Flotsam and Jetsam (band)
| Flotsam and Jetsam | |
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Flotsam and Jetsam at the Brutal Assault Festival in 2014
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Paradox (1981–1982) Dredlox (1982–1983) Dogz (1983–1984) |
| Origin | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1981–present |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
| Members | Eric A. Knutson Michael Gilbert Michael Spencer Steve Conley Jason Bittner |
| Past members | Mark Vazquez Kevin Horton Jason Newsted Phil Rind Troy Gregory Jason Ward Craig Nielsen Mark Simpson Edward Carlson Kelly David-Smith |
Flotsam and Jetsam is a thrash metal band that formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1981. The band currently consists of vocalist Eric A. Knutson, guitarists Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley, bassist Michael Spencer and drummer Jason Bittner. Flotsam and Jetsam went through several lineup changes over the years, and Knutson has been the only constant member of the band. The band is also notable for featuring bassist Jason Newsted, who left to join Metallica following Cliff Burton's death.
Flotsam and Jetsam have released twelve studio albums in their career (the latest being 2016's Flotsam and Jetsam), and have sold over one million records worldwide. In terms of chart positions and sales, the band's most successful records are No Place for Disgrace (1988), When the Storm Comes Down (1990) and Cuatro (1992); the former of the two reached #143 and #174 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart, while Cuatro peaked at #30 on the Heatseekers chart.
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.
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