God Is My Co-Pilot (often abbreviated as GodCo) is a no wave

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

band from New York City formed in 1991. The two primary members throughout the 90s were the openly queer couple of vocalist Sharon Topper and guitarist Craig Flanagin. The last recordings with Topper were made in 1998 (though the group continued to perform occasionally until 2012). There was no further activity until 2018 when the band released a demo on both cassette and Bandcamp, began playing frequent shows in NYC, and toured the UK. The current line-up consists of Flanagin playing guitar, Normandy Sherwood (of the

National Theater of the United States of America National Theater of the United States of America is a theatre company in New York City. The theatre has no connection with the American government, the name is intended to be humorous. The troupe, founded in 2000, has been lauded by Gothamist as a ...

) on vocals & electronics, long-standing members Jason Blackkat on bass, Jer Reid on guitar, and Fredrik Haake on drums, with new members Hajnal Pivnick on violin, and Kevin Shea on drums. The group has been recording new music since 2018; both a single and an album drawn from these recordings, which include contributions from cellist

Fred Lonberg-Holm Fred Lonberg-Holm (born 1 October 1962) is an American cellist based in Chicago. He moved from New York City to Chicago in 1995. Lonberg-Holm is most identified with playing free improvisation and free jazz. He is also a composer of concert wor ...

, drummer Genny Slag, and guitarist Mark Jickling, are slated for release in 2022. God Is My Co-Pilot is known for being prolific (see discography below). All of their material has been released on

independent record labels An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

or self-released. Their own self-run label ''The Making Of Americans'' (named after the novel of the same name by

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

) released music by

Jad Fair Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese. Biography Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...

Cat Power Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a ...

, Dairy Queen Empire, Dawson, and

The Scissor Girls The Scissor Girls were an American, Chicago-based band, formed by Azita Youssefi, Sue Anne Zollinger, and Heather Melowic in 1991. The idea to form the group was conceived during the late 1980s by Azita Youssefi and Heather Melowic while they we ...

among others. Former members of God Is My Co-Pilot include keyboardist

Anthony Coleman Anthony Coleman (born August 30, 1955) is an avant-garde jazz pianist. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked with John Zorn on '' Cobra'', ''Kristallnacht'', '' The Big Gundown'', '' Archery'', and '' Spillane'' and helped push modern Jewish music ...

, vocalist/bassist

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

; bassists James Garrison, Alex Klein, Daria Grace and Ann Rupel; cellist

; and drummers Dan Brown, Michael Evans, and Siobhan Duffy. The group is often joined by guest musicians. These have included

Frank London Frank London (born 1958 in New York) is an American klezmer trumpeter who also plays jazz and world music. Early life London was born to a Reform Jewish family and grew up in New York and Connecticut. He started playing the trumpet in fourt ...

Kenny Wollesen Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen has recorded and toured with Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein, and John Zorn. He is a foun ...

, Sandy Ewen,

Margaret Fiedler McGinnis Margaret Fiedler McGinnis (née Fiedler) is a London-based American vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and noted guitarist. She is best known as a founding member of UK indie groups Moonshake and Laika and as live guitarist with PJ Harvey and Wir ...

Elliott Sharp Elliott Sharp (born March 1, 1951) is an American contemporary classical composer, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. A central figure in the avant-garde and experimental music scene in New York City since the late 1970s, Sharp has released ...

Marion Coutts Marion Coutts (born 1965) is a British sculptor, photographer, filmmaker, author, and musician, known for her work as an installation artist and her decade as frontwoman for the band Dog Faced Hermans. In 2014 she published her critically acclaim ...

Jim Sauter Jim Sauter (June 1, 1943 – October 31, 2014) was an American stock car racing driver from Necedah, Wisconsin. He formerly raced in all three of NASCAR's national series, and is best known for having been a test driver for the International Rac ...

Catherine Jauniaux Catherine Jauniaux is a Belgian avant-garde singer. She has been described as a "one-woman-orchestra", a "human sampler", and "one of the best kept secrets in the world of improvised music". Her solo album, ''Fluvial'' (1983) is regarded as one ...

, Gen Ken Montgomery, Andy Haas,

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

and

. The band's lyrics frequently address

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

and

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

. The band states, in their song, "We Signify, "...We're co-opting rock, the language of sexism, to address gender identity on its own terms of complexity...." They occasionally sing in languages other than English: some of their output has been in French, Quebecois,

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

, Swabian,

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

, Turkish, among others. Their sound has been described as

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and avant jazz. ''Stay Free'' zine said of the music, "We hear a new sound, 'free punk' we'll call it."

Discography

Albums

*''I Am Not This Body'' (1992) Making Of Americans *''Speed Yr. Trip'' (1992) Making Of Americans *''Straight Not'' (1993)

Outpunk Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands. The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, ''Outpunk''. ''Outpunk'' ran for seven issues, from ...

*''What Doctors Don't Tell You'' (1993)

Shrimper Records Shrimper Records is an independent record label based in Upland, California. It was founded in 1990 by Dennis Callaci. Roster * Ah Bus * Amps for Christ * The Aum Rifle * Azuza Plane * The Babies * Lou Barlow * Bingo Trappers * Franklin B ...

*''Getting Out of Boring Time Biting Into Boring Pie'' (1993) Quinnah Records *''How To Be'' (1994) Making Of Americans *''Sex is For Making Babies'' (1994) Disques Du Soleil Et De L'acier *''Mir Shlufn Nisht'' (1994)

Avant Records Avant Records was a record label in Japan that specialized in avant-garde jazz, avant rock, and experimental music. The label released more than 80 albums between 1992 and 2004. History New York saxophonist John Zorn was signed to Nonesuch, b ...

*''Puss 02'' (1995) Dark Beloved Cloud *''Children Can Be So Cruel'' (1997) *''Get Busy'' (1998)

Atavistic Records Atavistic Records is an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known for its no wave and free jazz recordings. Atavistic has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark, Pinetop Seven, Sw ...

Compilations/Live

*Tight Like Fist (1993) Knitting Factory *History Of Music: Vol 1 1989-1991 (1995) Meldac

apan Apan is a city and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 346.9 km². Overview As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 39,247. It was an important site in the Wa ...

*History Of Music: Vol 2 1991-1993 (1996) Meldac

*Peel Sessions (1996) Strange Fruit *The Best Of (1996) Atavistic *Je Suis Trop Content (1997) Dark Beloved Cloud

Singles

*''Songs of Praise'' (1991) *''Refused Medical Attention'' (1991) *''On A Wing And A Prayer'' (1992) Funky Mushroom *''Gender is As Gender Does'' (1992) Funky Mushroom *''How I Got Over'' (1993) Ajax Records *''My Sinister Hidden Agenda'' (1993)

Blackout Records Blackout! Records is an independent record label which specializes in hardcore punk. It was formed in 1988 by Bill Wilson and Jim Gibson. In 1989, the label released its album, a New York hardcore compilation album entitled ''Where the Wild Thin ...

*''Pissing and Hooting'' (1993) Dark Beloved Cloud *''Illusions Of Secrecy'' (1993) Dark Beloved Cloud *''When you See This Remember Me'' (1993) Dark Beloved Cloud *''Probable Cause''; ''Life under Occupation''; ''Held Down'' God Is My Co-Pilot/

Fifth Column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...

split single (1993) Outpunk *''Ykt Flot!'' (1993) *''Sharon Quite Fancies Jo'' (1994) Soul Static Sound *''This Is No Time To Be Frail'' (1994)

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

*''Kitty Bait'' (1994) Ajax *''Butch Flip'' God Is My Co-Pilot/

Melt Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toured worldwide extensi ...

split single (1994) *''An Appeal To Reason'' (1995) Runt Records *''Ootko sä poika vai tyttö?'' (1995) Trash Can *''God Is My Co-Pilot / Bz Bz Ueu'' split 7-inch (1998) (Music à la Coque) *''Erase-yer-head'' No. 9 plit_EP_with_Melt_Banana,_Tear_of_a_Doll,_Camp_Blackfoot.html" ;"title="Tear_of_a_Doll.html" ;"title="plit EP with Melt Banana, Tear of a Doll">plit EP with Melt Banana, Tear of a Doll, Camp Blackfoot">Tear_of_a_Doll.html" ;"title="plit EP with Melt Banana, Tear of a Doll">plit EP with Melt Banana, Tear of a Doll, Camp Blackfoot(1999) Pandemonium

Compilation appearances

*"Anatomically Correct" on ''Rock Stars Kill'' (1994) Kill Rock Stars

References

External links

God Is My Co-Pilot RunwayBandcamp PageFacebook (Official)
{{DEFAULTSORT:God Is My Co-Pilot Queercore groups American noise rock music groups Hardcore punk groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City Atavistic Records artists Shrimper Records artists Knitting Factory Records artists 1991 establishments in New York City