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By 1992, my tastes in railroad photography had morphed from quantity to quality. The Amador Central hit my radar, as it was dependent on the beleaguered timber industry, and its motive power was a pair of 40+ year old Baldwin S-12s. Just 55 miles to the south of AMC's base at Martell, California, the Sierra Railroad had a trio of Baldwin S-12s at its enginehouse in Oakdale. If you had an affinity for photogenic shortlines - especially those with elderly locomotives constructed by minority builders - the Sierra foothills in Central California were the place to be.
These photos were taken the first time I visited the Amador Central Railroad in July 1992. My wife and I had chased the SP 4449 south from Portland the previous weekend, and we were visiting our friend Tom Messer in Fair Oaks. He took me to Martell so we could chase AMC. Unfortunately, the day we chose for a visit was a day that the railroad only switched out the Georgia Pacific mill, and did not run down the hill to the Southern Pacific interchange at Ione. These are the images I recorded on Kodachrome that day.
AMC 9 idles in the morning sun, as seen from inside the enginehouse.
By 1992, my tastes in railroad photography had morphed from quantity to quality. The Amador Central hit my radar, as it was dependent on the beleaguered timber industry, and its motive power was a pair of 40+ year old Baldwin S-12s. Just 55 miles to the south of AMC's base at Martell, California, the Sierra Railroad had a trio of Baldwin S-12s at its enginehouse in Oakdale. If you had an affinity for photogenic shortlines - especially those with elderly locomotives constructed by minority builders - the Sierra foothills in Central California were the place to be.
These photos were taken the first time I visited the Amador Central Railroad in July 1992. My wife and I had chased the SP 4449 south from Portland the previous weekend, and we were visiting our friend Tom Messer in Fair Oaks. He took me to Martell so we could chase AMC. Unfortunately, the day we chose for a visit was a day that the railroad only switched out the Georgia Pacific mill, and did not run down the hill to the Southern Pacific interchange at Ione. These are the images I recorded on Kodachrome that day.
In a different crop of the previous image, AMC 9 fouls the California Lane grade crossing.
Nichols morphed into a chain of discount drug stores called PharmHouse by the 1990's. The Nichols stores were divided in half with the remaining portion leased to another retailer. Photo sent to me by a fellow retail fan.
The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.
No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.
The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.
The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.
An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.
In 1958 the car was upgraded further with the advent of the MkII-C. This model again received changes to the fender, front and rear. At the front, the fender height was increased, making the car look both more modern, and also tying the top ridge into the unmodified doors and sides. The rear fender was modified to include a tapering fin, which then led to a tail lamp treatment which was to evolve further into a 'rocket pod' on subsequent models. The 'X' theme was continued to include a 'X' rocket, mounted centrally in the trunk lid. This could alternatively be swapped out for a conventionally styled horizontal trim, if the Continental spare wheel option was included (though this had also phased out of popularity over a short time period). The new trunk lid also shared the tapering profile of the fins. Although this look less modern compared to the newly squared up trunk lids from GM and Ford's divisions, it suited the 'classic' lines of the Ralston Tigre model, leading many to state that the MkII-C was perhaps the most conservatively handsome of mid-century Ralston models, particularly on the SWB closed models.
Additional styling changes included a modest reinterpretation of the grille, including the addition of 'Dagmars' at its extremities, and a new front bumper including marker lights.
The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres). The 1958 MkII-C retained the 365 CID V8, but power increased to 310 bhp (230 kW).
Shown here is the 1958 MkII-C 6-Window Limousine in single-colour midnight black. This was a commonly ordered model using the long wheelbase chassis (along with the 4-window Limousine and Phaetons). The LWB chassis featured the 147 in (3,729 mm) chassis from the 1950-53 Cadillac 75 Series.
This Ralston Tigre MkII-C 6-Window Limousine (1958) has be built on Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts 95th Build Challenge, - 'Designing the Ralston Legacy' - a challenge to design the fictitious Dragon 'Motorcycle' model for the fictitious Ralston company, though any of the previous Ralston challenge vehicles, the Tiger or the Rhino are also eligible to be submitted. The chief stipulation is that the model must feature a 'X' in the styling.
The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.
No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.
The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.
The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.
An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.
Another emergent theme was the incorporation of the Continental-style rear external mount spare wheel.
Somewhat more curious was the chrome trim along the body side, which seemed to not quite know what it wanted to be, but sort of wandered from the front fender vent back to the leading edge of the rear fender bulge, forming the the leading edge of the 2nd-colour zone covering the rear fender.
The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres).
The Tigre MkII-B was in turn replaced by the MkII-C in 1958.
Shown here is the 1956 MkII-B Convertible in tri-colour pale yellow, tiger brown, and midnight black.
This Ralston Tigre MkII-B Convertible (1956) has be built on Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts 95th Build Challenge, - 'Designing the Ralston Legacy' - a challenge to design the fictitious Dragon 'Motorcycle' model for the fictitious Ralston company, though any of the previous Ralston challenge vehicles, the Tiger or the Rhino are also eligible to be submitted. The chief stipulation is that the model must feature a 'X' in the styling.
The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.
No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.
The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.
The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.
An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.
In 1958 the car was upgraded further with the advent of the MkII-C. This model again received changes to the fender, front and rear. At the front, the fender height was increased, making the car look both more modern, and also tying the top ridge into the unmodified doors and sides. The rear fender was modified to include a tapering fin, which then led to a tail lamp treatment which was to evolve further into a 'rocket pod' on subsequent models. The 'X' theme was continued to include a 'X' rocket, mounted centrally in the trunk lid. This could alternatively be swapped out for a conventionally styled horizontal trim, if the Continental spare wheel option was included (though this had also phased out of popularity over a short time period). The new trunk lid also shared the tapering profile of the fins. Although this look less modern compared to the newly squared up trunk lids from GM and Ford's divisions, it suited the 'classic' lines of the Ralston Tigre model, leading many to state that the MkII-C was perhaps the most conservatively handsome of mid-century Ralston models, particularly on the SWB closed models.
Additional styling changes included a modest reinterpretation of the grille, including the addition of 'Dagmars' at its extremities, and a new front bumper including marker lights.
The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres). The 1958 MkII-C retained the 365 CID V8, but power increased to 310 bhp (230 kW).
Shown here is the 1958 MkII-C SWB Saloon in two-colour treatment gun-metal brown, and midnight black. This is a somewhat rare model, as most four-door cars used the long wheelbase chassis (4-window and 6-window Limousines) - though as mentioned, it is well regarded. The customers of the SWB Saloon tended to drive the cars themselves with their families.
This Ralston Tigre MkII-C SWB Saloon (1958) has be built on Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts 95th Build Challenge, - 'Designing the Ralston Legacy' - a challenge to design the fictitious Dragon 'Motorcycle' model for the fictitious Ralston company, though any of the previous Ralston challenge vehicles, the Tiger or the Rhino are also eligible to be submitted. The chief stipulation is that the model must feature a 'X' in the styling.
My left arm has morphed into taffy, my brain is pulsating with fractured leaking cracks, and my body is fighting both sides of a civil war. I pushed myself a bit the past few days.
I decided (or some part of me did at least) that a good way to destress would be to double up on my raptor training sessions this week. Yesterdays session the raptor I was working with (a male Eurasion Eagle Owl) was just a complete butthead and in one of the nastiest moods imaginable. He tried out every intimidation trick he knows hoping to bluff me into giving up. Unfortunately those are the times when you can not give in at all.... they remember who can be bluffed and will use it against you everytime. He tried beaking my hand, biting my finger, hissing, throwing half a mouse at me, letting me get one snap on an anklet and yanking back so it dropped on the ground and he'd fly to another branch when I bent to get it. After about 10 min of rotten behavior, he gave in and let me put on his anklets, jesses, and swivel and stepped up onto the gauntlet. He then 'hooed' at me over and over as I took him across the grounds to the education building. Both me and the trainer knew we were in for a difficult session, but i'd rather learn to deal with him on his moody days so i'll know what to do if he crabs out somewhere during an outreach.
One of the things that can happen when handling raptors is called 'baiting', where they decide to jump off the glove and try to take flight. If the jesses came unhooked or you lost control and he got loose, holy hell would break open. Well he decided to put me through the paces and the first time he was so quick and strong he yanked my arm so hard I almost stumbled. Let me tell you that 6 foot wingspan gives him amazing power and lift, and he spent the next 45 min testing every bit of my reactions in as many ways as he could. In the end we called a truce, he was over heating and my arm was a rubber noodle.
I was on adrenaline rush and he was on excellent behavior as I returned him to his pen for the evening about 9:30pm. Here's where I lost a little sanity because I scheduled myself another session for today right after work. Apparently i became super woman or something in my mind right then because why the hell else would I think I could do that two days in a row? Maybe I thought I had gotten past him testing and challenging me already..... like I was a special case and won him over with my charm. Well did I have another thing coming today. He decided tonight to try a whole new bag of tricks to test me on. We'll despite my arm being a wet noodle at the end, I managed to pass again.... but decided to give myself a few days break so I can learn to use my arm again. I must admit though I am curious what he'll try on me next time.....
I know I must be delirious, but I think we may be learning to understand each other. Most raptors are solitary and don't bond with people, but they will interact individually, and though i haven't earned his respect so to speak, he seems to be deciding I can be tolerated at least.
This has been one of the most mentally, physically, and emotionally challenging things I have subjected myself to in a very long time, but I am loving every minute of it!
The KOM League
Flash Report
For
November 14, 2019
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This report features a former Bartlesville Pirate who died earlier this year.
Photo of a San Diego High School football player taken five years prior to his becoming a KOM league catcher.
www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/49065122887/ This is the link to read the entire report.
KOM league catcher a quarter century after leaving the league and becoming head coach of his alma mater.
www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/49064393413/
It was not planned but this report morphed into talking about ballplayers from the West Coast.
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A long sought “Mystery player” of the KOM league identified.
On the KOM league data base is a member of the 1952 Blackwell Broncos by the name of Bryan. For 25 years every attempt was made to find a first name for that fellow and more about his life. There have been times that it was tempting to “cheat” and delete the name. After all, who would know or even care?
Well, the guy keeping score on all the former KOM leaguers would know and that was enough of a conscience issue to keep his name on the list.
In recent days a trip through the old Baseball Questionnaires was undertaken and there was an Edwin Charles Bryan Jr. who entered this world on Christmas day of 1929 in Sacramento, California. His grandparents were natives of Switzerland. They arrived in the United States late in the 19th century and settled in southwest Illinois, around Belleville.
Edwin Charles Bryan Sr. was born at Belleville, Illinois in 1899. A couple of decades later he had signed a professional baseball contract and played sixteen years in leagues such as the Texas-Oklahoma, Texas and East Texas league. He spent parts or all of 11 seasons in the Pacific Coast league with team at Vernon, Mission, Sacramento and San Francisco from 1924-1935. The 1920 season was a very good one for him as he won 20 games for Sacramento while losing 12. He also had a big win on Christmas Day as he and his wife welcomed Bryan Jr. into this world. That birthday boy showed up for at least one game with Al Reitz’s Blackwell Broncos in 1952.
Following his long career in the PCL, Bryan Sr. moved back to Belleville, Ill. and went to work for the Griesedieck Brothers Brewing Company. The Brewery sponsored the St. Louis Cardinal radio broadcasts for many years.
Career of Edwin Charles Bryan Sr. www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=bryan-...
That site lists his place of death as Millstadt, Illinois. That was where he resided at the time but on the day of his death, January 3, 1978 he was in Walker, Michigan. There is an obituary in the Grand Rapids, Michigan newspaper on January 6. A copy of that isn’t available to me at present. Here is the link where Walker, Michigan was cited as his place of death. search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=3171&h=10848... For those readers without Ancestry.com you’ll have to take my word on this. His wife, Jacobene, died eight years later in Grand Rapids which is near Walker, Michigan.
Bryan Sr. is buried at Walnut Hill Cemetery in Millstadt. Here is the link: www.findagrave.com/memorial/160059363/ If you are curious click on the names of famous people who are buried there. There are some old-time baseball players in there but Bryan is not listed in that category. However, he was probably more talented than some of them and had a much longer career.
Edwin Charles Bryan Jr.--Blackwell Bronco for a day or so
While the elder Bryan was brewing beer his son was attending Freeburg, Illinois Community High School where he excelled in basketball as well as baseball. He graduated from high school in 1948 and enrolled at Southern Illinois University where he lettered for two years in both basketball and baseball. While in college he spent at least one summer, 1949, playing in the North Central Kansas Amateur Baseball League of America for the Manhattan Travelers.
During his time in the ABLA it was a league comprised of teams from Abilene, Clay Center, Junction City, Beloit and Manhattan. There he was honing his skills playing against many good players such as Bill Virdon who was with Clay Center. The ABLA was formed by citizens in those five Kansas towns after they got fed up with Ban Johnson Baseball.
While playing with Manhattan many major league scouts and bird dogs were inspecting the talent. Joe Becker of Joplin, Mo. who had played the game, umpired many years and served as an official of the Joplin Miners Baseball club also had another claim to the game. He was a scout for many years with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. Becker’s last job in baseball was that of supervisor of umpires for the KOM league.
Barney Barnett who founded the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids and Becker were close friends. Becker was around the Whiz Kids so much he even appeared in some of the team photos. Of course, Mickey Mantle was a Whiz Kid when Becker pleaded with the Boston Red Sox to take his word and sign the kid. The Red Sox weren’t interested.
However, the Red Sox did listen to Becker and Bryan was assigned to Marion, Ohio of the Ohio-Indiana league for the 1950 season. Bryan was impressed that he had been invited to spring training camp that year with Birmingham, Alabama of the Southern Association.
Like his father, Bryan Jr. was a left-handed hitter and a right-handed thrower and was a big rookie at 6’ 4” and weighing 180. The top hitters on the pennant winning 1950 Marion team were Tom Umphlett who later replaced Dom DiMaggio in centerfield for the Boston Red Sox and Bryan Bryan hit .301 and Umphlett .321.
In 1951 Bryan split his time between Roanoke, VA of the Piedmont and Oneonta of the Canadian American leagues. Uncle Sam was looking for a few good men and after a very short stint with the 1952 Blackwell Broncos he was in the U. S. Army, in 1952-53, as a field artilleryman.
Upon his return from the Korean War, Bryan was signed by Bluefield of the Appalachian league for the 1954 season. His baseball talents had not diminished too much for he hit .003 short of .300 that year. One thing going against him was that by the time he returned from the Korean War he was a quarter century old and there wasn’t much chance any major league team was going to promote a player in that circumstance.
In 1955 Bryan was shuttled between Greensboro, North Carolina and Yuma, Arizona. In 78 games at Yuma he hit .344 but the curtain was coming down on his career. In 1956 he started with Yuma and wound up with San Jose in the California league. Between those two teams he hit .306 and ended his career with a .292 batting average.
It is possible that Bryan could have been a star in the KOM and other leagues had it not been for the Korean War. It is obvious that he had the family background for baseball and was taking advantage of it.
Well, that’s it for this subject. The week started with scant knowledge of Bryan Sr. and Jr. It concludes with not knowing what happened to Bryan Jr. but I have an idea where he might reside and I have a telephone number that I plan calling before too long. I trust Bryan will recall his baseball days and if he doesn’t it may be that someone where he lives can help with the details. The last place Bryan lived, that I can document is Seattle, Wash. in 1956.
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Former San Diego High athlete/coach Jerry Dahms dies
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/high-school-preps/sto...
By DON NORCROSS--APRIL 16, 2019 7:19 PM
Jerry Dahms, a standout baseball and football player at San Diego High in the 1940s who went on to coach at the school, died this month. He was 89.
Dahms, who lived in Point Loma, was a power-hitting catcher and versatile quarterback for the Cavers. He went on to play minor league baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
In football, Dahms was so strong and versatile that when he wasn’t directing the Cavers offense at quarterback he played offensive tackle but still called the plays.
But it was in baseball where he most excelled. He was an MCRD teammate with San Diegan Bob Skinner, a La Jolla High graduate. Skinner played 13 seasons in the major leagues, was a three-time All-Star and played on two World Series championship teams.
“He was a good catcher,” said Skinner. “He was a big guy, and he blocked the plate well. And he had power. He was a man’s man. He stood up to whatever came down the road regarding problems. He handled them. He was just a good person.”
Dahms was the varsity baseball coach at San Diego from 1959 through ’63. The Cavers were 71-26 under Dahms and played for the CIF Southern Section championship his first season, losing to Whittier.
Bob Cluck, a major league pitching coach for 11 seasons, pitched for Dahms at San Diego High.
“It was just a huge advantage (pitching for Dahms),” said Cluck. “He’d tell us how to pitch the best guys in town. We had terrific success against the best hitters. He was a real players coach.
“He had a knack, knowing when to discipline, when to encourage. He understood how players thought. In my career I recognized instantly when I played for a guy who played the game and understood how we thought.
“I just loved him as a man and as a coach.”
Dahms was one of five brothers who played at San Diego High. His brother Tom was an offensive lineman on the Los Angeles Rams’ 1951 NFL championship team.
Ed comments:
One of the most physically impressive guys ever to play in the KOM league was Jerry Dahms. He looked like a catcher, which he was. He was 6’ 4” and nearly 200 pounds when I first saw in in a Bartlesville Pirate road gray uniform. When Ronnie Kline joined the club, in 1950, they were the largest a pitcher/catcher combination the league ever witnessed.
In a team photo of the 1950 Bartlesville club, Kline and Dahms are seated beside each other. Although Kline was a big guy he looked much smaller than his counterpart. Photos of Dahms are to be found on pages 67, 83 and 96 of the book, “The KOM League Remembered.” That book was put together by the same, but much younger person, who is attempting to pen this story.
There was some hope the photos of Dahms could be shared as a link to this report but permission couldn’t be obtained from the author. In a conversation with him he commented “Ownership has certain rights.” He said the owners of that book should go to the pages cited in the previous paragraph. In further discussion with the author he stated that even if those photos were attached to this report very few readers would click on them.
So, on with the Dahms saga. The editor of this publication apologizes that it took seven months to become aware of the passing of the most prolific home run hitter, among the catchers, in KOM league history. He hit 11 in 1950. That season’s performance spiked the interest of the St. Louis Cardinals and they drafted him for the 1951 campaign. He spent that season with Cardinal teams at Fresno in the California league and Johnson City, Tenn. of the Appalachian league.
Dahms had started his baseball career with the Modesto, California Reds, in 1949, and then sent to Bartlesville in the latter part of that season.
Uncle Sam gave him a call in 1952 and he was stationed at San Diego where he play with the Marine team called “The Devil Dogs.” That team won the All-Marine championship in 1952 and included a former KOM leaguer pitcher by the name of Charlie Closs. Another member of that team was Bob Skinner who made it to the major league and who was a close friend of Dahms.
Dahms was released from his military duty in time to play the 1954 season with Winnipeg, Manitoba in the Northern league and back with Fresno to close out his baseball career. He then went into high school coaching where he became a legend, in San Diego.
Football may well have been the sport of choice in the Dahms family. As the obituary states, Jerry’s older brother had a great career in both the college and pro-football ranks. Here is a link to Tom Dahms. www.google.com/search?q=Tom+Dahms+football&oq=Tom+Dah... For those readers who ignore most of what is contained in the Flash Reports it is suggested you read many of the items on the link provided.
There is a rather long article regarding Dahms written by Dana Haddad in the Oct. 10, 1991 of the Los Angeles Times. It is quite lengthy and is not printed here. However you might be able to access it on the Internet. When I went to retrieve it the Times wanted me to pay for it. I refused but by having great hand/eye coordination it was possible to capture it before it got blacked out. I will share a copy of that for those who are interested.
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Still going
A member of the 1946 Carthage, Missouri Cardinals was William Henry Eckensberger of Cementon, Penn. Many years later he was located and I put him in touch with shortstop Bob Passarella of the 1949 Carthage Cubs.
The aforementioned duo got together a few years ago and came up with a gift to this aged writer who was not so old at the time. By that time Eckensberger was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Passarella was living in Scranton, Penn. and decided to come up with a nomination to a local hall of fame. After that nomination was approved it was sent to Eckensberger who issued a proclamation, during one of his six terms in the Pennsylvania House.
That item hangs on a wall in my basement and is special since it represents something that came from members of both the Cardinal and Cub affiliated teams in Carthage. No much was said about it at the time and not much will be said now. If anyone wants to see it they can drop by the KOM league Hall of Fame that resides mostly in my mind.
Link to William Eckensberger follows. This is his latest literary effort.
www.amazon.com/Murder-California-Zephyr-William-Eckensber...
If you care to know more about the former Carthage Cardinal right fielder, second baseman, shortstop and third baseman, here is a great cross-section of his life: www.google.com/search?q=william+eckensberger+jr.&oq=W...
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This report is now about over. It was mentioned last time that if the same level of interest continued, regarding these reports, they would come to an end. I think I see the terminus of the tunnel coming closer.
This report, with regard to Jerry Dahms, proves I haven’t kept up very well with the former players. That alone is the basis for being replaced with a more “on the ball” editor. Also, the material in recent reports hasn’t had as many readers as there are candidates for the 2020 presidential primary.
In previous issues, as far back as a decade ago, the talk of shutting down this project has arisen. Many of the times it has been over the frustration with Google. That outfit sometimes allows my messages to the masses to go through and at other times, not so much.
So, if time passes and you don’t get these reports you can go to this site: www.flickr.com/photos/60428361@N07/ If there is a report to be shared it will be found there. It will be under the first photo you see.
Now, I’m done. I was going to tell the tale of Calvin Pool who caught for the 1951 Bartlesville Pirates. I discovered, recently, that his father, Hanlin, had a long career in the Pacific Coast league and a not so long a tenure with the Cincinnati Reds back in the days of Harry Craft and Johnny Vander Meer. Maybe I’ll get around to sharing that story, sometime.
The Ikettes
The Ikettes
Connected to: Robbie MontgomeryClaudia LennearVenetta Fields
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ikettes
GenresR&B, soul, pop
Occupation(s)Backing vocalists, Girl group
Years active1960–1976; 1988–2000s
Labels
AtcoTeenaSonySonjaInnisPhi-DanModernPompeiiLibertyUnited Artists
Associated actsIke & Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Tina Turner, The Mirettes, Kings of Rhythm
Past membersRobbie Montgomery
Eloise Hester
Jo Armstead
Jessie Smith
Venetta Fields
Pat Arnold (a.k.a. P. P. Arnold)
Juanita Hixson
Gloria Scott
Maxine Smith
Pat Powdrill
Ann Thomas
Rose Smith
Paulette Parker (a.k.a. Maxayn Lewis)
Esther Jones
Claudia Lennear
Edna Richardson
Linda Shuford-Williams
Stonye Figueroa
Yolanda Goodwin
Jeanette Bazzell Turner
Randi Love (a.k.a. Michelle Love)
Audrey Madison Turner
See members section for others
The Ikettes were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" and "Peaches 'N' Cream." In 2017, Billboard ranked "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" #63 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[1]
The group started as The Artettes, the backing group of Art Lassiter. The first official incarnation of The Ikettes was composed of Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields, and Jessie Smith.The original trio of Ikettes later morphed into The Mirettes.
As the Swinging Sixties progressed, the Ikettes became known for their sexy onstage appearance; minidresses, long hair and high-energy dance routines which mirrored their mentor Tina Turner. "They represent me, and in my act they gotta look outta sight at all times. There’s simply no room for sloppiness and unprofessionalism," Tina told Esquire.[2] She added:
I also believe in the Ikette visual. I don't see it as cheap or vulgar. Nor do I see myself as that. Sex is not cheap or vulgar. And I always loved the look of long straight hair. Ike says he patterned me after Sheena of the jungle. She was white, you know. But I still love the look and action of long hair movin' and the short skirts shimmying. I want action on that stage at all times.[2]
History
1960–1968
When Art Lassiter didn't show up for a recording session in early 1960, Ike Turner took Lassiter's backup singers, the Artettes (Robbie Montgomery, Frances Hodges, and Sandra Harding) and had them accompany Tina Turner on the recording "A Fool in Love."[3] Following the success of the single, Ike formed the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but with a new group of backup singers: Delores Johnson, Eloise Hester, and Jo Armstead. Montgomery was pregnant and unable to tour.[3] They recorded "I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)" the following year, which was produced by Ike and leased to Atco Records.[4] Released in November 1961, the single reached #3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #19 on the Hot 100.[5]
Montgomery rejoined the revue shortly after having her baby and was teamed with Jessie Smith (recruited from a group called Benny Sharp and the Zorros of Rhythm) and Venetta Fields (a gospel singer from Buffalo) to form the first official incarnation of The Ikettes.[6] The revue toured constantly through the country on the Chitlin' Circuit in the segregated South.[7] Occasionally they'd play at major venues such as the Apollo Theater in New York, Howard Theater in Washington, D.C., and Uptown Theater in Philadelphia.[7]
In 1962, Ike switched them to his Teena record label for two singles: "Crazy in Love" (credited as Robbie Montgomery & the Ikettes) and "Prisoner in Love." Soon after its release, the title of "Prisoner in Love" was changed to "No Bail in This Jail" in order to avoid confusion with "Prisoner of Love" by James Brown.[8]
During this period Bonnie Bramlett was briefly and Ikette, becoming the first white Ikette.[9] According to Bramlett, Smith had briefly quit the Ikettes after Turner fired her boyfriend Sam Rhodes who was the bass player in the Kings of Rhythm. Bramlett recalled that she was an Ikette for three days when she was 17. She put on a dark wig to cover her blonde hair and used Man Tan to darken her skin.[10]
The single "Here's Your Heart" came out on Innis Records in 1964 but failed to go national; nor did "What'cha Gonna Do (When I Leave You)" released on Phi-Dan Records in 1966.[3] From 1964 through 1966, they released six singles on Modern Records, including "The Camel Walk" (1964), and two hits, "Peaches 'N' Cream" (1965) and "I'm So Thankful" (1965).[5] Ultra-funky remakes of "Sally Go Round the Roses" and "Da Doo Ron Ron" did not go as well; neither did "He's Gonna Be Fine, Fine, Fine," though it sounded like a precursor to the music Betty Davis did later. When "Peaches and Cream" became rapidly popular, Ike sent a different set of Ikettes — Janice Singleton (Hughes), Diane Rutherford and Marquentta Tinsley — on the road with "The Dick Clark Caravan of Stars" and kept Montgomery, Smith, and Fields on tour with his revue. Singleton and Rutherford provided backing vocals for Tina Turner on the Phil Spector-produced 1966 classic "River Deep – Mountain High."[citation needed] In the meantime, Turner hired new Ikettes after Montgomery, Fields and Smith left to form the Mirettes. The first set included Pat Arnold (a.k.a. P. P. Arnold), Gloria Scott, and Maxine Smith.[6]
The first album by the Ikettes, Soul The Hits, was released on Modern Records in 1966. Following the success of "River Deep – Mountain High" in Europe, Ike & Tina Turner were asked to tour with The Rolling Stones during their British tour in the fall of 1966.[11] The Ikettes on that tour were Rose Smith, Pat Arnold, and Ann Thomas. Shelly Clark (later of Honey Cone) was also an Ikette in 1966, she left the revue after getting injured in a bus accident in Wichita, Kansas.[12][13] Other Ikettes during this period include Pat Powdrill, Paulette Parker (later of Maxayn), Rose Smith, Jean Brown, and Juanita Hixson.
In 1968, Pompeii Records issued "So Fine" credited to Ike & Tina Turner & the Ikettes, it charted at #50 on the R&B chart.[5]
1969–1976
Minit Records and its parent label Liberty Records issued singles credited to The Ikettes (with Ike & Tina Turner) in 1969 and 1970 respectively, resulting in the hits "Come Together" by the Beatles and Sly & the Family Stone's "I Want to Take You Higher."
In November 1969, The Rolling Stones Stones once again asked Ike & Tina Turner to open for them, but this time on their American tour.[11] The Ikettes on that tour were Claudia Lennear, Esther Jones and Pat Powdrill. This lineup also performed on Playboy After Dark in December 1969.
The Ikettes changed once again in 1969 when Edna Richardson became ill and was temporarily replaced by Stonye Figueroa. Figueroa along with Esther Jones and Claudia Lennear went on to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show with Ike & Tina Turner on January 11, 1970. That month, the Ikettes performed In Las Vegas at the Hilton Hotel opposite Redd Foxx. Vera Hamilton and Jean Brown joined Jones in 1970, and this trio performed on The Andy Williams Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
In 1971, Liberty Records was absorbed into United Artists Records.[14] the Ikettes released their first single,"Got What It Takes (To Get What I Want)," on United Artists later that year. In 1972, "Two Timin', Double Dealin'" was released, the last known single by the Ikettes.
Edna Richardson returned to the group in 1972 and remained an Ikette on-and-off until 1976. Richardson, Jean Brown and Esther Jones performed on Soul Train in April 1972. They also provided backing vocals on Gayle McCormick's album Flesh & Blood (1972).[15]
There were quite a few lineup changes in 1973 with the absence of Esther Jones and Enda Richardson. Jones temporarily left after she was fined for being late onstage. The Ikettes weren't paid much and were often fined by the Turners for "inexcusables" such as tardiness, no-shows at rehearsals, miscues onstage, sloppy appearance, and disruptive behavior.[2] Jones was the "longest-lasting Ikette" and was referred to as "Motha" Ikette. She was the group's trainer and came up with most of the choreography.[2] In February 1973, the Ikettes, consisting of Linda Sims, Linda-Shufford Williams and Alesia Butler, performed on The Midnight Special. The Ikettes performed on the Midnight Special again in November 1973; Linda Sims was joined by Edna Richardson and Charlotte Lewis. The next month Linda Sims, Charlotte Lewis and Debbie Wilson performed on the music program Hits à Gogo in Switzerland. Sims and Wilson along with Tina Turner provided backing vocals on the album Over-Nite Sensation (1973) by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention.[16]
The last album by the Ikettes, (G)Old & New, was released on United Artists in January 1974.[17] In March, Edna Richardson, Stonye Figueroa and Linda Sims appeared on Don Krishner's Rock Concert. Esther Jones, Yolanda Goodwin and Marcy Thomas soon replaced them for most of 1974.[2] Richardson, Goodwin and Jones became the final lineup for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue by late 1975. They performed on Don Krishner's Rock Concert in March 1976. Late that year, the revue was disbanded after the Turners had an altercation.[18][6]
1988–2000s
In 1988, Ike Turner attempted an ill-fated return to the stage with Marcy Thomas, Bonnie Johnson, and Jeanette Bazzell as his Ikettes.[19] He was arrested on drug charges the following year. After serving 18-months in prison he managed to rehabilitate his cocaine addiction and he revived his career in the 1990s. Turner formed new sets of Ikettes which included Jeanette Bazzell, Randi Love a.k.a. Michelle Love, Stonye Figueroa, Vera Hamilton and Audrey Madison.[20]
Post-Ikette careers
Jo Armstead, the first of the originals to leave, went solo and sang with groups before hooking up with a pre-Motown Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson to form the formidable songwriting/production team of Ashford/Simpson/Armstead.
Bonnie Bramlette formed the duo Delaney & Bonnnie with her then-husband Delaney Bramlett between 1967 and 1972.[21] They're best known for their singles "Never Ending Song of Love" which peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Only You Know and I Know" which peaked at #20.[22]
Former Ikette Venetta Fields had a successful career after leaving Ike & Tina, joining Ray Charles as a Raelette, the rock bands Humble Pie and Pink Floyd as one of The Blackberries,[23] as well as a brief stint with Delaney & Bonnie. She also appear as backing vocalists on the first album by Steely Dan. Fields acted as Barbra Streisand's backing singers (The Oreos) in the 1976 musical film, A Star Is Born (December 1976), and sang on its associated film soundtrack (November 1976).
Edna Richardson (née Woods) was married to Kings of Rhythm drummer Soko Richardson, they later divorced.[24] In 1974, Richardson had a minor role in the blaxploitation classic Truck Turner. She played "Frenchie," one of Dorinda's Girls.[25] She later became a backup dancer for Tina Turner during her solo years under the name LeJeune Richardson.
Janice Singleton (Hughes) left the Ikettes to lead groups on A&M (The Secrets: lead vocals on A&M recording by Diane Rutherford-Swann) and Verve (The Unit Plus), then teamed with ex-Ikette Maxine Smith (Green) on world tours with Leo Sayer, Martha Reeves, Boz Scaggs, and Joe Cocker, among others. In 2007, Singleton and Smith joined the Mohegan Sun All Stars.
Paulette Parker later went by the name Maxayn Lewis and formed the band Maxayn with her husband Andre Lewis in the early 1970s. She has toured with Gino Vannelli, Donna Summer, and Rufus.[26]
Esther Jones sang with the funk/soul band Formula 5 in the 1980s.[27] She had a stroke in 1992 and suffered from multiple myeloma. She died at the age of 61 on December 8, 2006.[28]
Robbie Montgomery became a Night Tripper for Dr. John. She also sang backup for Barbra Streisand, Debbie Reynolds, Joe Cocker and Stevie Wonder.[7] She later became a successful restaurateur and star of the reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie's. In 2018, Montgomery released an EP, What They Call Me,[29] her first release in 40 years.[30]
Claudia Lennear dated Mick Jagger whom she met during Ike & Tina's US tour with the Rolling Stones in 1969. She is reportedly the inspiration for the Rolling Stones song "Brown Sugar." She also dated David Bowie and reportedly is the inspiration for his song "Lady Grinning Soul."[31] Lennear sang backup for Joe Cocker and Humble Pie and released a solo album entitled Phew! in 1973. She also played a secretary in the 1974 Clint Eastwood movie Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. That same year she appeared in Playboy magazine photo spread. Lennear left the music industry to become a teacher. She appeared in the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom (2013).[32]
P.P. Arnold left the Ikettes after Ike & Tina's UK tour with the Rolling Stones in the fall of 1966. Mick Jagger encouraged her to go solo and she had a successful career in the UK with hits such as "The First Cut Is The Deepest" and "Angel of the Morning."
Shelly Clark formed the group Honey Cone with Edna Wright (sister of Darlene Love) and Carolyn Willis in 1969. They had a number-one pop hit "Want Ads" in 1971.[33] In 1985, Clark married Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White.
Marcy Thomas later performed with Ike Turner. She became known as Lyrica Garrett and appeared on the reality show Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood with her daughter Lyrica Anderson.[34]
Ann Thomas left the Ikettes after she became pregnant by Ike Turner in 1968.[18] After she gave birth to their daughter Mia in 1969, she returned to work for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue; handling their wardrobe.[6] Thomas was married to Turner from 1981 to 1989.
Jeanette Bazzell Turner was married to Ike Turner from 1995 to 2000. She continues to perform and also works as a real estate broker.[35]
Audrey Madison Turner is Ike Turner's last wife. She appeared as a contestant on The X Factor in 2011.[36] In 2016, she released a memoir, Love Had Everything to Do with It, which details her volatile relationship with Turner due to his bipolar disorder.[37]
Members
1960s - 1970s
Shirley Alexander a.k.a. Shirley Butler (1969-70)
Jo Armstead (1960–c.1962)[24]
P. P. Arnold (1965–1966)[24]
Mary Bennett (April–July 1978, during divorce of Ike and Tina)
Bonnie Bramlett (c. 1963–1964)[10] first white member[9]
Mary "Jean Brown" Burks (1967–1968, 1970–1972)[24]
Alesia "Sugar" Butler (1972–1974)
Judy Cheeks
Shelly Clark (c. 1966)[24] — later a member of Honey Cone
Venetta Fields (c. 1961–1965)
Stonye Figueroa a.k.a. Barbara Cook (1969–1974)[38]
Yolanda Goodwin (1974–1976)
Martha Graham (c. 1968)[24]
Vera Hamilton[24] (1970–1971; died August 31, 2013)
Eloise Hester (1960–?)[24]
Juanita Hixson (1964–?)
Frances Hodges (1960)
Sandra Harding (1960)
Brenda Holloway[24]
Patrice Holloway[24]
Delores "Dee Dee" Johnson (c. 1961–1962)[24]
Johnnie B. Johnson-Day (early 1960s)
Esther Jones a.k.a Ester Bills[39][24] (1969–1976; died in 2006) "longest-lasting Ikette"[2]
Claudia Lennear a.k.a Joy Lennear[39][24] (c. 1967–1970)
Charlotte Lewis[24]
Kathi McDonald (c. 1968)
Robbie Montgomery (1960–1965)
Paulette Parker a.k.a. Maxayn Lewis (c. 1966–1968)[24]
Pat Powdrill (c. 1967– 1969; died April 11, 1996)[24]
Vermettya Royster[24]
Edna "LeJeune" Richardson a.k.a Edna Woods[39] (1969; 1971–1976)
Diane Rutherford-Swann (c. 1964–1966)
Gloria Scott (c. 1965)[40]
Linda Shuford-Williams a.k.a. Linda Jones (1972–1974)
Linda Sims[24][41]
Janice Singleton (c. 1964–1966)[42]
Jessie Smith (c. 1961–1965)
Maxine Smith (1965–?)[24]
Rose Smith (c. 1966)[24]
Jackie Stanton
The Stovall Sisters (1967)
(Margaret) Ann Thomas (c. 1966–1969) "non-singing Ikette"[24]
Marcy Thomas a.k.a. Lyrica Garrett (1974–1975)
Marquentta Tinsley (c. 1964–?)
Adrienne Williams[24]
Carlena "Flora" Williams (c. 1963–64)
Debbie Wilson[24][43]
1980s - 2000s
Jeanette Bazzell Turner (1988–2000)[20]
Bonnie Johnson (1988)[19]
Marcy Thomas a.k.a. Lyrica Garrett (1988)[19]
Vera Hamilton (mid-1990s)
Stonye Figueroa a.k.a. Barbara Cook (1998)
Randi Love a.k.a. Michelle Love (mid 1990s–early 2000s)[20][44]
Audrey Madison Turner (1993–early 2000s)
Discography
See also: Ike & Tina Turner discography and List of songs written by Ike Turner
Albums
TitleAlbum DetailsPeak chart positionsNotes
US Top 200US R&B
Fine Fine Fine
Released: September 1965
Label: Stateside Records
Catalog Number: SE 1033
——
EP released in the UK
Soul The Hits
Released: 1966
Label: Modern Records
Catalog Number: MST 102
——
Reissued on CD in 2007
In Person
Released: June 1969
Label: Minit Records
Catalog Number: LP 24018
14219
Credited to Ike & Tina Turner and The Ikettes
Recorded at Basin Street West in San Francisco
Come Together
Released: May 1970
Label: Liberty Records
Catalog Number: LST-7637
13013
Credited to Ike & Tina Turner and The Ikettes
(G)Old & New
Released: 1974
Label: United Artists Records
Catalog Number: UA-LA190-F
——
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
Compilations
1987: Fine Fine Fine (Kent Records)
2007: Can't Sit Down... 'Cos It Feels So Good: The Complete Modern Recordings (Kent Records)
Singles
The Ikettes had 3 songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and 3 songs on the Billboard Hot R&B which include 1 top 10 hit.[45] They've also charted on records with Ike & Tina Turner.
Single (A-side, B-side)Release dateLabel & Cat #Peak chart positionsAlbumNotes
US Hot 100
[45]
US R&B
[5]
"I'm Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)"
b/w "Find My Baby"
Nov 1961Atco – 45-6212193Non-album tracks
#63 on Billboard's list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time
"Troubles On My Mind"
b/w "Come On And Truck"
Apr 1962Atco – 45-6223——
"Heavenly Love"
b/w "Zizzy Zee Zum Zum"
Jul 1962Atco – 45-6232——
"I Had A Dream The Other Night"
b/w "I Do Love You"
Nov 1962Atco – 45-6243——
"Crazy In Love"
b/w Pee Wee
Feb 1963Teena – 1701——
Credited as Robbie Montgomery and the Ikettes
"No Bail In This Jail (Prisoner In Love)"
b/w "Those Words"
Apr 1963Teena – 1702126*[46]—
Teena was Ike Turner's label named after Tina Turner
"You're Still My Baby"
b/w "I'm Leaving You"
Apr 1963Sony – 112——
Credited to Venetta Fields; Sony was Ike Turner's label
"Blue With A Broken Heart"
b/w "Mind In A Whirl"
ca. 1963Sonja – 2003——
Credited to Flora Williams; Sonja was Ike Turner's label
"Here's Your Heart"
"Here's Your Heart (Instrumental)"
Jan 1964Innis – 3000——
Innis was Ike Turner's label
"Camel Walk"
b/w "Nobody Loves Me"
Dec 1964Modern – 1003107*[47]—Soul The Hits
"Peaches 'N' Cream"
b/w "The Biggest Players"
Feb 1965Modern – 45x10053628
"(He's Gonna Be) Fine, Fine, Fine"
b/w "How Come"
May 1965Modern – 45x1008125*[48]—
"I'm So Thankful"
b/w "Don't Feel Sorry For Me"
Jul 1965Modern – 45x10117412
"(Never More) Lonely For You"
b/w "Sally Go Round The Roses"
Jan 1966Modern – 45xM 1015122*[49]—
"Not That I Recall"
b/w "Da Doo Ron Ron"
Jul 1966Modern – 45xM 1024——
"What'cha Gonna Do (When I Leave You)"
b/w "Down, Down"
Aug 1966Phi-Dan – 5009——Non-album tracks
Phi-Dan was a subsidiary label of Phil Spector Productions
Pat Arnold (P.P. Arnold) sang lead
Lead vocals by Rose Smith on "Down, Down"
"So Fine"
b/w "So Blue Over You"
Mar 1968Pompeii – 45-6667117*[50]50So Fine
"So Fine" is credited to Ike & Tina Turner and The Ikettes
B-side is on the album Cussin', Cryin' & Carryin' On
"Make 'Em Wait
b/w "Beauty Is Just Skin Deep"
Nov 1968Pompeii – 45-66683——Cussin', Cryin' & Carryin' On
Cussin', Cryin' & Carryin' On is an Ike & Tina Turner album
Billboard Review (November 16, 1968)[51]
"Come Together"
b/w "Honky Tonk Women"
Dec 1969Minit – 320875721In Person
Credited to Ike & Tina Turner and The Ikettes
"I Want To Take You Higher"
b/w "Contact High"
May 1970Liberty – 561773425Come Together
Credited to Ike & Tina Turner and The Ikettes
"Got What It Takes (To Get What I Want)"
b/w "If You Take A Close Look"
Dec 1971United Artists – 50866——Non-album tracks
"I'm Just Not Ready For Love"
b/w "Two Timin' Double Dealin'"
Dec 1972United Artists – 51103——
*single did not chart on the main chart but was on the Bubbling Under Top LP's.
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.
RBP
Filmography/Selected TV appearances
[52]
TitleAirdate/YearIkettes
Shindig!Apr. 21, 1965Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields, Jessie Smith
Hollywood A Go-GoApr. 24, 1965Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields, Jessie Smith
American BandstandMay 1, 1965Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields, Jessie Smith
The Big T.N.T Show1966
(filmed Nov. 29, 1965)
Pat Arnold (P.P. Arnold)
Studio UnoMar. 26, 1966Robbie Montgomery, Venetta Fields, Jessie Smith
Goodbye AgainAug. 18 1968
(filmed Apr 1968)
Pat Powdrill, Ann Thomas, Jean Brown, Paulette Parker (Maxayn Lewis)
The Hollywood PalaceDec. 7, 1968Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Claudia Lennear
Andy's Love ConcertMarc. 19, 1969Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Claudia Lennear
The Smothers Brothers Comedy HourApr. 13, 1969Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Claudia Lennear
It's Your Thing1970Esther Jones, Jean Brown, Vera Hamilton
Playboy After DarkFeb. 3, 1970
(filmed Dec. 3, 1969)
Pat Powdrill, Esther Jones,Claudia Lennear
The Ed Sullivan ShowJan 11. 1970Claudia Lennear, Esther Jones, Stonye Figueroa
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonJul. 9, 1970Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
Johnny Cash Presents the Everly BrothersAug. 5, 1970Esther Jones, Jean Brown
The Andy Williams ShowSept. 26, 1970Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonNov. 25, 1970Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
Taking Off1971Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
Soul to Soul1971Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
Beat-ClubFeb. 27, 1971Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
The Pearl Bailey ShowMar. 27, 1971Esther Jones, Vera Hamilton, Jean Brown
Good Vibrations from Central ParkAug, 19, 1971Esther Jones, Jean Brown, Edna Richardson
Rollin' On The RiverMar. 25, 1972Esther Jones, Jean Brown, Edna Richardson
Soul TrainApr. 22, 1972Esther Jones, Jean Brown, Edna Richardson
The Dick Cavett ShowOct. 10, 1972Esther Jones, Edna Richardson
The Midnight SpecialFeb. 2, 1973Linda Sims, Linda Shufford-Williams, Alesia Butler
The Burns and Schreiber Comedy HourJun. 22, 1973Alesia Butler
The Midnight SpecialNov. 9, 1973Edna Richardson, Linda Sims, Charlotte Lewis
Hits à GogoDec. 14, 1973Linda Sims, Charlotte Lewis, Debbie Wilson
In ConcertJan. 4, 1974Linda Sims, Charlotte Lewis, Debbie Wilson
The Midnight SpecialFeb. 8, 1974Linda Sims, Charlotte Lewis, Debbie Wilson
Don Kirshner's Rock ConcertMar. 16, 1974Linda Sims, Stonye Figueroa, Edna Richardson
MusikladenNov. 14, 1974Esther Jones, Marcy Thomas (Lyrica Garrett), Yolanda Goodwin
Soul TrainJan. 18, 1975Esther Jones, Marcy Thomas (Lyrica Garrett), Yolanda Goodwin
The Midnight SpecialMar. 7, 1975Esther Jones, Marcy Thomas (Lyrica Garrett), Edna Richardson
CherApr. 27, 1975Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Yolanda Goodwin
CherOct. 12, 1975Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Yolanda Goodwin
Van Dyke and CompanyOct. 30, 1975Esther Jones, Marcy Thomas (Lyrica Garrett), Edna Richardson
Poiret est à vous1975Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Judy Cheeks
Don Kirshner's Rock ConcertMar. 12, 1976Esther Jones, Edna Richardson, Yolanda Goodwin
I appreciated the idea of how much everybody liked the first picture, that I wanted to share this morphed together of original color, with the black and while. I don't expect the same response. But I am really pleased with this picture.
Voronezh is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects western Russia with the Urals and Siberia, the Caucasus and Ukraine, and the M4 highway (Moscow–Voronezh–Rostov-on-Don–Novorossiysk). In recent years the city has experienced rapid population growth, rising in 2021 to 1,057,681, up from 889,680 recorded in the 2010 Census, making it the 14th-most populous city in the country.
The first chronicle references to the word "Voronezh" are dated 1177, when the Ryazan prince Yaropolk, having lost the battle, fled "to Voronozh" and there was moving "from town to town". Modern data of archeology and history interpret Voronezh as a geographical region, which included the Voronezh river (tributary of the Don) and a number of settlements. In the lower reaches of the river, a unique Slavic town-planning complex of the 8th – early 11th century was discovered, which covered the territory of the present city of Voronezh and its environs (about 42 km long, about 13 forts and many unfortified villages). By the 12th – 13th centuries, most of the old towns were desolate, but new settlements appeared upstream, closer to Ryazan.
For many years, the hypothesis of the Soviet historian Vladimir Zagorovsky dominated: he produced the toponym "Voronezh" from the hypothetical Slavic personal name Voroneg. This man allegedly gave the name of a small town in the Chernigov Principality (now the village of Voronizh in Ukraine). Later, in the 11th or 12th century, the settlers were able to "transfer" this name to the Don region, where they named the second city Voronezh, and the river got its name from the city. However, now many researchers criticize the hypothesis, since in reality neither the name of Voroneg nor the second city was revealed, and usually the names of Russian cities repeated the names of the rivers, but not vice versa.
The linguistic comparative analysis of the name "Voronezh" was carried out by the Khovansky Foundation in 2009. There is an indication of the place names of many countries in Eurasia, which may partly be not only similar in sound, but also united by common Indo-European languages: Varanasi, Varna, Verona, Brno, etc.
A comprehensive scientific analysis was conducted in 2015–2016 by the historian Pavel Popov. His conclusion: "Voronezh" is a probable Slavic macrotoponym associated with outstanding signs of nature, has a root voron- (from the proto-Slavic vorn) in the meaning of "black, dark" and the suffix -ezh (-azh, -ozh). It was not “transferred” and in the 8th - 9th centuries it marked a vast territory covered with black forests (oak forests) - from the mouth of the Voronezh river to the Voronozhsky annalistic forests in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and in the west to the Don (many forests were cut down). The historian believes that the main "city" of the early town-planning complex could repeat the name of the region – Voronezh. Now the hillfort is located in the administrative part of the modern city, in the Voronezh upland oak forest. This is one of Europe's largest ancient Slavic hillforts, the area of which – more than 9 hectares – 13 times the area of the main settlement in Kyiv before the baptism of Rus.
In it is assumed that the word "Voronezh" means bluing - a technique to increase the corrosion resistance of iron products. This explanation fits well with the proximity to the ancient city of Voronezh of a large iron deposit and the city of Stary Oskol. As well as the name of Voroneț Monastery known for its blue shade.
Folk etymology claims the name comes from combining the Russian words for raven (ворон) and hedgehog (еж) into Воронеж. According to this explanation two Slavic tribes named after the animals used this combination to name the river which later in turn provided the name for a settlement. There is not believed to be any scientific support for this explanation.
In the 16th century, the Middle Don basin, including the Voronezh river, was gradually conquered by Muscovy from the Nogai Horde (a successor state of the Golden Horde), and the current city of Voronezh was established in 1585 by Feodor I as a fort protecting the Muravsky Trail trade route against the slave raids of the Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The city was named after the river.
17th to 19th centuries
In the 17th century, Voronezh gradually evolved into a sizable town. Weronecz is shown on the Worona river in Resania in Joan Blaeu's map of 1645. Peter the Great built a dockyard in Voronezh where the Azov Flotilla was constructed for the Azov campaigns in 1695 and 1696. This fleet, the first ever built in Russia, included the first Russian ship of the line, Goto Predestinatsia. The Orthodox diocese of Voronezh was instituted in 1682 and its first bishop, Mitrofan of Voronezh, was later proclaimed the town's patron saint.
Owing to the Voronezh Admiralty Wharf, for a short time, Voronezh became the largest city of South Russia and the economic center of a large and fertile region. In 1711, it was made the seat of the Azov Governorate, which eventually morphed into the Voronezh Governorate.
In the 19th century, Voronezh was a center of the Central Black Earth Region. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather, and other works) as well as bread, cattle, suet, and the hair trade developed in the town. A railway connected Voronezh with Moscow in 1868 and Rostov-on-Don in 1871.
20th century
During World War II, Voronezh was the scene of fierce fighting between Soviet and combined Axis troops. The Germans used it as a staging area for their attack on Stalingrad, and made it a key crossing point on the Don River. In June 1941, two BM-13 (Fighting machine #13 Katyusha) artillery installations were built at the Voronezh excavator factory. In July, the construction of Katyushas was rationalized so that their manufacture became easier and the time of volley repetition was shortened from five minutes to fifteen seconds. More than 300 BM-13 units manufactured in Voronezh were used in a counterattack near Moscow in December 1941. In October 22, 1941, the advance of the German troops prompted the establishment of a defense committee in the city. On November 7, 1941, there was a troop parade, devoted to the anniversary of the October Revolution. Only three such parades were organized that year: in Moscow, Kuybyshev, and Voronezh. In late June 1942, the city was attacked by German and Hungarian forces. In response, Soviet forces formed the Voronezh Front. By July 6, the German army occupied the western river-bank suburbs before being subjected to a fierce Soviet counter-attack. By July 24 the frontline had stabilised along the Voronezh River as the German forces continued southeast into the Great Bend of the Don. The attack on Voronezh represented the first phase of the German Army's 1942 campaign in the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.
Until January 25, 1943, parts of the Second German Army and the Second Hungarian Army occupied the western part of Voronezh. During Operation Little Saturn, the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, and the Voronezhsko-Kastornenskoy Offensive, the Voronezh Front exacted heavy casualties on Axis forces. On January 25, 1943, Voronezh was liberated after ten days of combat. During the war the city was almost completely ruined, with 92% of all buildings destroyed.
Post-war
By 1950, Voronezh had been rebuilt. Most buildings and historical monuments were repaired. It was also the location of a prestigious Suvorov Military School, a boarding school for young boys who were considered to be prospective military officers, many of whom had been orphaned by war.
In 1950–1960, new factories were established: a tire factory, a machine-tool factory, a factory of heavy mechanical pressing, and others. In 1968, Serial production of the Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic plane was established at the Voronezh Aviation factory. In October 1977, the first Soviet domestic wide-body plane, Ilyushin Il-86, was built there.
In 1989, TASS published details of an alleged UFO landing in the city's park and purported encounters with extraterrestrial beings reported by a number of children. A Russian scientist that was cited in initial TASS reports later told the Associated Press that he was misquoted, cautioning, "Don't believe all you hear from TASS," and "We never gave them part of what they published", and a TASS correspondent admitted the possibility that some "make-believe" had been added to the TASS story, saying, "I think there is a certain portion of truth, but it is not excluded that there is also fantasizing".
21st century
From 10 to 17 September 2011, Voronezh celebrated its 425th anniversary. The anniversary of the city was given the status of a federal scale celebration that helped attract large investments from the federal and regional budgets for development.
On December 17, 2012, Voronezh became the fifteenth city in Russia with a population of over one million people.
Today Voronezh is the economic, industrial, cultural, and scientific center of the Central Black Earth Region. As part of the annual tradition in the Russian city of Voronezh, every winter the main city square is thematically drawn around a classic literature. In 2020, the city was decorated using the motifs from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. In the year of 2021, the architects drew inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen as well as the animation classic The Snow Queen from the Soviet Union. The fairy tale replica city will feature the houses of Kai and Gerda, the palace of the snow queen, an ice rink, and illumination.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
In Shattered Dreams
I decided to not post for a couple of days (this is like a week ago now) as I had the house to myself, so naturally I rewatched loads of David Lynch (wanted to see them again with new eyes) and some other movies; I was only going to write a quick comment on them, but this post has morphed into something bigger as I attempt to show that many of the people portrayed in these films were, in "reality" mind controlled themselves and that the themes within them hint at this. In David Lynch's Blue Velvet the main programming/trigger song is not Blue Velvet, but rather Roy Orbison's In Dreams, or as the psychopath (obviously traumatized) 'Frank' (in the movie) calls it (because he has been programmed with it, known as this name): "Candy Colored Clown" [back to Lynch later]. Roy Orbison is an interesting character, the obvious synch here is his "patteé cross" (pre-christian solar cross) he wears showing either where his allegiances lie or who controls him, for those aware of mind control and the symbolism contained within this vast [mind]field it is somewhat blatantly portrayed (hidden in plain site) on his album covers and suggestible titles, some of which are pictured below.
Note yellow/green, break my mind, and just to 100% complete and confirm the MK picture we have a dissociative/hypnotic spiral positioned next to him and a door in the frame.
The Big (Octagonal) O
Mask programming
Attractive girl's split mind (symbolised by the half-face, in case you haven't realised yet). The movie "Pretty Woman" (which has made this song famous in part) helps in programming as the MPD prostitute (or "hooker", hooks are violent the candyman has a hook, equating sex/violence) would be made to think their only hope of escape is from some Richard Gere type prince-charming to ride in and save them, look out how many minutes the theatrical release lasted (119).
On Orbison's life, he seems to have been programmed as a child; as in 1946 they moved to a town called Wink, in Winkler Country (the "illuminati"AKA"insane assholes" love using this kind of symbolism in people's lives as it makes them appear in total control of them, wink=one eye/all seeing eye, 64/46 chess squares). He was born 23 April 1936 and died 6 December 1988, he died of (maybe) one of those CIA caused heart attacks (like Kubrick) to again show that they are in total control over all aspects of him and his life including his death (they gave him a scare in 1977 when he had open heart surgery), he was reported dead at 11:54 (so 11:9) according to wiki. He died in 1988, Elvis Presley (also probably mind controlled) died in 1977 (same year as Orbison's first heart scare) so we have number repetition/mirrored (88 77) involved in both death rituals of these entertainment monarch pentagrams ("stars"), Elvis Presley was pronounced dead at 3:30... and guess what he died of, a massive heart attack! [admittedly he was fat as f**k, heart attacks probably also play into Oz programming] According to wiki, Orbison's last performance was in 1988 at Highland Heights, Ohio (he was the "Big O"), so that also clearly plays into the ritual ('O HIGH O', playing at HIGH-Land HeIGHts, perhaps pyramid capstone symbolism as it doesn't get much higher).
Click image for another symbolic poster for it, the (probably) terrible film is about a guy sleeping with his student, note the bee, bluebird, suggestiveness.
Orbison mirrored.
Man of many faces.
His wife was killed in a typical "road 'accident' ritual" (like Diana)[continues at the *, after Sharon Tate tangent] which resonates (in terms of sacrificial wives) with (potential) programmer/Mind Controlled Model abuser Roman Polanski, (BBC article note the year + age of model for Vogue [or so she thought, this adds weight to what I've been saying about the fashion industry in my opinion] + former Joker Jack Nicholson's involvement: found in this TTLG post) whose wife (Sharon Tate, below) was ritualistically killed at 8 months pregnant by Charles Manson's mind controlled clan on August (8) 9th 1969 (6/9 thing I've been going on about), by the way "satanic"/occult ritual abuse and sacrifice is laid out somewhat in Rosemary's Baby (quickly, on the Charles Mason murders, I mean Manson... [WARNING: Actual crime scene images follow, do not click if that sort of thing bothers you.] this website has images of said crime scenes, including the word WAR scrawled into one of the victims' stomach's with the W as a Masonic compass and square shapeish, also note the Zebra pattern (black/white) on one side of Sharon Tate, and the American flag ((positioned with inverted pentagrams)) to the other in this image). The Daily Mail are always helpful in contributing to my articles, as in this one from last year illustrating how Sharon would say MK-esque things (both the author of the below words, and Sharon were likely MK'd) randomly such as:
Sharon 'doing the Egyptian' in large checker pattern dress thing.
"She kept talking about off-the-wall spiritual things - she talked about reincarnation and how in a previous life she had died in a fire aged nine... The second she said that, the doors to the restaurant blew open even though there wasn't any wind, and she looked really shocked... One night we went to visit the Trevi Fountain, and I looked at her and had the strongest feeling she was going to die... Another time I was looking over at her and asking her what she was thinking about, and she suddenly came out with: 'The Devil is beautiful. Most people think he's ugly, but he's not.'" (see movie described further down for added significance)
Sharon wearing the Eye of the Devil (Horus, on the occult $) "Occult thriller starring Deborah Kerr and David Niven [and "Introducing: Sharon Tate"] as the wealthy owners of a French vineyard who become obsessed with pagan sacrifice." [it mimics mind control cults like Charles Manson's somewhat; with Sharon speaking in hypnotic terms ((hypnosis/suggestion features heavily)), and even has its own symbolic Crowley as the bald-headed head priest/occultist], the film features all the symbolism you would expect (checkerboard floor near the beginning, aforementioned eye of Horus, doves, spirals, shattered glass etc.). I caught the film on TCM on the 21st (7+7+7) July (7); synchronicity hits me with another "gift" (only recorded it because of the title). Before this movie aired, an old favourite of mine was shown, the 1973 film "Westworld" (blatant robot programming). The eye (of the devil) is specifically focused on (zoomed in it is like a Labyrinthian glass sphere) during Sharon's hypnosis scene where she makes an easily suggestible child see a frog transform into a dove. In the UK, the film was released in (TCM airing it on 21/7 is obviously significant bearing this in mind) July (7th month) 1966 according to imdb (wiki has it as 1967, probably its US release). 'The New York Times wrote of Tate's "chillingly beautiful but expressionless" performance.' The VERY FINAL shot of the movie shows Sharon Tate (the camera zooms right in on her face, she is a "witch" in the movie with an Aryan looking brother btw), then it focuses on a pond with water lillies [Rewatched and edited for accuracing, originally thought there was a body under there, but still obviously highly symbolic ((regular lilies are the flower of death, originally placed on the graves of "young innocents"))] then, "The End". 1-2 years after this movie came out she married Polanski, and 3-4 years after this occult movie came out she was brutally murdered by mind controlled occultists.
Sharon Tate, (Catherine Tate plays multiple personalities and was also in the Doctor Who mindf**k, by the way another "comedian" Al Murray has a sketch show coming out called "Multiple Personality Disorders"...) she appeared in the movie Valley of the Dolls, which is also the name of a recent fashion event thing called "Fashion in the Mirror: The Valley of the Dolls". More on her from her wiki page: "Sharon Tate was born in Dallas, Texas, the first of three daughters, to Paul Tate, a United States Army officer and his wife, Doris. At six months of age, Sharon Tate won the "Miss Tiny Tot of Dallas Pageant"," Weird synch, her film Eye of the Devil (AKA thirteen or 13) I just recorded (a week ago now) on my Sky Plus (TiVo) box the other night, and now I find she is in it, it was released in 1966, it is 96 minutes long as you'd expect (6|9 sex, mirror/spin reversal). Note in the below poster we see it was made by MGM, Roy Orbison's contract with MGM (13|7|13) ended in 1973.
"The Devil is beautiful. Most people think he's ugly, but he's not."
The above movie was AKA 13, the below one was AKA "13 chairs" and it's regular title is "12+1"=13 anyway. (note one eye covered too) This (12+1) was her final movie, released posthumously, just like MK ritual sacrifice Heath Ledger's Dark Knight. In The Eye of the Devil it is described that there are 12 "dancers" (pre-christian Dionysiac worshippers, apostles) + 13th is christ: "long before christianity... a living god" (line from EOTD, referring to; Horus, Dionysus and others), hence why it is AKA "13", Occultism under the guise of "Christianity"; which is what ALL (and I can't stress that enough) ALL Christianity is and always has been (a creation of occultists for the purposes of control). "The Earth has to have sacrifice. There has to be blood." - Line from The Eye of the Devil [Edit: rewatched the movie, edited the quote to be 100% accurate], which summarizes their thinking and why (among other
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Voronezh is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects western Russia with the Urals and Siberia, the Caucasus and Ukraine, and the M4 highway (Moscow–Voronezh–Rostov-on-Don–Novorossiysk). In recent years the city has experienced rapid population growth, rising in 2021 to 1,057,681, up from 889,680 recorded in the 2010 Census, making it the 14th-most populous city in the country.
The first chronicle references to the word "Voronezh" are dated 1177, when the Ryazan prince Yaropolk, having lost the battle, fled "to Voronozh" and there was moving "from town to town". Modern data of archeology and history interpret Voronezh as a geographical region, which included the Voronezh river (tributary of the Don) and a number of settlements. In the lower reaches of the river, a unique Slavic town-planning complex of the 8th – early 11th century was discovered, which covered the territory of the present city of Voronezh and its environs (about 42 km long, about 13 forts and many unfortified villages). By the 12th – 13th centuries, most of the old towns were desolate, but new settlements appeared upstream, closer to Ryazan.
For many years, the hypothesis of the Soviet historian Vladimir Zagorovsky dominated: he produced the toponym "Voronezh" from the hypothetical Slavic personal name Voroneg. This man allegedly gave the name of a small town in the Chernigov Principality (now the village of Voronizh in Ukraine). Later, in the 11th or 12th century, the settlers were able to "transfer" this name to the Don region, where they named the second city Voronezh, and the river got its name from the city. However, now many researchers criticize the hypothesis, since in reality neither the name of Voroneg nor the second city was revealed, and usually the names of Russian cities repeated the names of the rivers, but not vice versa.
A comprehensive scientific analysis was conducted in 2015–2016 by the historian Pavel Popov. His conclusion: "Voronezh" is a probable Slavic macrotoponym associated with outstanding signs of nature, has a root voron- (from the proto-Slavic vorn) in the meaning of "black, dark" and the suffix -ezh (-azh, -ozh). It was not “transferred” and in the 8th - 9th centuries it marked a vast territory covered with black forests (oak forests) - from the mouth of the Voronezh river to the Voronozhsky annalistic forests in the middle and upper reaches of the river, and in the west to the Don (many forests were cut down). The historian believes that the main "city" of the early town-planning complex could repeat the name of the region – Voronezh. Now the hillfort is located in the administrative part of the modern city, in the Voronezh upland oak forest. This is one of Europe's largest ancient Slavic hillforts, the area of which – more than 9 hectares – 13 times the area of the main settlement in Kyiv before the baptism of Rus.
In it is assumed that the word "Voronezh" means bluing - a technique to increase the corrosion resistance of iron products. This explanation fits well with the proximity to the ancient city of Voronezh of a large iron deposit and the city of Stary Oskol. As well as the name of Voroneț Monastery known for its blue shade.
Folk etymology claims the name comes from combining the Russian words for raven (ворон) and hedgehog (еж) into Воронеж. According to this explanation two Slavic tribes named after the animals used this combination to name the river which later in turn provided the name for a settlement. There is not believed to be any scientific support for this explanation.
In the 16th century, the Middle Don basin, including the Voronezh river, was gradually conquered by Muscovy from the Nogai Horde (a successor state of the Golden Horde), and the current city of Voronezh was established in 1585 by Feodor I as a fort protecting the Muravsky Trail trade route against the slave raids of the Nogai and Crimean Tatars. The city was named after the river.
17th to 19th centuries
In the 17th century, Voronezh gradually evolved into a sizable town. Weronecz is shown on the Worona river in Resania in Joan Blaeu's map of 1645. Peter the Great built a dockyard in Voronezh where the Azov Flotilla was constructed for the Azov campaigns in 1695 and 1696. This fleet, the first ever built in Russia, included the first Russian ship of the line, Goto Predestinatsia. The Orthodox diocese of Voronezh was instituted in 1682 and its first bishop, Mitrofan of Voronezh, was later proclaimed the town's patron saint.
Owing to the Voronezh Admiralty Wharf, for a short time, Voronezh became the largest city of South Russia and the economic center of a large and fertile region. In 1711, it was made the seat of the Azov Governorate, which eventually morphed into the Voronezh Governorate.
In the 19th century, Voronezh was a center of the Central Black Earth Region. Manufacturing industry (mills, tallow-melting, butter-making, soap, leather, and other works) as well as bread, cattle, suet, and the hair trade developed in the town. A railway connected Voronezh with Moscow in 1868 and Rostov-on-Don in 1871.
For Wardrobe Remix.
Today, I morphed into an accidental shopper on the war path. I only meant to get my hands on Christian Lacroix. But I came home with an eye shadow palette of too many colours, 2 pairs of patent pumps and a foot massager for my beau's mom, amongst other trivialities. On a non-sequitor, Donatello is still my favourite TMNT.
Vintage geometric prints dress with tie collar, gold woven belt from Bugis, eBase green pumps with white stripes, orange and green plastic bangles from FEP, Zara patchwork bag, orange teardrop earrings from Bangkok, MNG shades and Paul Frank watch.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Paraphrasing Infernal Overdrive's Facebook page:
Genre
Heavy Rock
Members
• Marc Schleicher- Lead Guitar and Vocals
• Rich Miele- Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals
• Mike Bennett- Lead Drums
• Keith Schleicher- Lead Bass Guitar
On the web
Photos of their shows
• O'Brien's, Allston MA, 16 Jul 2011
• Great Scott, Allston MA, 2 Apr 2011
• O'Brien's, Allston MA, 4 Sept 2010
• O'Brien's, Allston MA, 16 Jan 2010
Hometown
Red Bank, NJ
Record Label
Small Stone Records
About
Infernal Overdrive is a heavy rock and roll band formed in early 2008 when Marc Schleicher (fmr. Quintaine Americana [Wikipedia, MySpace, AllMusic], Cracktorch [MySpace], Antler, Liquor Tricks [MySpace]) of Allston , Mass. started jamming with Mike Bennett (fmr. Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]) in Red Bank. Soon they got Rich Miele (fmr. Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]) on board playing second lead guitar. During some of their early shows, Jake Metz (Godzero [MySpace]) joined the band on bass, but he was soon replaced by Keith Schleicher.
Their sound is a combination of their classic influences such as Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Free, Grand Funk, Cactus, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd and newer heavy bands like Kyuss, Nebula, Soundgarden, STP, QOTSA and Monster Magnet.
Biography
Rumors abound that somewhere in the depths of New Jersey time stands still and it is always 1977. Trapped in this interstellar time warp, making electric amageddon is Infernal Overdrive. Fronted by the mysterious, oft reckless Marc Schleicher (Cracktorch [MySpace], Quintaine Americana [Wikipedia, MySpace, AllMusic], Antler) - a Boston native transplanted in time and space to this 4th dimension - summoned by the all-powerful duo of Mike Bennett and Rich Miele of Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]. After a treacherous search to find his long lost brother, Keith Schleicher was sucked into the vortex to fulfill his destiny on bass guitar. They journey in the last of the V8 interceptors, proving themselves worthy of the Small Stone pedigree. Forces to be reckoned with on their own, as a group their wonder team powers activate to kick into Infernal Overdrive.
Armed with their wits, New Jersey dialect and a passion for surviving the likes of the Tall Man, flying orbs, giant sharks, the Turnbull AC's and an occasional family of albino zombies, Infernal Overdrive will be coming to an area near you soon. Can you dig it?
Current Location
Red Bank, NJ
Artists We Also Like
Cortez, Maegashira, Monster Magnet, Roadsaw, Pigs, The Brought Low
Influences
Delta Blues, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, Cactus, Deep Purple, Nebula, Pink Floyd, Cream, Mountain, Kyuss, James Gang and shit loads of other bands.
Reviews
Review by The Obelisk / Stoner Rock:
Infernal Overdrive Kick into Gear
With production by Andrew Schneider (Throttlerod, The Brought Low, Hackman) and mastering by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East in Boston, there’s no doubt that New Jersey riff rockers Infernal Overdrive are going for that Small Stone Records sound. The four tracks that comprise their new self-titled EP fall in line with the kind of straightforward guitar-led rock the Detroit label has proffered for well over a decade now, and with a similar southern/classic ‘70s influence to New York’s The Brought Low, Infernal Overdrive seem remarkably conscious of what they’re doing sonically. More so than you might expect for a band just releasing their first EP.
The story goes that when guitarist/vocalist Marc Schleicher (ex-Cracktorch [MySpace], Antler) moved from Massachusetts to central New Jersey, he got hooked up with drummer Mike Bennett and guitarist/backing vocalist Rich Miele (both ex-Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]). Keith Schleicher (relation assumed) was added on bass and Infernal Overdrive began rocking out early 2008. The EP was recorded over two days in February and four in April, and though that seems quick, none of the songs feels rushed or underdone. Schneider, who also shows up on extra backing vocals, makes his mark sound-wise in the tone of Schleicher and Miele’s guitars and Bennett’s snare sound, which has the same pop Schneider has become known for – not too bright, but able to cut through the mix and propel the songs forward. Some of Schleicher’s leads, as on EP closer “Motor,” feel a little too thought out, too structured where what I’d like to hear is a little bluesy ‘70s recklessness, but they get the job done nonetheless, and the vocals are never out of place.
Although the highway for which it’s named runs down through the whole East Coast, there’s no question that when Infernal Overdrive open the EP with “I-95,” they’re talking about Jersey. The song is a southern-hued guitar rocker that sets the tone well for the three tracks that follow with an ear toward rock traditionalism and, once again, like-minded Small Stone heavy-hitters Sasquatch, Dixie Witch, et al. It’s hard to argue with the approach when it works as well as it does on the speedy “The Edge,” which forgoes central Jersey’s reputation for heavy psychedelia in the style of Monster Magnet in favor of Halfway to Gone’s stripped-down take on rock. “Duel” slows down the pace somewhat but still keeps a mid?paced groove that makes use of some well?placed lead lines that start the song reminding me of Iron Maiden filtered through Nebula’s druggy haze. Only “Motor,” which devolves into an extended jam that brings the track to a total of just under 12 minutes, is longer, as the songs on Infernal Overdrive go in order from shortest to longest. Whether or not that’s on purpose on the part of the band, I don’t know – I’d imagine at least putting “Motor” last is – but I suppose it’s as good a method of organization as any.
There’s a short message from the Devil after “Motor” finishes up, and that’s the end of the EP. Infernal Overdrive are out relatively quick when you consider their first release is only 26 minutes and three of the four songs take up about 11 of it. No complaints though, as the four-piece know precisely how to get the most out of their sound and show exactly that on these tracks. It’s a hell of an investment to make with a self-released debut to hook up with the likes of Schneider and Zampiello, but Infernal Overdrive make the most of Schleicher and co.’s collected experience, and come off sounding confident and notably mature for a band who’s been together less than three years. It may not be changing the game, but Infernal Overdrive is definitely worth checking out for anyone who wants to hook into some solid and unpretentious heavy rock.
Review by Cutting Edge Rocks:
A couple years ago we reviewed a strong up-and-coming Jersey band Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]. Well, it seems they dissolved and morphed into Infernal Overdrive. The new band is two parts Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook] (drummer Mike Bennett and guitarist/backing vocalist Rich Miele), one part Cracktorch [MySpace], Antler (guitarist/vocalist Marc Schleicher) and one part brother (bassist Keith Schleicher). Mike contacted me letting me know the band formed after Marc relocated from Boston and set up shop in Jersey. He sent along the EP for my listening pleasure. And a pleasure it is! The songs are baked in southern ‘70s hard rock with catchy riffs and plenty of power rumbling in the pipes. The info is sketchy but according the record’s liner notes, the four-song EP was recorded this year in Brooklyn, NY over five days (Feb 27, 28 & April 17, 18, 24, 25). Production was handled by Andrew Schneider (Throttlerod, The Brought Low, Hackman) with mastering by Nick Zampiello. Fans of our site will immediately make the Small Stone connection and that seems to be where the band are heading as the vibe is defiantly Detroit retro.
Take for instance “I-95” which opens the disc with a solid guitar wail and foot-stomping drum beat. Tambourine is added for flavor but the song bellows like fellow Boston-natives Roadsaw, mixing biker thunder with a Pat Travers/Leslie West riff-fest. Second track, “The Edge” is pure old school Nugent, including the repeat riff and frantic, almost MC5 delivery. Schleicher voice is ragged and ready to rock. The drums hammer and the bass drives laying down a solid bed for some sexy solo leads. “Duel” has more Fu Manchu in the groove. It’s mostly in the chorus, but the build in the verse is still very Scott Hill/Brant Bjork. The track also boasts our favorite solo - frayed, not over played and sparked with cosmic energy. “Motor” is a 13-minute stoner masterpiece. A heavy bottom end brings to mind Sabbath, Sasquatch and Mountain. The riff is clean but thick with a layered solo painting in all the little nuances - perfect for a psychedelic ride. The echo on the vocals adds to the songs dripping mysticism while the guitar is allowed to float, pierce and melt the brain. Yeah, it only four songs, but dude, sometime that’s all you need when they’re this good.
Review by Heavy Planet
I recently had a chance to hear some new material from thee guys and I'll tell you right now, this is a band to be on the look out for. They're going places. Their sound is straight up southern stoner rock. If I had to compare them, I'd say they're a bit harder version of The Brought Low. Checkout the usual social media spots (links below) to hear what I'm talking about and keep up to date with all their happenings because you'll certainly be hearing from them again.
Day 25. 120 hours total.
To me, the puzzling is over and has morphed into a fill-in-the-blanks exercise. It's just plugging in pieces, everything carefully arranged by shape on pieces of cardboard. I spend my time scanning through the columns and rows, occasionally trying a piece but usually just a lot of scanning until the correct piece is found. I build off a 'corner' spot where two sides of the connecting piece are known; this narrows down the possible piece shapes: the two adjacent sides could be either knob, knob; knob, hole; or hole, hole.
It's an incredibly boring process and to me, the antithesis of puzzling. There isn't any of the enjoyment of interacting with color, detail, texture and line; pairing up pieces independently and slowly watching pods build. Or the act of touching and moving pieces around, which in and of itself creates serendipitous connections.
But at this point, it is the most efficient way (short of using the pattern) to complete the rest of the puzzle.
To complete the stone work took 5 hrs., 50 mins. The remaining 4:10 has been spent on the shadow of the red dress, which is slow going so far (although, some of that time was spent sorting out deep-reds from deep-blues and then arranging pieces into formation).
Really ready to get this thing done with.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
I didn't sleep well.
The image of my dying grandmother still forcibly rooted in my mind.
I went to school today and hardly even remember what happened. A couple people who knew hugged me and gave me emotional support. I snapped this picture when I went to school early for Frankie's dance practice. The sun not even up yet.
I decided while thinking about my grandmother and her weird relationship with our family, I decided to explain who she was and her life story, then it just morphed into everything I remember about her and her husband and our time with them. I'll explain their relationship to our family today, and our time spent with them tomorrow.
sooo where do I start.
My grandmother is a bit of an odd character. She's not a relative I've ever jumped up and down to visit, but I never really disliked her visits. They were always just sort of - well boring. Her home was never much of a "entertaining" place. Before her serious Alzheimer's and Dymentia, she lived in a small home in Ohio with my late Canadian Step-grandfather, less formally known to us as "Grandpa Alan". They were, in a way, perfect for each other.
She got married at a young age and had my Uncle Jimmy and my father. Then when my dad was still a kid, she left him, his brother, and dad. From then she had little to nothing to do with them. I've never really heard what she did with her life, because neither her nor my dad would ever talk about it. She worked for GE most of her life and was surprisingly very successful and a hard worker. All I know about her personality is that she has always placed a high importance in material things and outward appearance. She has these "glamour shots" of her even in her late 60's which have always struck me to be quite funny. She has this chest full of costume jewelry and gaudy flashy pins and charms galore. Somehow my dad "worked things out" when he was in college, so she then decided to embrace him as her 'wonderful, successful, son". She was always a social kind of girl, an elderly version of a "Real Housewife of Cincinnati". When my brother and I were young, she informed my parents that she didn't want us to call her "grAndmaaawww" (in a thick Kentucky accent), No, no. We were to call her "Grandmother". It's funny she wanted such a formal title even though she came from the über Kentucky-stereotype town of Pikeville, Kentucky.
My Step-Grandfather Alan Gilmore is Canadian, but family roots are Scottish. He was a very anti-social and "holier-than-thou" type of person. He obviously never had children and was never around any because he never was too warm around Kyle and I. One time at our annual Christmas visit ( wow that made it sound like a prison) he would give "the children the child's glasses" (a.k.a - he gave us plastic cups because we weren't old enough for glass ones) We were thirteen. :) haha. He always played this weird Scottish bagpipe music too, even though he lived in Canada all his life. He always knew more than my parents, always. No exceptions. ;) He also always told my parents how they were wrong being democrat (which isn't true for my dad who is fiscally conservative and independent on everything else. My mom is very liberal though. :) Funny thing about it (besides him arguing with my mom about how bush was a great president) Is that he never became an American citizen, so he couldn't even vote. They really did live the whole Ohioan stereotype.
There's always been this tension between my Mom and Kitty because it's almost like Kitty always assumed that my Mom married my Dad because of his success (basically insinuating that she just might be a gold-digger). Not even acknowledging the fact that she's an ultra brilliant lawyer and completely supports herself financially and then some. Also Kitty would never talk about Dad's childhood. It was as if she was trying to deny the fact that she didn't raise him and be a "mother" after he was already successful and independent.
As I got older I started to notice how no matter what she would say, It was always about outward appearance and material things. Sure she would always ask for hugs, but I never felt like she would ever sit down and have a deep conversation. Grandma Kitty showed her love by giving me things. I honestly believe it's because it's the only way she knew how to show love. I mean she didn't raise any children so she kinda skipped that chapter in the book.
Then things got worse once the Dymensia and Alzheimer's became more noticable. Her "though filter" was gone, so she just started to say how she felt ALL the time. Sure it was rude and bold most of the time, but honestly It was just an amplified version of the same old Grandma Kitty. She would critize my Mom's "tonnes of grey in her hair" (it's was her highlights :) and she would blurt out about me, quite loudly I might add, "DEBRA, her BOOBS are HUUUUGE!!, WHERE'D SHE GET THOSE? IT'S COULDN'T BE FROM YOU?" and for added effect she would grab her own boobs. In front of my Grandfather, Father, and Brother..... I started wearing turtle necks everytime I visited. She would always comment on "oh you kids are so priddy", "Oh, your eyes are so priddy Kyle and Taylor". At the beginning it was embarassing but then we learned to live with it, and laugh it off. At least most of the time it was positive things :) And you can't blame her, it was whatever she was thinking, whenever she was thinking it. BAM. She would though start to belive she raised and and Uncle Jimmy. Always reassuring herself in a way by constantly saying, "Dinny's a good boy, in't he?" "I did a good job of raisin' those boys, did'n I???" And she would glare at you at the "Did'n I" part, waiting for your agreement. Almost as a way to further convince herself that she did raise them.
No matter what my parents go along with in her crazy Dymensia stories, they never agreed with her on that one. Crazy or not - she didn't raise those boys and was not there for them in their childhood. They would even smile their head a nod when she told them that she was so tired because she walked all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to Pikeville, Kentucky on her walker to have lunch with her late mother of 20 years. With that story we knew we finally lost her. She was no longer Kitty, she was infantile, confused, and weak from the years upon years of smoking.
°°°°°°°°°°†wi††er°°°°°°°°°°
@AmySeidel I agree compleatly. :D
8:37 PM Feb 16th via Echofon
Let's go johnny wier!!!! Good luck!
11:01 PM Feb 16th via Echofon
@AmySeidel I must say, he did rock that tassel :) I loved his matching "Johnny" pillow! :D
11:11 PM Feb 16th via Echofon
AMEN. RT @RJ500: Yevgeny Plushenko, It all went to your head. Lifes not about all these materialistic things, it's about having fun
11:27 PM Feb 16th via Echofon
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Paraphrasing Infernal Overdrive's Facebook page:
Genre
Heavy Rock
Members
• Marc Schleicher- Lead Guitar and Vocals
• Rich Miele- Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals
• Mike Bennett- Lead Drums
• Keith Schleicher- Lead Bass Guitar
On the web
Photos of their shows
• O'Brien's, Allston MA, 16 Jul 2011
• Great Scott, Allston MA, 2 Apr 2011
• O'Brien's, Allston MA, 4 Sept 2010
• O'Brien's, Allston MA, 16 Jan 2010
Hometown
Red Bank, NJ
Record Label
Small Stone Records
About
Infernal Overdrive is a heavy rock and roll band formed in early 2008 when Marc Schleicher (fmr. Quintaine Americana [Wikipedia, MySpace, AllMusic], Cracktorch [MySpace], Antler, Liquor Tricks [MySpace]) of Allston , Mass. started jamming with Mike Bennett (fmr. Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]) in Red Bank. Soon they got Rich Miele (fmr. Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]) on board playing second lead guitar. During some of their early shows, Jake Metz (Godzero [MySpace]) joined the band on bass, but he was soon replaced by Keith Schleicher.
Their sound is a combination of their classic influences such as Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Free, Grand Funk, Cactus, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd and newer heavy bands like Kyuss, Nebula, Soundgarden, STP, QOTSA and Monster Magnet.
Biography
Rumors abound that somewhere in the depths of New Jersey time stands still and it is always 1977. Trapped in this interstellar time warp, making electric amageddon is Infernal Overdrive. Fronted by the mysterious, oft reckless Marc Schleicher (Cracktorch [MySpace], Quintaine Americana [Wikipedia, MySpace, AllMusic], Antler) - a Boston native transplanted in time and space to this 4th dimension - summoned by the all-powerful duo of Mike Bennett and Rich Miele of Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]. After a treacherous search to find his long lost brother, Keith Schleicher was sucked into the vortex to fulfill his destiny on bass guitar. They journey in the last of the V8 interceptors, proving themselves worthy of the Small Stone pedigree. Forces to be reckoned with on their own, as a group their wonder team powers activate to kick into Infernal Overdrive.
Armed with their wits, New Jersey dialect and a passion for surviving the likes of the Tall Man, flying orbs, giant sharks, the Turnbull AC's and an occasional family of albino zombies, Infernal Overdrive will be coming to an area near you soon. Can you dig it?
Current Location
Red Bank, NJ
Artists We Also Like
Cortez, Maegashira, Monster Magnet, Roadsaw, Pigs, The Brought Low
Influences
Delta Blues, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Soundgarden, Monster Magnet, Cactus, Deep Purple, Nebula, Pink Floyd, Cream, Mountain, Kyuss, James Gang and shit loads of other bands.
Reviews
Review by The Obelisk / Stoner Rock:
Infernal Overdrive Kick into Gear
With production by Andrew Schneider (Throttlerod, The Brought Low, Hackman) and mastering by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East in Boston, there’s no doubt that New Jersey riff rockers Infernal Overdrive are going for that Small Stone Records sound. The four tracks that comprise their new self-titled EP fall in line with the kind of straightforward guitar-led rock the Detroit label has proffered for well over a decade now, and with a similar southern/classic ‘70s influence to New York’s The Brought Low, Infernal Overdrive seem remarkably conscious of what they’re doing sonically. More so than you might expect for a band just releasing their first EP.
The story goes that when guitarist/vocalist Marc Schleicher (ex-Cracktorch [MySpace], Antler) moved from Massachusetts to central New Jersey, he got hooked up with drummer Mike Bennett and guitarist/backing vocalist Rich Miele (both ex-Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]). Keith Schleicher (relation assumed) was added on bass and Infernal Overdrive began rocking out early 2008. The EP was recorded over two days in February and four in April, and though that seems quick, none of the songs feels rushed or underdone. Schneider, who also shows up on extra backing vocals, makes his mark sound-wise in the tone of Schleicher and Miele’s guitars and Bennett’s snare sound, which has the same pop Schneider has become known for – not too bright, but able to cut through the mix and propel the songs forward. Some of Schleicher’s leads, as on EP closer “Motor,” feel a little too thought out, too structured where what I’d like to hear is a little bluesy ‘70s recklessness, but they get the job done nonetheless, and the vocals are never out of place.
Although the highway for which it’s named runs down through the whole East Coast, there’s no question that when Infernal Overdrive open the EP with “I-95,” they’re talking about Jersey. The song is a southern-hued guitar rocker that sets the tone well for the three tracks that follow with an ear toward rock traditionalism and, once again, like-minded Small Stone heavy-hitters Sasquatch, Dixie Witch, et al. It’s hard to argue with the approach when it works as well as it does on the speedy “The Edge,” which forgoes central Jersey’s reputation for heavy psychedelia in the style of Monster Magnet in favor of Halfway to Gone’s stripped-down take on rock. “Duel” slows down the pace somewhat but still keeps a mid?paced groove that makes use of some well?placed lead lines that start the song reminding me of Iron Maiden filtered through Nebula’s druggy haze. Only “Motor,” which devolves into an extended jam that brings the track to a total of just under 12 minutes, is longer, as the songs on Infernal Overdrive go in order from shortest to longest. Whether or not that’s on purpose on the part of the band, I don’t know – I’d imagine at least putting “Motor” last is – but I suppose it’s as good a method of organization as any.
There’s a short message from the Devil after “Motor” finishes up, and that’s the end of the EP. Infernal Overdrive are out relatively quick when you consider their first release is only 26 minutes and three of the four songs take up about 11 of it. No complaints though, as the four-piece know precisely how to get the most out of their sound and show exactly that on these tracks. It’s a hell of an investment to make with a self-released debut to hook up with the likes of Schneider and Zampiello, but Infernal Overdrive make the most of Schleicher and co.’s collected experience, and come off sounding confident and notably mature for a band who’s been together less than three years. It may not be changing the game, but Infernal Overdrive is definitely worth checking out for anyone who wants to hook into some solid and unpretentious heavy rock.
Review by Cutting Edge Rocks:
A couple years ago we reviewed a strong up-and-coming Jersey band Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook]. Well, it seems they dissolved and morphed into Infernal Overdrive. The new band is two parts Loud Earth [Reverb Nation, Facebook] (drummer Mike Bennett and guitarist/backing vocalist Rich Miele), one part Cracktorch [MySpace], Antler (guitarist/vocalist Marc Schleicher) and one part brother (bassist Keith Schleicher). Mike contacted me letting me know the band formed after Marc relocated from Boston and set up shop in Jersey. He sent along the EP for my listening pleasure. And a pleasure it is! The songs are baked in southern ‘70s hard rock with catchy riffs and plenty of power rumbling in the pipes. The info is sketchy but according the record’s liner notes, the four-song EP was recorded this year in Brooklyn, NY over five days (Feb 27, 28 & April 17, 18, 24, 25). Production was handled by Andrew Schneider (Throttlerod, The Brought Low, Hackman) with mastering by Nick Zampiello. Fans of our site will immediately make the Small Stone connection and that seems to be where the band are heading as the vibe is defiantly Detroit retro.
Take for instance “I-95” which opens the disc with a solid guitar wail and foot-stomping drum beat. Tambourine is added for flavor but the song bellows like fellow Boston-natives Roadsaw, mixing biker thunder with a Pat Travers/Leslie West riff-fest. Second track, “The Edge” is pure old school Nugent, including the repeat riff and frantic, almost MC5 delivery. Schleicher voice is ragged and ready to rock. The drums hammer and the bass drives laying down a solid bed for some sexy solo leads. “Duel” has more Fu Manchu in the groove. It’s mostly in the chorus, but the build in the verse is still very Scott Hill/Brant Bjork. The track also boasts our favorite solo - frayed, not over played and sparked with cosmic energy. “Motor” is a 13-minute stoner masterpiece. A heavy bottom end brings to mind Sabbath, Sasquatch and Mountain. The riff is clean but thick with a layered solo painting in all the little nuances - perfect for a psychedelic ride. The echo on the vocals adds to the songs dripping mysticism while the guitar is allowed to float, pierce and melt the brain. Yeah, it only four songs, but dude, sometime that’s all you need when they’re this good.
Review by Heavy Planet
I recently had a chance to hear some new material from thee guys and I'll tell you right now, this is a band to be on the look out for. They're going places. Their sound is straight up southern stoner rock. If I had to compare them, I'd say they're a bit harder version of The Brought Low. Checkout the usual social media spots (links below) to hear what I'm talking about and keep up to date with all their happenings because you'll certainly be hearing from them again.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.
Fonte : Wikipedia
The group was founded in 1981 under the name Paradox by drummer Kelly David-Smith and guitarists Pete Mello and Dave Goulder, who were later joined by bassist Jason Newsted. Jason had answered a newspaper ad that Kelly had placed in the local newspaper looking for a bass player. Jason came to Phoenix with his band Gangster from Michigan on their way to California, but Gangster broke up while in Phoenix. Kelly got a call from a couple of his high school friends, Mark Vasquez and Kevin Horton, looking for some people to jam with playing covers of bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, MSG, and UFO. The band then morphed into "Dredlox" together with the new recruits, Jason was now the main vocalist.
Kelly saw "A.K." (Eric A. Knutson) singing "The Goodbye Girl" at his high school talent show. In 1982 they were in the same summer school class and Kelly asked Knutson if he wanted to audition. They put him on 2-week probation and he later joined the band. Due to the provisional nature of his membership, the band referred to Knutson as "the 2 weeker." Ed Carlson, from another local rival band called Exodus (not to be confused with the California Bay Area thrash metal band of the same name), also joined in 1983 after Kevin's departure from the band. The name of the band changed into The Dogz, but it didn't last long. Eventually the band renamed itself "Flotsam and Jetsam" after writing a song inspired by a chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Two Towers.
The band made its live debuts in local clubs and in California and had the opportunity to play with bands such as Megadeth, Armored Saint, Alcatrazz, Malice, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Riot, Autograph and Icon. In 1985 Mark Vasquez stepped out and 17-year-old Michael Gilbert joined the band. Flotsam and Jetsam released two demo tapes Iron Tears and Metal Shock in 1985.
They created their first video "Hammerhead" from the Metal Shock demo: "We taped it in Jason and Ed's apartment living room. We also made a live video at the infamous Bootlegger in Phoenix", (owned by Gloria Cavalera, currently married to Max Cavalera) These videos and the band's demos made a good impression on record labels. After the band contributed to the Speed Metal Hell II and Metal Massacre VII compilations, they then signed a deal with Metal Blade Records.
1986–1987: Doomsday for the Deceiver
Flotsam and Jetsam recorded their debut album Doomsday for the Deceiver in Los Angeles with producer Brian Slagel and engineer Bill Metoyer. The album was released on the 4th of July in 1986, and was the first in Kerrang!'s history to achieve the 6K rating.
Bassist Jason Newsted, who was also the band's main lyric writer, departed soon after to join Metallica, replacing their bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident. On Halloween night 1986, Jason played his last gig with Flotsam and Jetsam. The band had asked another local bassist Phil Rind of Sacred Reich to fill in Jason's place for a short time. They then hired Michael Spencer from the Sacramento band Sentinel Beast. Flotsam and Jetsam inked a deal with Metallica's then-label Elektra Records before opening for Megadeth in 1987 on the Peace Sells tour in Europe and America. After touring with Megadeth, the band played selected shows in America with Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sacred Reich and Excel.
1987–1994: No Place for Disgrace, When the Storm Comes Down and Cuatro
Michael Spencer left Flotsam and Jetsam shortly after a U.S. tour in the fall of 1987; his replacement was Troy Gregory. Their second studio album, No Place for Disgrace, was released in May 1988, and includes a cover of Elton John's hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for which a music video was shot. The band toured heavily behind No Place for Disgrace throughout 1988 and 1989. They opened for King Diamond in America, and supported Megadeth, Testament and Sanctuary in Europe on the So Far, So Good... So What! tour. The band also played shows with The Crumbsuckers, Fates Warning, Destruction, Death Angel, D.R.I., Acid Reign and Kreator, and landed a billing for festivals, such as Milwaukee Metalfest, and played at Aardschokdag twice (in May 1988 and April 1989).
In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down, released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. Flotsam and Jetsam toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong, and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament, Savatage, Exodus, Vio-Lence, Sacred Reich, Wrathchild America and a then-unknown Pantera.
Shortly after returning home, bassist Troy Gregory departed to join Prong. Holding auditions in Phoenix, the band hired Jason Ward to fill the role.
Released in 1992, Cuatro marked an evolution in style and songwriting. The band released four singles this time, two of which ("Swatting at Flies" and "Wading Through the Darkness") were shot as music videos. "Wading Through the Darkness" received regular rotation on MTV during their tours that year.
1995–1999: Drift and High
Their fifth album Drift was released in April 1995, with three singles released off of the record. Jason dedicated it to his older brother Jeff Ward, former drummer of such bands as NIN, Ministry, Revolting Cocks and Lard, who died in 1993. A long break followed the release of the album.
During Flotsam and Jetsam's tour with Megadeth and KORN, MCA and Flotsam parted ways, and Flotsam returned to their former label "Metal Blade Records".
Shortly after auditioning a new drummer, Nick Menza of Megadeth insisted that the band check out a friend of Nick's named Craig Nielsen. Nick was there for the auditioning, and Craig Nielsen was hired.
On their 1997 album High the song titles were designed with the font types/logos of famous bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Kiss, Van Halen, AC/DC, Judas Priest, Misfits, etc. to pay homage to those whom came before and inspired the band while it was coming up the ranks. The music was more experimental than before, and the album also featured the Lard cover song Fork Boy. Music video was released, Monster to follow-up.
Michael Gilbert and Kelly Smith left the band after the release and were replaced by guitarist Mark Simpson and drummer Craig Nielsen. With the new line-up Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe together with Anvil and Exciter.
1999–2002: Unnatural Selection and My God
Unnatural Selection was released in 1999 and Mark Simpson took a short break. He joined the band again in 2000 to record a new album, My God released in May 2001. At that time Eric A.K. had founded a country band, the A.K. Corral. He left the band for a short time to take a break from Metal and pursue his side project. (AK) "I had given Metal my life for a solid 15 years, I took some time to explore other musical flavors." Though Flotsam and Jetsam did not disband, there was a long break at that time. They found a new singer, James Rivera, who took over vocal duties live. Later the band felt that no one other than Eric A.K. could be their singer and Rivera left the band soon after.
2002–2006: Live In Phoenix and Dreams of Death
During 2002 and 2003 the band were active only sporadically, but Eric A.K. rejoined for live dates in the Phoenix and Los Angeles areas in 2003. Tory Edwards was a guest for this tour. A live recording of these shows was released in 2004 as a live concert DVD under the title Live in Phoenix. Signed to the Crash Music label in May 2004 and with Eric A.K. joining the band again officially, they hit the road with Overkill and Death Angel for a series of sold out concerts in Japan.
Spring 2005 Flotsam and Jetsam returned to the studio to work on their new album. The lyrics were mostly inspired by Eric's nightmares. This resulted into a concept album entitled Dreams of Death - like track 2 of No Place for Disgrace. The album was released July 2005.
2006–2011: Live In Japan, Once in a Deathtime, The Cold
The live DVD Live in Japan was released in February 2006 and shows their concert in front of hundreds of screaming Japanese fans at the Citta Club in Tokyo 2004.
Doomsday for the Deceiver was re-released in November 2006 by Metal Blade Records to celebrate the album's twentieth anniversary. This set (2 CD and DVD) includes the original recording of Doomsday and a re-mixed and re-mastered(Digitized)version and also the two Flotsam and Jetsam demos. The bonus DVD includes rare live material, an interview filmed at Kelly's High School and a photo slide-show.
In Spring 2008 Metal Mind Productions remastered and re-released the albums When the Storm Comes Down, Cuatro (including 5 bonus tracks), Drift (including 3 bonus tracks) and Dreams of Death. Unfortunately for the fans No Place for Disgrace could not be remastered due to existing legal issues between the band and their former label Elektra Records.
In March 2008 Flotsam and Jetsam toured in Europe and played at the Metalmania Festival in Poland. This show was filmed and released as DVD Once in a Deathtime in July. Midyear 2008 the band were signed to Driven Music Group, founded by former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch.
After a tour in Europe with support act Neurasthenia in April 2010 Flotsam and Jetsam finished their album The Cold. It was released on September 14, 2010. It was the last album with Mark Simpson on guitar. He left the band in friendship and was replaced by returning guitarist Ed Carlson, who had quit the band in March 2010, to be replaced by Michael Gilbert.
2011–2013: Ugly Noise
Mid 2011, Craig Neilson departed the band soon after Mark Simpson's exit. Former Drummer and founder of Flotsam Kelly David Smith was asked to rejoin after a 14 years absence. The band then embarked on their newest release Ugly Noise. Flotsam would take a new turn and release and record Ugly Noise using the direct-to-fan platform, PledgeMusic. Ugly Noise was released through PledgeMusic on 12-21-12. Members on the Pledge site were the first to hear and download the recording before the public. Each Pledge purchased either a download of the new disc or a package of "exclusive items" only available through Pledge. All income from items sold went to fund the entire project.
Shortly after Flotsam inked a distribution deal with longtime friends '"Metal Blade Records" for worldwide distribution.
After tracking on Ugly Noise, Jason Ward was no longer able to commit to touring with the band any further due to his current personal commitments.
In Jan 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam jumped on board the acclaimed 70000 Tons of Metal in support of Ugly Noise. They then followed up on Testaments, Dark Roots of Thrash Tour US Package included Overkill and Australian metalers 4ARM.
During the tour, Edward Carlson started to have extreme physical pain in his lower back and numbness in his right arm. After the tour, an MRI revealed that he had bulging disks in his upper and lower back causing the dysfunction to occur. Flotsam and Jetsam then recruited guitarist Steve Conley of F5 to step in while they finished out their live commitments.
Flotsam and Jetsam also recruited Michael Spencer to rejoin the ranks in place of Jason Ward. Spencer was the first official bassist after Jason Newsted's departure to Metallica in 1986. He toured with Flotsam in 1987 to Europe on Megadeth's "Peace Sells" tour. Spencer also was a major player in the writing of classic acclaimed recording, "No Place for Disgrace" released on Elekra Records in 1988.
2013–2014: No Place For Disgrace 2014
In June 2013, the band headlined at the Warriors of Metal Festival in Columbus Ohio, then returning home, Flotsam hired manager Jeff Keller(JKM). His roster includes the likes of: UDO, Destruction, Lordi, Hirax, Primal Fear, Satan, Suicidal Angels.
In 2006, after the successful remix and master of the debut album “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, there was a lot of fan requests to have “No Place for Disgrace” follow the same process. After spending some time at the 25-year mark, the band decided to go forward with this idea. The band had some issues with the original production and definition of some of the parts played, due to the speed it was recorded at. Having had success with Ugly Noise through the PledgeMusic process, the band would be able to again gain the rights to this classic with a re-recording and some minor changes.
In the middle of 2013, Flotsam and Jetsam embarked in this monumental task of reviving some songs that, for the most part, had not been played in 20 years. All tracks (except drums) were done at the Flotsam studio with Michael Gilbert at the helm. In December, the project was finished and the re-recording of the classic album "No Place For Disgrace", was again released using PledgeMusic to finance the project.
The album, No Place For Disgrace 2014, was set to release on Feb 14th, 2014 worldwide through Metal Blade Records distribution. NPFD 2014 would feature some of Flotsam's friends from the past as guest musicians, Mark Simpson, Chris Poland, Tory Edwards.
Flotsam and Jetsam is currently ramping up for their (29 show) European tour with Sepultura, Legion of the Damned and Mortillery. The tour kicks off on Feb 7th in Bochum, Germany.
2014–present: No Place on Tour and Beyond, Flotsam and Jetsam and next album
Flotsam toured Europe 4 times in 2014 with a total of 40 shows in all.
Returning home from Europe on 8/11 the band planned to start writing for a new release in 2015. Michael Spencer and Steve Conley would be involved this time in the process. Spencer had written some material previously in 1987 that he took with him after his departure. Flotsam used at some of the archive material from Spencer.
In December 2014, drummer and founding member, Kelly Smith decided to leave the band due to unexpected family matters that required him to be home with his family. Handpicked by Smith to replace him on drums, was longtime friend and Shadows Fall drummer, Jason Bittner. In 2015, Bittner was working on the next album.
On July 6, 2017, it was announced that Flotsam and Jetsam were replacing Bittner (who had recently joined Overkill) with Ken Mary (Fifth Angel, Alice Cooper, House of Lords, TKO, Chastain, Impellitteri). They have also begun work on their thirteenth studio album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2018.