Jazz with numerous Seattle bands, including Acapulco Gold, The Peter Jamero Project, The Clarence Cal and Paul Goade Duet, and Soulfunktion (Seattle). One of his proudest accomplishments is a joint project with keyboardist Paul Peck. Cal and Paul co-wrote all of the songs for their Smooth Jazz CD, 50/50 – Table For Two. Cal is also currently a member of the Soul and Funk band Old School Fellas.

Former Member/Sub, Nicholas Fair (Guitar, Vocals, Writer): Nicholas Fair is a Seattle guitarist that has a long and unusual path. Taken with music from watching his Father and Uncle play guitars at an early age, Nick has a degree from Berklee College of Music. Nick originally joined TüN as a second guitar and vocalist, but it quickly became apparent that he was suited to take the role of lead guitar and his creativity made him an integral part of the collaborative writing process. Nick spent nearly a decade with Chris as a writing partner in TüN from 2012 until he left the Seattle area in 2022. His contributions to the music are present in material that will be recorded in the coming year.