Seth Edward Putnam (1968–2011) was an American musician...

[Dave P.]

Seth Edward Putnam (1968–2011) was an American musician best known as
the founder, vocalist and occasional guitarist of grindcore band Anal Cunt.
He was known for his high-pitched screamed vocals and lyrics that either
shock, offend, or invoke morbid humor. Throughout his career, Putnam was
also involved in numerous side projects.

Biography
Early years
Putnam was born on May 15, 1968, in Newton, Mass, to Edward R. Putnam and
Barbara Ann Donohue. He was of quarter English and quarter Irish descent.
His parents are divorced. Seth was married to his first wife, Alison Dunn,
from Dec 1998-June 2001. He married Julie, his 2nd wife, on May 17, 2008.
From 1986-1988, Putnam played bass in the thrash metal band Executioner.
He also owned his own record label called "Wicked Sick Records", and had
a subsidiary label called "Stridecore Records" that only had one release
which was Anal Cunt's The 5,643 Song EP.

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

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

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

The 2018 grindcore documentary Slave to the Grind explores Putnam in detail,
with his peers expressing the duality of his nature: former bandmates Tim Morse
and Scott Hull describe Putnam often being personable and relaxed, but Hull
also notes that he'd often get arrested causing trouble on the street.
Discordance Axis singer Jon Chang notes that he was really close to Putnam
for years, but describes him as a "really disturbed guy" and a "backstabbing
piece of shit at the end of his life". Chang also recounted an incident after
a show when Putnam introduced his mother to Chang, he remarked that they had
met earlier when he pulled Putnam's mother out from the show's moshpit,
causing Putnam to become aggressive and threaten Chang, much to the confusion
of everyone present. Putnam was also good friends with Pantera frontman Philip
Anselmo. Anselmo used to get Anal Cunt to open for Pantera whenever they went
through Boston. Anal Cunt opened for Pantera 3 times. There is also footage of
Putnam singing "Suicide Note Part II" with Anselmo at a show in 1998.

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

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

1993 arrest
On August 26, 1993, Anal Cunt played a show at Nightbreak in San Francisco, and
started their set with their song "Iron Funeral" and played Blur Including
New H.C. Song after and during the second song, a woman later identified as
Elizabeth Quigley grabbed Putnam's microphone. Putnam then turned around and
swung the microphone, hitting Quigley in the face. Anal Cunt members John Kozik,
Tim Morse, and Paul Kraynak eventually stopped playing and audience members
(including Quigley) started to yell at Putnam, telling him to leave the venue
and repeatedly saying "Call the fucking cops!" along with several insults
directed towards Putnam, who was eventually arrested and spent the night in a
San Francisco jail. He was bailed out the next morning by Kozik. On Oct 19 of
that year, Putnam received a letter from Michael Spadaccini who was Quigley's
attorney informing him that a civil action is being filed against him for assault,
when Putnam went to court he was found guilty and fined $1200. A video of this
show exists and can be found on YouTube, a cassette recording of this show was
released on a live 7-inch called "Breaking the Law" which was disguised as a
bootleg due to the band's contract with Earache Records. The track after the
Nightbreak show is the sound of a jail cell door slamming that was recorded by
Yaz who is credited as the "party technician" in the 7-inch while Kozik was
bailing Putnam out of jail. Pictures of the letter, Putnam's bail record, and a
newspaper clipping of the show on Side B were included in the 7-inch, it also
includes liner notes by Robert Williams from Siege.

Drug overdose and coma
On Oct 12, 2004, Putnam was hospitalized after ingesting a cocktail of crack
cocaine, alcohol, heroin, and two months' worth of Ambien sleeping pills. It has
been reported that he spent the previous day contemplating suicide, though exact
circumstances surrounding the drug overdose are vague. He was sent to Spaulding
Rehab before he woke up from his coma.

Anal Cunt's 1997 album I Like It When You Die contained the track "You're in a Coma".
Putnam's reaction to the resulting irony of being in a coma was published in the
Boston Phoenix: "Actually, it turned out it was just as gay as the song I wrote
nine years ago – being in a coma was just as fuckin' stupid as I wrote it was."
Anal Cunt kept performing the song during live shows after the coma, with Putnam
sharing anecdotes with the audience before the song.

Prior to his coma in 2004, Putnam overdosed on heroin in 1998. In a 2007 interview,
he said: "In 1998 I was dead for 10 minutes from a heroin overdose. The EMT's used
that stuff to revive people and it didn't work. They tried it a second time for
the hell of it and it worked. All I remember was waking up in my kitchen having
no idea where I was. On the way to the hospital, the EMT told me I was probably
going to have brain damage the rest of my life. By the time I got to the hospital
I was completely back to normal though. I didn't see any 'mystic visions' or
anything that time either."

Feud with Chris Barnes
There was friction between Putnam and Six Feet Under vocalist Chris Barnes.
According to Putnam's defunct website, Putnam and Josh Martin (Anal Cunt guitarist)
went to a Six Feet Under show while they were touring for their first album to
hand out fliers looking for a drummer, they eventually heckled Barnes during a
Six Feet Under set, Putnam yelled "Ha ha! you got kicked out of Cannibal Corpse!"
which lead to an altercation between the 3 after Six Feet Under finished their set,
ending with Six Feet Under's roadies ganging up on Putnam and Martin grabbing
Barnes' wrists before Barnes fled to his tour bus and hid there. Putnam released
the song "Chris Barnes Is a Pussy" as retaliation to the incident in 1999. According
to Putnam in an interview with Capital Chaos TV several years later, Six Feet Under
went out of their way to avoid playing in the same city as Anal Cunt several years
after the incident. Putnam stated "I guess he (Chris Barnes) is still afraid of me".
Despite the feud, Putnam eventually became a fan of Six Feet Under and stated that
"Murdered in the Basement" was his favorite song by Six Feet Under. Martin also
said that Putnam saw Cannibal Corpse live on their Eaten Back To Life tour.

Hatebreed incident
Anal Cunt were booked to play at the second New England Metal and Hardcore Festival
in 2000. Misfits headlined the main stage, Anal Cunt headlined the second stage
and Hatebreed headlined the Commercial Street Cafe. Problems arose when the
Hatebreed set was shut down due to problems with the sound system, so security
moved Hatebreed to Anal Cunt's stage, and set them up to play before them. This
apparently upset the audience that were expecting to see Anal Cunt, and according
to Josh Martin, vocalist Jamey Jasta got angry and called the crowd a bunch of
"washed up metalheads" and allegedly claimed that Hatebreed were more popular and
sold more records than Anal Cunt. Putnam and Martin were at the bar next door not
knowing what was going on, but returned by the time the Hatebreed set was over to
see that Putnam was yelled at by Jasta. A melee then ensued. Martin who owned a
VHS tape of the fight (which ended up getting lost) claimed that Putnam was standing 2
0 feet away watching the melee ensue. Putnam was arrested by the end of the night,
along with his wife.

In Feb 2021, Jamey Jasta interviewed Jimmy Bower from Eyehategod on his podcast
"The Jasta Show". Jasta mentioned a story where Putnam requested a mop to make
sure the stage was clean because people were skating on it and eventually ended up
attacking the audience with it instead. He also said he used to distro Anal Cunt's
albums and book their shows. Bower told stories of Putnam using a fire extinguisher
on stage and getting foam all over Eyehategod's gear.

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

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

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

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

Shit Scum
Shit Scum formed in 1988 after Putnam saw an ad looking for musicians. Putnam
chose to call after seeing Cryptic Slaughter as the only influence as not many
people in Boston were into that band. Putnam eventually invited Fred Ordonez to
see Satan's Warriors (which was their last show). Anal Cunt was also playing
what was supposed to be their last show but Ordonez and his friends never
showed up. Putnam did another show with Anal Cunt so Ordonez could see them,
while Shit Scum also did their first show on the same day. Putnam was eventually
invited to a studio to play bass on their first demo called "Self Mutilation".
They later did a show in Jan 1990. Putnam and Ordonez (without Wayne, who was
their drummer) went to a studio that college rock bands mainly performed at.
The engineer did not like them and tried convincing them to quit. The record
was eventually finished and they ended up owing the studio money so the studio
kept the master reel.

Anal Cunt did a tour in Germany and performed some Shit Scum covers. Matthias
Weigand (head of Ecocentric Records) liked the cover of the song "Shit Scum"
and wanted to put out a 7-inch. Putnam called the studio and asked about the reel.
The guy on the phone said "it's right here, pick it up whenever you want", not
knowing they owed money to the studio. Putnam mixed all the songs and sent them
to Ecocentric Records. Ordonez never had a cover for the record so Weigand made
one up. The record was eventually called "Manson Is Jesus". Ordonez wanted the
record to be called "I Wish this Record Could Punch You in the Face", and have
a fist on the cover. Shit Scum had already broken up by the time the album was
released.

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

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

Cuntsaw
Cuntsaw started in 1989 with Putnam on vocals and guitar and Tim Morse on drums.
They usually practiced after Anal Cunt shows. They did one demo called "Concerned"
and did one show at Brandeis University with Fred Ordonez on second guitar. They
eventually broke up. The Anal Cunt song "Foreplay with a Tree Shredder" was
originally a Cuntsaw song that was named "Hell Bent for Hitler".

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

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

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

P.O.D.D.A. (Pile of Drunks & Drug Addicts)
Not much is known about this band but they had only one recording session in 2007
which eventually surfaced onto YouTube, the band had Putnam on vocals, Dejan Podobnik
(Patareni, Millions of Dead Cops...) on drums and Chomi on guitar. Mickey Offender
from D.R.I., Offenders, was supposed to lay a bass track but it never happened.

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

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

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

Vaginal Jesus
Speculation circulated as to whether or not Putnam was a member of the white power
grindcore/hardcore band Vaginal Jesus, after Putnam stated that he was just a
friend of the band. However, he later retracted this claim and admitted to being
a member.

The Losers
Before Putnam started Anal Cunt in March 1988, he had various bands that sounded
like Anal Cunt. The earliest one he could remember was The Losers, who started
in 1980. The band featured Putnam doing vocals and playing a toy guitar (he could
not afford a real one at the time) and his cousin Michael who played cardboard
boxes as fast as possible. That band's name was eventually changed to "Noise".
Putnam eventually got a real guitar and made more tapes.

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

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

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

[ . . . ]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Putnam