Artist
Snot
US nu metal band
Santa Barbara, United States • Formed 1995
Snot is a music group from Santa Barbara, United States, active since 1995. Their discography on Gatefold includes 2 records.
2
Albums tracked
7
In collections
1995
Since
Biography
Snot was an American nu metal/funk metal band from Santa Barbara, California that gained huge critical acclaim in the 1990's. The band was formed in 1995 by singer Lynn Strait, the former bassist of local metal band First Strike/Indica, and guitarist Mike Doling, formerly of Kronix. After building a strong following with performances in Los Angeles, Snot signed with Geffen Records, and began work on their debut album, Get Some, released on May 27, 1997. Although the album received positive critical notice, sales were disappointing.
The Arc of Snot
The pivots — what forced Snot to reinvent.
The Santa Barbara Funk-Punk Explosion
The band formed around the Santa Barbara scene, pulling members from funk-metal outfits like My Head and thrash groups to create a hybrid that felt dangerous. They signed to Geffen during the post-grunge gold rush and brought in producer T-Ray to capture their live volatility at Indigo Ranch. Get Some became a word-of-mouth monster because it skipped the spooky makeup tropes for a backyard-party-gone-wrong aesthetic. You hear the difference in the snare crack and the way Mikey Doling’s riffs actually swung instead of just chugging.
The Strait Up Aftermath
The momentum hit a brick wall when Lynn Strait and his dog Dobbs died in a 1998 car accident, leaving the band’s second album unfinished. Instead of hiring a new singer immediately, the remaining members invited everyone from Serj Tankian to Fred Durst to track vocals over the existing demos for the Strait Up tribute record. It’s a weird, heavy time capsule of the turn-of-the-century nu-metal hierarchy paying respects. The record serves as a bridge to the band members' eventual dispersal into groups like Amen and Limp Bizkit.
Influences
- Bad Brains — Lynn Strait explicitly cited them as the blueprint for mixing high-speed hardcore with heavy groove. You hear it in the way 'The Box' pivots from a thrash tempo into a massive, dub-heavy breakdown. They took the Bad Brains intensity and filtered it through a California skater lens.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers — Before they became a stadium pop band, the Chili Peppers were the kings of the slap-bass punk hybrid that Snot worshipped. Sonny Mayo and John Fahnestock leaned heavily into the Hillel Slovak-era funk-metal style for their rhythm section. It's the reason those Get Some tracks have a pocket that most metal bands couldn't touch.
- Black Flag — The band’s DIY ethics and Strait’s vocal delivery were rooted in the SST Records catalog. Strait often wore Black Flag shirts on stage and mirrored Henry Rollins' physicality during their live sets. The track 'Snot' is basically a high-budget Hermosa Beach hardcore song.
- Suicidal Tendencies — They shared the same crossover DNA of Venice Beach thrash and skate culture. Mikey Doling’s lead work mirrors the frantic, bluesy shredding that Rocky George brought to Suicidal in the late 80s. It's that specific California blend of 'fuck you' attitude and legitimate technical chops.
- Parliament-Funkadelic — The band frequently referenced George Clinton’s collective as the reason they prioritized the groove over the distortion. You can hear the P-Funk influence in the syncopation of the bass lines on 'Stoopid.' They wanted the heavy parts to make people move, not just mosh.
Discography
Their records — most-collected first.
Related artists
Around the web
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