Seth Putnam facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Seth Putnam
Putnam in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Seth Edward Putnam
Born	(1968-05-15)May 15, 1968 Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	June 11, 2011(2011-06-11) (aged 43) Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Noisegrind grindcore sludge metal thrash metal hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass drums
Years active	1986–2011
Labels	Wicked Sick Limited Appeal Stridecore

Seth Edward Putnam (May 15, 1968 – June 11, 2011) was an American musician. He was known for his high-pitched screamed vocals and lyrics that either shock, offend, or invoke morbid humor. Throughout his career, Putnam was also involved in numerous side projects.

Biography

Early years

Seth Edward Putnam was born on May 15, 1968, in Newton, Massachusetts, to Edward R. Putnam and Barbara Ann Donohue. He was of half English and half Irish descent. His parents are divorced. Putnam was married to his first wife, Alison Dunn, from December 1998 through June 2001. He married Julie, his second wife, on May 17, 2008. From 1986 to 1988, Putnam played bass in the thrash metal band Executioner. He also owned his own record label called "Wicked Sick Records", and had a subsidiary label called "Stridecore Records".

Personality

Despite his shock humor and turbulent lifestyle, Putnam was often described by fans and peers as a warm, intelligent, and sensitive person. Putnam saw himself as a comedian and used music as an outlet.

In school, classmates who knew Putnam described him as intelligent and stern, but unmotivated, apathetic and often an underwhelming student. Putnam skipped a grade in school and became a very bright student, tutoring his classmates. In his own words, Putnam often blamed brutal fights with Catholic school nuns for helping to shape his cynical personality. When he reached high school, he had lost interest in excelling in education or academics, becoming more of a slacker and underachiever. By the time he had graduated school, Putnam had left the Catholic religion in which he was raised. After graduating from Newton North High School in 1985, Putnam showed no interest in attending college or university.

Putnam also made up his own religion when he was a child. His all-time favorite bands were Negative Approach and The Village People, his favorite movie was The Bad Bunch.

The 2018 grindcore documentary Slave to the Grind explores Putnam in detail, with his peers expressing the duality of his nature: former bandmates Tim Morse and Scott Hull describe Putnam often being personable and relaxed, but Hull also notes that he'd often get arrested causing trouble on the street.

In 2019, Brutal Truth and Venomous Concept vocalist Kevin Sharp did an interview with Metal Underground and talked about a conversation he had with Seth after his coma. He also said that Putnam was an "encyclopedia of music".

According to Eyehategod vocalist Mike Williams Putnam was a normal guy off-stage and very quiet and soft-spoken. Williams also stated that he used to call Putnam, whom he has known since 1988, long distance from the Chevron gas station that he worked at, so that all his calls would be charged to Chevron.

Death

On June 11, 2011, Putnam died of a suspected heart attack at the age of 43. He is buried at Newton Cemetery in Newton, Massachusetts.

Side projects and former bands

Putnam performing in 1993

Angry Hate

The idea of the band came up when Putnam and Larry Lifeless (Kilslug vocalist) were one night watching Jerry Springer and Larry said "That guy looks like he should be in an old punk band called Angry Hate or something". The first recording was in January 1999 of Larry hammering a fence against some lady's garage which was put on at the end of the song, "M.P." on the first release. That summer, they recorded four songs, all of which were old Sickness songs. "Blinking Blue Lights" was actually recorded by Kilslug, but never released. The other songs originally by the Sickness were never released. They made another EP called Bad Mood that had a certain number of copies pressed but were never officially released. Putnam and Lee Suniga (owner of Menace to Sobriety Records) sold them on eBay. Angry Hate performed two live shows in March and April 2002. In 2004 they recorded a song called "Satan Wins" with Paulie Kraynak on bass but it hasn't been released.

Satan's Warriors

Satan's Warriors started in February 1986 after Putnam and his friends made up a fake death metal fanzine with fake band names as a joke. Putnam eventually admitted to doing it in April of that year. There was an opening for a band to play live over the radio, so Putnam got a lineup together and made a four-song demo with him on drums and vocals, and his cousin Drew on guitar. Their final show was in July 1988. They were supposed to get back together in 2003 and re-record some songs written between 1986 and 1988. The lineup was supposed to be with Putnam on guitar and vocals, Paulie Kraynak on second guitar, and John Gillis on drums.

Impaled Northern Moonforest

In early 1997, Putnam and Josh Martin came up with the idea of starting a joke black metal band and decided to record a demo. They didn't use actual drums because someone was sleeping in the room next to them, so Martin played his acoustic guitar while Putnam did vocals and percussion by slapping his leg and a mattress. They did a few shows and sold copies of their first demo. The titles on the demo are different from the ones on the 7-inch vinyl release due to Putnam and Josh losing their copies of the demo and forgetting the titles.

Full Blown A.I.D.S.

Full Blown A.I.D.S. started in 1997 while Putnam was jamming with his friend and cousin. In 1998, he wrote some songs and recorded a demo of "No One Cares" with Nate Linehan on drums. In 2002 he moved to Texas for a while but eventually moved back to Boston. In 2003 the band went into the studio and recorded some songs and mixed them in a day. They eventually put out two EPs and a compilation CD in 2008, with both EPs and the song "Throwing Cars at People on Coke with Thor". In 2010 the band released a live album with some bonus tracks called "Viral Load" which would eventually be their last ever release and the only release with Josh Randall on drums.

Death's Head Quartet

The Death's Head Quartet was a jazz/noise improvisational band that featured Putnam on bass and vocals, Chris Joyce on guitar, Robert Williams on drums, and Jim Hobbs on saxophone. Their first release was called "Live on the Joint" which was a radio broadcast from November 1, 2001. Their second release was recorded on April 9, 2001, and was not released until 2003.

You're Fired

You're Fired started in 2002. Within two months they had a nine-song demo recorded which eventually became the Warning EP and was released in 2002. After Putnam died, they made an EP called The End with Paulie Kraynak on guitar. Most of the riffs were written by Putnam and the album was also recorded with Putnam's Gibson SG, Marshall cabinet and the Ampeg SS-140C amplifier head borrowed from Paulie Kraynak that was also used on the Warning EP. The End was released in 2012 on vinyl and it also can be purchased on BandCamp along with the Warning EP.

Adolf Satan

Adolf Satan started in 2002 after Upsidedown Cross broke up. Putnam played drums for the band for a brief period of time. He eventually quit and Nate Linehan joined. They recorded a demo in 2003 and eventually made a self-titled studio album. They recorded another demo in 2006 before breaking up two years later.

Upsidedown Cross

Upsidedown Cross started in 1989 after Larry Lifeless' band "Kilslug" had a violent breakup. The first lineup featured Larry (vocals), Cheez (bass), and Scott Vangel (guitar) who went by "Shoehorn" in the band. Taang! Records thought the band were too insane to deal with, and wouldn't sign them unless Rico Pertoleum (ex-Kilslug) was in the band, he was kicked out after the songwriting for the first record was done. J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. filled in on drums for the first album. Throughout the 90's they had different lineup changes and had a few more releases. Seth Putnam ended up joining them on guitar and did one show with them which also turned out to be the band's last show before they eventually broke up, Seth ended up moving to Texas. There were plans to get the band back together with Josh Martin on guitar. According to Josh, Cheez wasn't in any state to be playing an instrument, so he ended up starting Adolf Satan instead. When Seth moved back to Boston him and Josh became the two guitarists for the band, Seth ended up quitting the band in March 2003. Seth and Josh never recorded anything with the band despite Seth being credited on their split with Sloth, Cheez decided to put out an old recording and credit the lineup they had at the time. In 2011 Upsidedown Cross became a two-piece with Seth on drums and Larry on vocals and guitar. Some rehearsal footage exists of the band.

• Executioner
• Post Mortem
• Siege

Sirhan Sirhan

This band started in December 1990 and Putnam and Tim Morse were trying to think of a Christmas gift for Mike Mahan who recently moved to Indiana, they recorded a demo and got a band picture in a $2 photo booth. They sent it to Mike who eventually lost his copy, the demo was released as a split album with Cuntsaw.

Insult

Insult started in 1992 as a four piece (Derek Coughlin only did vocals at the time) and decided to record an album in 1997 after releasing a few demo tapes, it was going horribly for them so they got Putnam to come in and produce their album, the album was called "I Wanna Be a Burn Victim", Putnam eventually became their bass player and did a west coast tour with them in 1998 along with a split 7-inch with Ruido and a live show over the radio, both the 7-inch and the live split were released in 1999. Putnam quit the same year.

Person Killer

Person Killer was a one-man project Putnam started around 1995, he made a demo and sent it to Earache Records along with a T-shirt, a pin, and a letter that didn't reveal the sender's name. It was planned to be released on a two LP set called "The Worst of Seth Putnam" but it hasn't been released.

The Losers

Putnam had various bands. The earliest one he could remember was The Losers, who started in 1980. The band featured Putnam doing vocals and playing a toy guitar (he could not afford a real one at the time) and his cousin Michael who played cardboard boxes as fast as possible. That band's name was eventually changed to "Noise". Putnam eventually got a real guitar and made more tapes.

George H Brown

George H Brown was a blues rock band that originally featured Putnam on guitar, Mike Mahan on bass, Fred Ordonez on second guitar, Tim Morse on drums, and John McCarthy on vocals. Putnam eventually got frustrated with the band and broke it up. They got back together years later with Putnam doing guitar and vocals, Paulie Kraynak on bass and Josh Randall (FUKK/Full Blown A.I.D.S live drummer) on drums. A Myspace page was made for the band and there were plans to release a debut CD.

From Sloth to Anger

Putnam and John Kozik started a band called "Sloth" but changed the name to "From Sloth to Anger" after finding out there was a band called Sloth in New York. The band name was taken from an inner sleeve of a Borbetomagus record. The band went nowhere and only made one tape that nobody has heard. After this, they broke up. Tim Morse had a baby on the way and Mike Mahan moved to Indiana for six months.

Raging Death

In October 2021, Tim Morse did an interview on the Death Metal podcast. He mentioned Putnam having a band with his cousin called "Raging Death". Putnam did the percussion on an old plastic bank of the comic book character "The Thing" while his cousin played guitar. Since the demo was not released officially, the only song title that Morse revealed was "Rabbit Axe".

Planned project with Mike Williams

In 2004 Putnam and Mike Williams from Eyehategod got the idea of starting a band and writing a record with all "anti-cop songs" after e-mailing each other about their recent troubles with the police. A variety of riffs were written that were described as "Venom meets The Germs", but due to Williams being arrested and Putnam's eventual death no material was ever recorded and the idea for the band dissolved.

Ondskap

In 2002 Seth started Ondskap with a guy from Norway who also helped him run his website; there were plans for them to record music for a three-way split CD with two other unknown bands.

Unnamed Al Stewart cover band

Seth had plans to start an Al Stewart cover band with former members of the bands Slapshot and Stompbox, it is unknown if this band ever happened.

Screaming Gore Guts

Screaming Gore Guts was one of Putnam's noise bands. They started in 1985. The lineup was Seth and 2 of his friends named Luke and Ken who also ran a fanzine called "Frightmare". They played one show in Seth's parents' living room, after that show ended the members of the band were chased home by an angry mob. The band never did anything since then but after Putnam's passing in 2011, the demo eventually surfaced on a now-defunct blog and in 2022 it surfaced onto YouTube.

Seven Minutes of Nausea

Seven Minutes of Nausea started in 1985 with Mick Hollows on vocals and Scut on drums and bass. In 1990, the group split up and Mick Hollows moved to Europe and continued the band as a one-man band that collaborated with many of his friends. Putnam played drums on their "Disobediant Loser" EP and Fred Ordonez (credited as "Fred Kase") played guitar on the same EP along with Matthias Weigand playing bass. Weigand also owns "Ecocentric Records" which is a German D.I.Y. label that released material from Putnam's bands such as the "Manson Is Jesus" EP, the Psycho/Satan's Warriors split 7-inch, a compilation called "Killed by the Machinery of Sorrow". Weigand and Hollows are the remaining members of the band, they are now based in Koblenz, Germany.

Excretion

Excretion was a band, in which Seth played guitar and Mike Mahan played a one string bass guitar.

Leigh Putnam

This band featured Seth on backing vocals, Josh Martin on guitar and Nate Linehan on drums. They did a CD in 1998 called "Branscombe Richmond" and only 2 copies exist.

Bands he filled in or did a guest appearance for

• Adolf Satan (bass and drums at several live performances)
• Bad Mouthed Bandits (guitar studio session)
• Bratface (guitar at two live performances)
• Eyehategod (vocals at Mardi Gras 1996 show and one other show)
• Fear of God (drums at one live performance)
• Flächenbrand (drums at one song at one live performance)
• Haggis (vocal duet with Wattie Buchan from The Exploited on the song "A Calling to Arms")
• Kilslug (guitar at two live performances)
• Nightstick (vocals at two live performances)
• Boredoms
• Brutal Truth
• Corrosion of Conformity
• Graveyard BBQ
• Incantation
• Napalm Death
• Nasty Disaster
• Padded Hell
• Pantera (in 1996, Putnam did guest vocals on The Great Southern Trendkill for their songs "The Great Southern Trendkill", "War Nerve", "13 Steps to Nowhere").
• Psycho (he always sang their song "Group Pressure" with them)
• P.T.L. Klub
• Scissorfight
• Slapshot (additional vocals on some songs on the "Live At SO36" album, also appears in their "Live In Germany 1993" VHS)
• The Ruins
• Thor (vocals and guitar on the song "Throwing Cars at People on Coke with Thor)
• Today Is the Day (did vocals on their song "Butterflies")
• W.B.I.
• Le Scrawl (Additional vocals on the song "Quest")
• Proclamation (vocals on the song "Conform" which is also a Siege cover, he also played guitar at a one off reunion show they did)
• Discordance Axis (additional vocals on "Ruin Trajectory" at their show at CBGB's in August, 1995)
• Nunslaughter (spoken intro on the "Gruesome" live album)
• Deceased (sung a cover of "Black Metal" by Venom with them)